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Articles Posted in Family Visas

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What are some alternatives to the H-1B visa?

So, you’ve applied for the H-1B visa, and by now you are well aware that the cap has been reached. You may be wondering what you will do if you are not selected in the lottery. Have no fear, we have you covered on your Plan B.

In this post, we breakdown the alternatives to the H-1B visa that allow foreign nationals to live and work in the United States.

1. The O-1 “Extraordinary Ability” Visa:

This visa type is for aliens of extraordinary ability in the sciences, education, business, athletics, motion picture, television, or arts industries who have received national and/or international acclaim in their field. An alien on an O-1 visa may live and work in the United States for a period of up to three years.

In order to be eligible for this visa type you must demonstrate that you are an alien of extraordinary ability in your field. Applicants must hold an advanced degree (at least a master’s) to demonstrate a high level of expertise in their field, and have received international or national acclaim in their fields as evidenced by awards and other international or national recognitions received. Individuals who are leading experts in their fields, and have written extensively in their fields, receiving notoriety for their publications are also great candidates for the O-1 visa. Membership in prestigious professional associations which require outstanding achievements from members are extremely helpful when applying for the H-1B visa, as well as evidence of scientific, scholarly, or business-related contributions that are considered of major significance in the field.

2.TN Visa for Mexican and Canadian Nationals

Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, Canadian and Mexican nationals may apply for a TN visa to live and work in the United States. To be eligible the TN visa applicant must work in a profession approved under the NAFTA program for a U.S. employer. Dependent spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21 can live in the United States under a derivative TD visa.

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On Friday, March 30, 2018, the Department of State published a 60 day notice in the Federal Register entitled “Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration,” proposing to require immigrant visa applicants to submit five years of social media history as part of the information requested on the DS-260 Immigrant Visa Electronic Application used by applicants to schedule Immigrant Visa interviews at U.S. Embassies and Consulates worldwide. The DS-260 is an Electronic Form that is completed by immigrant visa applicants and used by consular officials to determine whether the applicant is eligible for an immigrant visa.

Specifically, the Department wishes to, “add several additional questions for immigrant visa applicants. One question lists multiple social media platforms and requires the applicant to provide any identifies used by applicants for those platforms during the five years preceding the date of the application.”

Information provided by immigrant visa applications relating to their social media will be used to enhance “vetting” of applicants to verify their identity, ensure that they meet all visa eligibility requirements, and to prevent individuals from entering the country who pose a threat to the county’s national security, or have been associated with a terrorist organization.

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Beginning April 1st New Delhi Will No Longer Process IR1/CR1 or IR2/CR2 visas

The U.S. Department of State announced via their website that the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi will no longer process IR1/CR1 visas for spouse of US Citizens or IR2/CR2 visas for unmarried minor children of US Citizens beginning April 1, 2018. Foreign nationals who are in the process of obtaining an IR1/CR1 visa or IR2/CR2 visa with an interview that has been scheduled on or after April 1, 2018, will have their interview at the U.S. Consulate General in Mumbai. We recommend that petitioners be on guard for any letters from the National Visa Center specifying the location of the intending immigrant’s interview, as well as details about how to prepare for the interview stage.

President’s DACA Deadline Passes

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During the last few days, the Supreme Court has been very busy taking up the issue of immigration. On Tuesday in a 5-3 decision, the Supreme Court handed down a controversial ruling strengthening the power of the Trump administration to detain undocumented immigrants facing deportation proceedings for extended periods of time. The Court rejected the opinion of federal judges in California who had previously ruled that detained immigrants facing removal proceedings have a right to a bail hearing after six months in jail.

Today, the Court emphatically disagreed, ruling in the case Jennings v. Rodriguez, that those who face deportation will remain detained while their cases are being considered by an immigration judge. Justice Samuel Alito speaking for the Court said that federal immigration law does not require bail hearings, and that the Ninth Circuit Court has no authority to allow for such hearings.

The Court handed down this ruling after immigrants’ rights activists brought a class action suit representing thousands of non-citizens who had been arrested and held for deportation. Many of these individuals sought asylum in the United States based on a credible fear of persecution. Although the majority of these individuals eventually went on to win their cases in immigration court, they were detained for a year or longer while their cases remained pending. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal had previously ruled that such individuals should have a right to a bail hearing after 6 months, and a right to be released from detention provided they could prove to the Court that they are not a danger to the community or a flight risk.

