Articles Posted in Family Visas

On August 18, 2010 we were the first to report the new trend coming from some local Immigration offices, mainly San Diego, regarding Visa Waiver overstay Issues. Click here to read the post as well as the Adjustment of Status denial we posted that same week.

We are happy to report that we were able to overturn the Appeal denial of that same case a few weeks ago, making this one of the only visa waivers approvals since this new policy started in July. While this is a small victory for us and our clients, the Visa Waiver overstay denial policy still continues in San Diego at this time.

Due to some of publicity efforts, National Public Radio and KPBS covered this story this morning, click here to listen online.

We has learned that the USCIS hold on adjudication of cases involving same-sex partners has been lifted. An announcement by immigration officials in Washington on Monday that they were delaying decisions on some immigration cases involving gay couples led to a surge of expectations among gay advocates that the Obama administration had taken a small but significant step toward recognizing same-sex marriage.

But now, immigration officials moved swiftly to clarify their position and dampen those hopes, saying they have not made any policy changes that would provide an opening to gay couples. The episode added to the legal confusion that has followed the administration’s determination last month that the law that bars the federal government from recognizing gay marriages, the Defense of Marriage Act, is unconstitutional.

According to Immigration Equality Memo released today, until DOMA is repealed or until there is a final court decision, it is the obligation of the Executive branch to comply with and enforce the law.  Recent statements by DHS re‐iterate this enforcement message; therefore, if a USC or LPR files an I‐130 immigrant visa petition on behalf of his or her partner, it will be denied.   

UPDATE:

Facing GOP objections, Democrats are putting aside the Dream Act. They’re short of the 60 votes needed to advance the measure.

Democratic officials say they’ll to move the House-passed version after the Senate acts on funding the government and extending tax cuts. Republicans have said they won’t agree to consider anything else until those issues are addressed.

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Last night’s House passage of DREAM (216-198) brings us closer than we have ever been to victory! This morning we urge our readers to make final calls to all Senators to urge them to vote for cloture on DREAM.

The Senate is scheduled to vote at 11am and will need 60 votes to win.

The House victory has changed the tone on DREAM and gives our Senators a greater sense of urgency that their individual votes will be the deciding ones for a historic victory on immigration. EVERY VOTE counts so make your final calls now.

Last night DREAM triumphed over partisanship and won the votes of 8 House Republicans and many conservative Democrats. To make DREAM possible, the Senate leadership made the unprecedented move of delaying their voting until today.

The momentum is building on DREAM. Make your calls now so we can get this passed.

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Here is a quick update from the field. Processing waiver applications is the main work of the USCIS office at the consulate. Naturally, the consulate makes an initial determination of inadmissibility. If the applicant is eligible to submit a waiver, he or she is instructed to phone the Teletech Call Center beginning the following day to schedule a time and date for dropping off the waiver application.

As of early November, applicants who phone the Call Center are receiving appointments in early January, indicating a two-month wait (until recently the consulate was averaging 4-6 week delay). Due to a transition to a new contract, the Call Center is currently unable to provide “on the spot” confirmation of the appointment, but the agents will take down the caller’s information and respond via email or phone when an appointment is available.

On that date, the applicant will be briefly questioned by a consular employee, pay the waiver application fee, and drop off the packet. The waiver application and supporting documents will be passed directly to the USCIS officer, except for medical waivers, which need CDC notice and sign-off by qualifying relative.

Below is a summary of the December 2010 Visa Bulletin with respect to employment-based petitions:

* EB-1 remains current across the board.

* EB-2 Line ( World), Mexico and Philippines remain current, EB-2 China moves forward by one (1) week to June 8, 2006, while EB-2 India remains (again, for a number of consecutive months) unchanged at May 8, 2006.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to push for a vote during the lame-duck session on a bill that would legalize young, undocumented immigrants if they attend college or serve in the military, according to Democratic sources familiar with a leadership conference call Wednesday.

A vote on the bill, known as the DREAM Act, could come as early as next week, the sources said. Pelosi asked Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) and Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) to assess the mood of the caucus, according to one source.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had previously announced that he plans to bring up the DREAM Act during the lame duck session. His spokesman said Wednesday that Reid still hopes to call a vote.

It is election day in San Diego and all 1,466 polling locations in San Diego County opened on time today, and no major voting problems have been reported, the Registrar of Voters said. How will this election results affect Immigration will remain to be seen.

The Republican class set to sweep into the House after Tuesday’s midterm elections could include several freshmen who have some experience cracking down on illegal immigration. Take Sen. Jeff Perry, who’s running against Democrat William Keating for an open seat in a Massachusetts district that includes Cape Cod. For the past four years, Perry has introduced a bill that would ban illegal immigrants from accessing social services such as public housing.

If he wins, Perry plans to introduce federal legislation that would stop social services funding, just like the law he tried to get through in Massachusetts, and supports ideas such as a mandatory national verification program that isn’t popular with business groups and Republican House leaders.

On August 18, 2010 we were the first to report the new trend coming from some local Immigration offices, mainly San Diego, regarding Visa Waiver overstay Issues. To recap a recent internal Memo from San Diego stated the following:

” To all Adjudicators effective immediately, any immigrants that have entered to the US under the Visa Waiver program and failed to file for adjustment of Status before the expiration of the 90 days authorized stay, MUST BE denied at the time of the interview.” The email was not very long but that was the general idea.

I could never imagine that they will follow through with denials of Visa Waiver overstay cases, but our first denial came in on Friday. See below the complete decision. The decision is written poorly, stating a partially true legal fact. The fact that when one overstays the Visa Waivers they can not adjust or seek hearing before a judge, UNLESS they are a beneficiary of an immediate relative petition. The USCIS failed to mention this exception in the denial as you can see below. So what will be the future of Visa Waiver adjustments, that still remains to be seen. We are in the process of filing a motion to re open and will keep our readers posted.

The U.S. Department of State has recently announced that the online registration period for the Diversity Visa Lottery Program for Fiscal Year 2012 (DV-2012) will be from October 5, 2010 until November 3, 2010.

The official online application form is available only on the Department of State Diversity Visa online entry website at www.dvlottery.state.gov, which will be accessible on the first day of the registration period. The Congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program makes available 50,000 diversity visas (DV) annually, drawn from random selection among all entries to persons who meet strict eligibility requirements from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. For DV-2012, no countries have been added or removed from the previous year’s list of eligible countries.

If you are chosen as a lottery winner, an official letter from the U.S. Department of State Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) in Williamsburg, Kentucky will be sent to the mailing address that you provided in your entry. Being selected as a lottery winner does not guarantee that you will receive a visa; you must still apply and qualify for the immigrant visa. The notification letters will provide further instructions, including information on additional forms and documentation required and immigrant visa application fees.