Visa Lawyer Blog

Articles Posted in Family Visas

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USCIS is announcing that applicants may experience up to an eight week delay in the delivery of their permanent resident card while we are in the process of upgrading our card production equipment. USCIS Field Offices will be issuing temporary evidence of permanent residence in the form of an I-551 stamp to applicants approved for permanent residence at the time of their interview. You will need to take your passport to your appointment. If you do not have a passport, you must bring a passport style photo and government issued photo identification to receive temporary evidence of permanent residence.

If the application is approved subsequent to your interview or by a Service Center or the National Benefit Center, the applicant should bring the above documents to an INFOPASS appointment to be issued temporary evidence of permanent residence in the form of an I-551 stamp.

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Recent procedures obtained from USCIS for identifying and handling Diversity Visa (“DV,” also known as “lottery”) Form I-485s. These procedures are designed to increase the likelihood that these applications will be adjudicated by the September 30 deadline.

The National Benefits role is very limited. Each Form I-485 is reviewed at the Lockbox against an initial evidence review checklist. Once a Form I-485 is identified as a DV application, which usually occurs at the Lockbox, but if not, should be identified promptly at NBC by reviewing the checklist, NBC stops processing the Form I-485 and sends it to the Field Office with jurisdiction over the applicant.

The ASC appointment notice for biometrics will still be generated as part of the NBC process. The Field Office has to manually schedule an interview for the DV applicant. This should result in faster processing, and avoid any delays. As you may know, applicants must complete the process by September 30 of the year they are selected for the DV. Otherwise, the visa will be lost.

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They say that America is the land of opportunity, and therefore, so many people desire to Immigrate to this country.

Amid the news of an upcoming General Motors bankruptcy, the recession is not showing any signs of retreat. During these tough economic times, many institutions are trying to do their share to ease up the pain. US Citizenship and Immigration Services is not one of them. For USCIS this is business as usual.

When one applies for a US visa, whether it is for a Temporary work visa or for Permanent Residency, there is a fee charged for the processing of the application. These fees paid to the government range between $300 and $1365, depending on the type of application. While this is expensive, it is acceptable so long as it represents the actual costs of the service provided. Yet, there is a growing school of thought that USCIS currently charging fees way out of line with the actual costs.

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US Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), along with Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) today introduced legislation to re-emphasize family unity in the US immigration system. The Reuniting Families Act would help legal immigrants reunite with their families and end decade-long waiting times for legal immigrant visas.

Senator Schumer said: “No matter our disagreements about how to reform our immigration laws, we can at least agree that families should not be made to suffer in the process. We can have a policy that is tough, but fair, and emphasizing family unity as a principle is key to ensuring that fairness.”

The legislation would reinforce the historical emphasis on families in the immigration system and reduce current wait times in the family immigration system by:

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The information that is provided in this post is relevant as of Friday May 15, 2009. This is coming from our local AILA chapter Chair.

As many of our readers know, at the conclusion of the Marriage based adjustment of status interview, the immigration officer, upon approval, used to stamp the immigrant’s passport with the I-551 (Green Card) stamp. This used to be an immediate proof that the case has been approved and the applicant could work and travel using this stamp. As the actual production of the Green Cards became so fast, the practice of stamping applicants’ passports stopped as well in most states across the nation.

The stamp mentioning temporary evidence of I-551 or permanent resident status is valid for a year. It is valid proof of permanent resident status for employment and travel purposes. There is no need to worry about traveling on such a simple looking stamp. The ink used is security ink. The Port of Entry (POE) officers can quickly determine if a stamp is genuine. Those with genuine stamps can travel in the same manner as individuals who have received the Form I-551 or the plastic green card. The temporary stamp, which is valid for one year, can be renewed if needed. (Recently, in late January 2009, we have heard that some airlines in Europe are requiring applicants with I-551 stamps to also obtain a travel document in order to board. This may be due to the airlines not fully understanding documentary requirements under U.S. law).

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The American Immigration Policy Center issued an excellent Fact Sheet about H2A farm orkers and the need for reform.

The Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security (AgJOBS) Act has long served as a blueprint for comprehensive immigration reform. AgJOBS, which combines an earned legalization program for farmworkers with a reform of the H-2A temporary foreign agricultural worker program demonstrates a successful model for compromise where workers and employers have come together to resolve their differences. The dysfunctional U.S. immigration system is currently standing in the way of addressing deeper structural problems that impact U.S. workers and U.S. competitiveness in a globalized market. As Congress proceeds, here are a few facts about the current challenges at the intersection of immigration policy and agriculture, and why addressing these issues is critical to the nation’s economy.

Here is an interesting fact :Most farmworkers are not authorized to work legally in the U.S.

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I was shocked when the June 2009 visa bulletin came out. The cutoff date for India in the EB2 category has retrogressed to January 1, 2000. The June Visa Bulletin will become effective as of June 1st. Thus, the May Visa Bulletin, with an EB2 India cutoff date of February 15, 2004 remains effective through May 31, 2009.

Why is this happening clients ask? The high level of demand in the EB2 India category, and the need to keep within the annual limits set by law. The DOS stated that it is currently not possible to estimate whether this retrogression will continue for the rest of the fiscal year. My predication is that it will get worse before it will get better. We will keep you posted.

Click here for the June 2009 Bulletin

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As attorneys that handle numerous I-601 waiver cases, we are following the Consulate in Ciudad Juarez very closely. Clients are worried about their waiver appointments and are confused about any potential delays. The U.S. Consulate General in Ciudad Juarez will re-open consular operations on a rolling basis. The Consulate’s American Citizen Services unit will resume full operations effective today.

Immigrant visa operations will resume on May 18. The panel physicians will reopen on May 11 to accommodate applicants with consular appointments on or after May 18. Applicants whose appointments were cancelled have been rescheduled for the period June 5 – June 12. Please see the link above for an updated list of rescheduled appointments.

Applicants who have I-601 waiver appointments scheduled after May 7 should proceed to the Consulate as scheduled. Even if previously notified that their appointments were cancelled, applicants should attend their regularly scheduled appointments. Applicants wishing to reschedule should contact the call center at 01-900-849-4949 (from Mexico) or 1-900-476-1212 (from the U.S.).

We will keep you posted.

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The Swine Flu saga continues. Mexico reported three new deaths from the swine flu epidemic Saturday and urged citizens not to let their guard down against a virus that has killed 19 in people in Mexico and is spreading across Asia and Europe.

Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said Mexico’s confirmed swine flu cases jumped to 473, including the 19 deaths. The previous death toll in Mexico was 16. A Mexican toddler also died in Texas days ago, for a worldwide total of 20.

In accordance with measures announced by the Government of Mexico to limit the congregation of large crowds to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and the U.S. Consulate General in Ciudad Juarez advise that most consular services are being suspended. The dates listed below may change. The Embassy and Consulate General will monitor the H1N1 situation continuously during the week and will update information on our website if the dates of the suspension of service change.

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