Articles Posted in Immigrant Visas

Some good News about the February Visa Bulletin. The employment-based, second preference (EB2) category cutoff date moves forward by a full year, to January 1, 2010 for India and China. This is actually very encouraging for many applicant out there.

The decision to dramatically advance the cutoff dates is based on USCIS reports of low rates for adjustment-of-status (I-485) filings, despite recent EB2 cutoff date advancement. This greatly expands the number of individuals who soon will be eligible to file Form I-485 toward becoming U.S. permanent residents. Nevertheless, visa numbers could stop advancing or even retrogress very soon. The logical thing to do is act fast and file if your number is current.

It is sad to see so many qualified well educated applicants, struggling to plan a future in the US. If the priority date system is not to change in the near future, expect more qualified talent leaving our shores to Europe, Canada and Australia. They know how to welcome qualified, well educated immigrants.

Below is the story of several individuals who were able to come to America through asylum. These individuals have built families here, have jobs and contribute to America by doing their duty like any American citizen. Unfortunately, these individuals have not been able to gain permanent residency since coming to the United States….

Nassir Al-Rifahe never thought his love for America would be questioned.

As a member of the Iraqi National Congress, he worked for years to topple Saddam Hussein before being granted political asylum in the United States in 1997.

But for the last decade, while Mr. Rifahe, 57, lived quietly with his family in Texas and Minnesota, the Department of Homeland Security has refused to grant his application for a green card, instead letting the case languish unresolved.

Under a sweeping section of federal immigration law, the government considers Mr. Rifahe to have engaged in terrorist-related activity, making him ineligible to live here permanently. That the group Mr. Rifahe worked for was once supported by the United States and tried to overthrow Saddam Hussein matters little.

“It is not fair; I want to stay here,” Mr. Rifahe said. “How come they helped me before, but now they say I am a terrorist? I can’t believe this. Never would I do this.”
An estimated 4,000 cases similar to Mr. Rifahe’s are on hold around the country. Some have dragged on for years as immigration officials wrestle with how to handle people previously granted political asylum or refugee status in this country, but whose past affiliations technically bar them from permanent residency.

Many of the cases involve people who belonged to groups in their homelands once backed by Washington, immigration lawyers and human rights advocates say. Often, it is their connection to those groups that allowed the immigrants to come here in the first place.

The situation has created a conundrum for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, which acknowledges that the individuals pose no threat to national security. But the agency says existing law would force their green card applications to be denied and has instead placed the cases on hold until special exemptions can be created.

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Many Israelis were defrauded by Mr. San Klein in the past decade, he is known to be the mastermind behind the R1 visa fraud scheme.He admitted orchestrating a multi-faceted fraud scheme that included filing false tax returns and making false claims to enable aliens to obtain religious worker visas and has been sentenced to 63 months in federal prison.

The R-1 visa category is suitable for religious ministers and for persons working in a religious vocation or occupation wishing to migrate to the United States of America. Under the program, churches, synagogues and mosques can ask the gove rnment to grant visas to foreigners to fill vacant positions. The sponsoring group or the foreigner may file the application. An applicant must include letters from a sponsor attesting that he or she has been a member of its denomination for at least two years, that the applicant will fill a specific religious position and is qualified for the job. The application also must provide evidence that the sponsor is a bona fide religious organization that qualifies for nonprofit tax status.

The U.S. government issues several thousand religious worker visas each year. There are two types: temporary three-year visas, and “green cards” that allow foreigners to become permanent residents. The Homeland Security study looked only at petitions for green cards, but the report noted that the three-year visa program faces identical fraud risks. The program dates to 1990, and has been used primarily by the Catholic Church. The State Department said that statistics breaking down recipients by faith are not available, but the majority do not come from predominantly Muslim countries. The program has long been suspected of being susceptible to fraud.

As many of you may know the DOL has suspended issuing prevailing wage determinations for several weeks now. Such determinations are essential to start any PERM case.

On Wednesday, August 24, 2011, AILA received reports from members that PERM prevailing wage determinations are beginning to be received for requests submitted in early June 2011. Additionally, AILA has been in discussions with other stakeholders on possible courses of action, including individual mandamus actions, if DOL does not resume issuing prevailing wage determinations promptly.

The following are a few questions that were brought up to the DOL in light of the recent delays, see what they responded:

Recently, USCIS published new guidelines for the Employment Based Second Preference (EB-2) Immigrant Visa Category. In particular the new guidelines outline how Entrepreneurs can apply under the National Interest Waiver under this visa category. An Entrepreneur qualifies under this category in two ways, as a person holding an advanced degree, and a person who has an exceptional ability in the arts, sciences, or business.