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In an effort to modernize and streamline the application process, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has finally announced that it will begin to accept payment via credit card for all 41 fee-based forms. Previously, applicants were required to make filing fee payments by personal check or money order for most fee-based forms. Now applicants will be able to use their credit cards to pay their filing fees using Form G-1450 Authorization for Credit Card Transaction.Accepted credit cards include Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover cards.  Applicants for naturalization and those renewing or replacing their Green Cards can pay via credit card using the e-file system.

Applicants filing any of the following forms with a USCIS Lockbox facility may now utilize the credit card payment option. Please remember to include Form G-1450 along with your application when filing by mail:

*Most frequently used forms appear in bold.

For a complete list of filing fees please click here.

Form Number Form Name
EOIR-29 Notice of Appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals from a Decision of a DHS Officer
G-1041 Genealogy Index Search Request
G-1041A Genealogy Records Request
I-102 Application for Replacement/Initial Nonimmigrant Arrival-Departure Document
I-129F Petition for Alien Fiance(e)
I-130/A Petition for Alien Relative
I-131 Application for Travel Document
I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker
I-212 Application for Permission to Re-apply for Admission into the U.S. After Deportation or Removal
I-290B Notice of Appeal or Motion
I-360 Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er) or Special Immigrant
I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
I-485 Supp A Supplement A to Form I-485, Adjustment of Status under Section 245(i)
I-526 Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur
I-539/A Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status
I-600 Petition to Classify Orphan as Immediate Relative
I-600A Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition
I-601 Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility
I-601A Application for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver
I-690 Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility
I-694 Notice of Appeal of Decision Under Sections 245A or 210 of the INA
I-698 Application to Adjust Status from Temporary to Permanent Resident (under Section 245A of the INA)
I-765 Application for Employment Authorization
I-800 Petition to Classify Adoptee as an Immediate Relative
I-800A Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention County
I-817 Application for Family Unity Benefits
I-821 Application for Temporary Protected Status
I-824 Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition
I-829 Petition By Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status
I-90 Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card
I-910 Application for Civil Surgeon Designation
I-941 Application for Entrepreneur Parole
N-300 Application to File Declaration of Intention
N-336 Request for Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings under Section 336 of the INA
N-400 Application for Naturalization
N-470 Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes
N-600 Application for Certificate of Citizenship
N-600K Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate Under Section 322

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On Sunday night, a group of Republican Senators met to draft the Republican party’s version of the President’s immigration framework, in preparation for a floor debate that will take place Monday night on immigration. The Republican bill is one of many proposals that will be considered by the Senate as part of the ongoing immigration debate. The proposed bill, known as the Secure and Succeed Act of 2018, drafted by Republican Senators Chuck Grassley, John Cornyn, James Lankford, Thom Tillis, David Perdue, Tom Cotton, and Joni Ernst, mirrors the Trump administration’s immigration framework.

Over the next few weeks Senators will vigorously debate and amend proposals on immigration with the goal of coming up with a piece of legislation that can garner at least 60 votes in the Senate to advance to the House of Representatives. The process will involve a free-for-all debate on the Senate floor that will allow Senators to propose amendments, with the goal of coming up with a bipartisan solution to shield Dreamers from deportation.

The GOP currently has a 51-49 majority in the Senate, making it necessary for Republicans to obtain support from Democratic Senators to reach the 60-vote threshold. Republicans have a large enough majority in the House of Representatives that they do not need a single Democratic vote to pass desired legislation.

Path to Citizenship for Dreamers

The Republican proposal focuses on providing a 12-year path to citizenship for up to 1.8 million people including DACA eligible recipients. Undocumented immigrants currently enrolled in DACA would receive a 2-year credit allowing them to obtain citizenship within 10 years. The criteria to obtain citizenship would require an individual to have:

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This week the President of the United States delivered his much-anticipated State of the Union to unite the Democratic and Republican parties on a range of contentious issues still unresolved in Congress. One of those hot-button issues has been immigration. As you may recall the President has given Congress until March 5, 2018 to pass legislation protecting Dreamers from deportation.

Ahead of the President’s speech the White House unveiled an immigration framework thought to gain support from Democrats in Congress, however the Democratic response in the room to the President’s remarks on immigration was somber.

