Visa Lawyer Blog

Articles Posted in Global Immigration

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On May 01, 2014 U.S. Customs and Border Protection launched a revamped webpage which allows non-immigrant visitors entering the United States, to access their I-94 arrival/departure record and their arrival/departure history. Prior to April 2013, non-immigrant visitors could only access and retrieve their recent I-94 arrival/departure record.

The overwhelmingly positive response to the agency’s I-94 arrival/departure online retrieval tool was what prompted the agency to also offer online travel history retrievals on the website. With this new electronic tool, travelers can access both their I-94 arrival/departure record and their arrival/departure history up to five years back from the date of their request. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, non-immigrant travelers may no longer need to file a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA) to obtain their arrival/departure history thanks to this new electronic tool.

Through the website’s new function, travelers will be able to retrieve their I-94 record number, as well as their five year travel history, by entering only their name, date of birth, and passport information. It is important to note that this travel information will not reflect any changes of status, extensions of stay, or adjustments of status granted by USCIS.

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Since the year 1990, USCIS has administered the Immigrant Investor Program, better known as ‘EB-5’. The program was first launched by Congress with the goal of expanding the U.S. economy by encouraging job creation and capital investment through foreign investment. It has now become known for its Regional Center pilot immigration program, with the purpose of allocating certain EB-5 visas to investors in Regional Centers designated by USCIS. These Regional Centers support the goal of economic growth. Recently, the program director of the pilot immigration program, Nicholas Colucci, held a conference with EB-5 stakeholders assuring them that he is committed to revitalizing the program. This action by Colucci signals an interest in making the EB-5 process more efficient, transparent, and resourceful. First a brief overview of the EB-5 visa process:

General Guidelines:

  • Under section 203 (b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act also known as INA, 10,000 EB-5 immigrant visas are allocated per year
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The Law Offices of Jacob J. Sapochnick bring you the most recent developments in immigration policy at the judiciary level. We express our concern at the hesitation the federal judicial system and our federal legislative system has shown in their reluctance to address the issue of comprehensive immigration reform. Recently, two appeals have come before the Supreme Court from the towns of Hazelton in Pennsylvania and Farmers Branch in Texas. These appeals are important because they signal a conflict that has arisen time and time again between state and federal judiciaries regarding immigration policy. Such conflict can only be rectified by calling upon the national government to take a firm stance in clearly delineating immigration law, ultimately setting a precedent for state judiciaries to follow.

Fortunately, the federal government has begun to feel the pressure from the people in hearing such appeals. These appeals clearly bring the issue of comprehensive immigration reform to the forefront specifically in the cases of City of Hazelton v. Lozano (13-531) and City of Farmers Branch V. Villas at Parkside Partners (13-516).

City of Hazelton v. Lozano and City of Farmers Branch v. Villas at Parkside Partners

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On April 17th, USCIS announced that premium processing for H-1B petitions, subject to the fiscal cap year of 2015, would begin on April 28, including petitions qualifying for the advanced degree exemption. Additionally, USCIS guarantees a processing time of 15 calendar days for such petitions.

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Beginning September of 2012, USCIS began granting what is known as deferred action to children who arrived to the United States before reaching the age of 16, having met other various requirements. Eligible deferred action applicants received an employment authorization good for a period of up to two years from USCIS. Applicants who applied for deferred action early on are now facing the expiration of their initial two year employment authorization granted to them by USCIS. Due to this, a DACA renewal process is currently underway, giving qualified applicants the opportunity to request and extend their deferred action, in order to avoid unlawful presence in the United States and be able to continue their employment. Details regarding the renewal process will be released in late May 2014, at which time USCIS anticipates that Form I-821D will be used for the dual purpose of initiating DACA petitions and renewal requests. All DACA applicants who wish to file a renewal request must wait until USCIS releases the new form designated for that purpose. Applicants that wish to file an initial deferred action request and not a renewal, can continue to file using the form currently available.

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As part of our commitment to our international clients, we also provide global Immigration services in many cases. In this article, we will cover the Australian Same Sex Immigration options. Unlike the united States, Australia offers many benefits to same sex couples.

Australia now has two different partner visa subclasses: the spouse visa and prospective marriage (fiancée) visa. The spouse visa subclass is available to couples who are married and to couples who are in a de facto relationship. Couples who are in a de facto relationship include same sex partners. This change occurred in 2009.

Because of this change, same sex partners in a de facto relationship can enter and remain permanently in Australia. Of great note, U.S. immigration law does not afford similar rights to same sex partners of U.S. citizens and permanent residents immigrating to the U.S.

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Expatriate workers who have received a six-month ban on leaving their jobs recently will be able to obtain new work permits from January 1, if they have completed two years with their former employers, a senior official from the Ministry of Labour said.

Humaid Bin Deemas, Acting Director-General at the Ministry, said these workers will be issued new work permits from January even if they have not served the full six-month ban.

Following the implementation of the new rules by the Ministry of Labour, expatriate workers who have completed two years with their employers can change jobs without serving the ban.

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Greek Culture and Tourism Deputy Minister George Nikitiades, who visited Russia recently, stated that the General Consulate of Russia to Greece announced a 52% increase of Russian tourists in Greece. Nikitiades also discussed with touristic agents, who seem to be optimistic and believe that the touristic action of Russians to Greece will increase next year too.

The Minister Mr. Nikitiades felicitated Greece’s ambassador to Moscow, Mr. Spinellis and the General Consul, Mr. Plotas. He also approved the incentive of the Russian President, Dimitri Medvedef, for visa abolition. He underlined that Greece and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Droutsas, supports this action.

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Kuwait’s Labour Ministry has submitted three proposals to the government to help put an end to the controversial sponsorship system.

The proposals are based on studies and recommendations prepared by the ministry, the Arab Labour Organisation and the International Labour Organisation, a source from the ministry has said.

“The ministry took into consideration the specifics of the Kuwaiti labour market as well as the recommendations of international organisations on labour and human rights,” the unnamed source told Kuwaiti daily Al Anbaa on Thursday.

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The number of American students studying in Zimbabwe increased by 200 percent in 2009-10 to a total of 27. During the same period, the number of Zimbabwean students enrolled in U.S. institutions of higher education decreased by 8.7 percent from 1,269 to 1,159, most likely due to economic challenges in Zimbabwe making it difficult for families to pay for fees and tuitions. Open Doors 2010, the annual report on international academic mobility published by the Institute of International Education (IIE) with support from the U.S. Department of State, released these statistics on Monday to mark the beginning of International Education Week.

The number of Zimbabwean students in the U.S. peaked in 2002-03 at 2,186. Today, Zimbabwe is among the top 10 sending countries in Africa, ranking seventh after Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Cameroon, South Africa, and Ethiopia. In 2009, the US Embassy in Harare issued 400 new F-1 student visas.

U.S. Embassy Educational Advisor Rebecca Zeigler Mano attributes the decline to the economic crisis and political instability in Zimbabwe, as well as teacher strikes, inconsistent examination results, election related violence and hyperinflation during the 2007-08 academic years. Parents who previously could fund part or all of their children’s US education through Reserve Bank educational forex allowances and local salaries, could no longer do so during those years. Despite the decline last year, the number of Zimbabweans studying in the U.S. remains high in large part due to the U.S. Embassy educational advising services in Harare and in Bulawayo, as well as a big increase over the last 5 years in the number of Zimbabweans receiving scholarships to study in the US.

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