First, the Entrepreneur must show that he or she is a person who holds an advanced degree or an individual of exceptional ability. Next, the Entrepreneur must show that their work is in the national interest. Although the term “national interest” is not defined by law, the case of New York State Department of Transportation has a three prong test that the Entrepreneur must meet in order to qualify. The three prongs of the test are:

1. The waiver applicant must seek employment in an area that has substantial intrinsic merit.

USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas discusses on the official USCIS blog, The Beacon, how current immigration policies will spur job growth and bolster the U.S. economy. The United States has a long, rich history of welcoming innovative entrepreneurs and skilled workers into our country. These men and women fuel our nation’s economy by creating jobs, and promoting new technologies and ideas. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and outlined a series of new policy, operational, and outreach efforts that will help fuel the nation’s economy and stimulate investment by making it easier for high-skill immigrants to start and grow companies and create jobs here in the United States.

Encouraging the kinds of streamlining measures USCIS is taking today has been one key focus of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness because they help ensure that America can continue to out-innovate and out-compete the world in a global economy.

As part of the Administration’s comprehensive effort to attract and retain high-skill entrepreneurs, USCIS announced that it will:

Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee approved to go forward HR 704, the “Security and Fairness Enhancement for America Act of 2011.” With a name like that, you would think the bill was many hundreds of pages and proposed changes to the court system or at least dealt with the huge backlogs in the immigration adjudication system that were the subject of recent hearings before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee. However, the bill, introduced by Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), is little more than a page, and does nothing but cut the number of new legal immigrants to the United States by eliminating a small program known as the Diversity Visa.

The bill, sponsored by Intellectual Property Subcommittee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), was reported favorably to the House floor by a vote of 19-11. According to the Subcommitte, “This program is plagued by fraud and is an open door for terrorists.”

For a little background information, The diversity visa program was created in 1990 to increase diversity in the United States immigrant population by providing up to 55,000 greencard visas per year. Since they were first issued in 1995, over 785,000 diversity visas have been issued. Individuals who receive a diversity visa are free to petition for greencard visas for their family members.

We have recently won another incredible case under the National Interest Waiver Category for a renowned scientist in the field of neuropathic pain! Attorneys Ekaterina Powell and Andrew Desposito from our office did a great job in this case. Andrew provides another summary of the process for our readers.

In this second part of the National Interest Waiver series, we discuss another class of persons who qualify. As before, there are two types of individuals who may be granted a green card through the National Interest Waiver: an Alien that is a member of a profession holding an advanced degree, and an Alien that has commanded a salary, or other remuneration for services, which demonstrates exceptional ability. This article will discuss the Alien that is a member of a profession holding an advanced degree.

In order to be an Alien that is a member of a profession holding an advanced degree, one must show two things: That the Alien is a member of the professions holding an advanced degree and the Alien meets the requirements as discussed in Matter of New York State Department of Transportation, Interim Decision 3363, (Aug. 1998). If an Alien meets the requirements as set forth above, he will be granted a green card under the National Interest Waiver.

The Alien is a member of the professions holding an advanced degree

Our client that got his I-140 petition approved is a leading international expert and a pain specialist with special skills in Interventional Pain Procedures, Neuropathic Pain Management, Cancer Pain, and Palliative Cares. His research in the field of neuropathic pain treatments is unquestionably significant and is recognized on the international level. Our clients’ credentials include a medical degree from his home country, a two year study on Pain Management at a Pain Clinic, and another three years as Coordinator of that same clinic. In addition, we submitted our client’s curriculum vitae to outline their Education, Professional and Research Experience, Oral Presentations, Scientific Publications, Professional Association Memberships, Professional Development Courses, and Honors and Awards.

Another point discussed in our client’s case was the various organizations and places the individual has been invited to lecture. We demonstrated, through many exhibits, the organizations our client participated in as a member related to his field of work, as well as documents that show the various lectures and seminars our client spoke as an expert on his field of expertise.

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As Lawyers who specialize in I-601 extreme Hardship Waivers, we often hear of concerns form family members traveling to Ciudad Juarez for Visa Interview. An I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility, is filed to permit an alien who has been denied admission to the United States to gain admission as a lawful permanent resident or fiancé(e) under certain circumstances. This waiver is based on extreme hardship to United States citizen or lawful permanent resident relatives of the alien which would result if the alien’s inadmissibility cannot be waived.

Today we have an alarming message from the Consulate that we wanted to share with our readers. The U.S. Consulate General in Ciudad Juarez is issuing this Emergency Message for U.S. citizens in the state of Chihuahua (“Emergency Messages” were formerly known as “Warden Messages”). The Consulate has distributed the following message to our staff:

Mexican authorities have captured key members of the cartels active in Juarez. These successes also bring with them the potential for an increase in violence. The cartels may seek to retaliate and increase their attacks against rival cartel members, Mexican law enforcement and/or the public in general.