While the President’s speech focused largely on improving the economy and helping small American businesses, the President also touched on immigration. President Trump opened his remarks on immigration by calling for immigration policies that will put American workers and their families first.

To highlight the importance of border security and implementing tougher immigration policies the President recounted the tragic story of Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens, two close friends that were brutally murdered by adolescent gang members of MS-13, who the President said took advantage of the country’s loopholes to gain entrance into the country as unaccompanied minors. The parents of Kayla and Nisa Mickens stood tearfully to receive applause from members of Congress in the room.  The President called on members of Congress to “close the deadly loopholes that have allowed MS-13 and other criminals” to enter into the country. The President touted that his administration has proposed new legislation to fix the country’s immigration laws and support ICE and Border Patrol Agents in their efforts to apprehend dangerous criminals.

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450171693_de7e193cd1_zYesterday January 25, 2018, the White House unveiled a framework on Immigration Reform and Border Security outlining the Trump administration’s proposals on immigration. As we previously reported, members of Congress have 16 days to hash out their disagreements, and come up with a piece of legislation that would protect more than 700,000 Dreamers from deportation. As part of that deal, the Trump administration has unveiled a framework containing their wish list for what the administration would like to see incorporated into legislation proposed by Congress.

Dreamers

The White House framework openly supports a 10 to 12-year pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients and other DACA-eligible immigrants, legalizing a population of approximately 1.8 million young undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. In order to be eligible, DACA recipients would be required to fulfill requirements for work, education, and good moral character. Under the proposal, an individual’s legal status could be subject to revocation for criminal conduct, public safety and national security concerns, public charge violations, fraud, etc.

Border Security

In exchange for supporting a path to citizenship for Dreamers, the administration is asking Congress for $25 billion in funding to construct a border wall, secure United States ports of entry and exit, and beef up security in the northern border. The administration also seeks to expedite the deportation of criminals, gang members, violent offenders, aggravated felons, and those who have overstayed their visas.

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graceartiga
It is our pleasure to introduce our legal assistant and bookkeeper, Grace Artiga. Ms. Artiga does everything from setting appointments for our clients to administrative work and recordkeeping. Additionally, Ms. Artiga assists attorneys with their case load and communicates with clients to discuss documental requirements to process their immigration cases. Helping others achieve their goals and secure their family’s future in the U.S. is what’s important for Ms. Artiga.

Ms. Artiga was born in Ensenada, Baja California, and was raised in New York until the age of 15. After returning to Mexico to finish high school, Ms. Artiga relocated to San Diego, where she has been living ever since.

Since childhood, Ms. Artiga felt the need to give back to the community and has always strived to help out whenever possible. Ms. Artiga was heavily involved in extracurricular activities, such as volunteering for non-profit organizations helping animals and keeping the oceans clean. Having the opportunity to help others is what Mr. Artiga finds particular important in the immigration field. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, camping, dancing, traveling and spending time with her toddler.

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Since President Donald Trump was elected to the office of the Presidency, a lot has changed in immigration law. From the very beginning, President Trump set out to shatter the status quo with his infamous campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” and immigration was one of the targets. With the help of his campaign advisers and his larger than life personality, President Donald Trump, defeated his biggest political rival, the famed career politician Hillary Clinton. Throughout his campaign it became clear that the Donald Trump persona was not simply made for TV. Whether you agree with his policies or not, Donald Trump has proven that he is a force to be reckoned with.

As Americans headed to the polls on that fateful morning on November 8th there was a tinge of uncertainty in the air—even an odd sense of silence. For those that disagreed with President Trump’s policies, the choice was clear, but for those that had endured eight years under Barack Obama, an unfamiliar face in politics was the answer. Everyone knew Donald Trump as a wealthy real estate mogul with an affinity for the spotlight, but few knew what Donald Trump would be like as a politician, let alone President of the United States. Despite the criticism, Donald Trump became a national phenomenon, capturing the hearts and minds of the American people with his no nonsense approach to politics, and his appeal to a large and growing conservative base. From the very beginning of his presidency, Donald Trump set out to become one of the most unconventional Presidents of the modern era, using his preferred method of Tweeting to reach the American people. Although his administration is only a year old, it has been marred with scandals, dozens of firings, resignations, and abrupt departures.

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