By Yingfei Zhou, Esq.
The B-1 business visitor visa allows foreign businesspersons to be admitted into the U.S. so that they may engage in certain temporary business activities. B-1 business visitors are not required to obtain work authorization prior to being admitted because they are not entering the U.S. labor market and they are admitted to the U.S. without Numerical limit.
Who qualifies as a business visitor?
On Saturday, September 6th, the White House announced that the President would be holding off on taking executive action, to bring about immigration reform, until after November elections. Although president Obama announced that he would take executive action in June, mounting pressure from Senate Democrats prompted president Obama to abandon ship on such promises until later this year. Democrats fighting for a seat in the Senate had been fearful that if President Obama would act on the promise he had made earlier this summer, they would lose their re-election bids, and overall bargaining power in the House and Senate. White House officials expressed that if the president were to act on such a promise, before the November elections; the decision might jeopardize the sustainability of the policy and might have negative repercussions on comprehensive immigration reform as a whole. While some have considered President Obama’s move to be strategic, others have seen the decision as another empty promise and failed attempt by the Obama administration to bring about comprehensive immigration reform. In a recent interview with NBC, president Obama reiterated that he would act on immigration reform, because he feels it is the right thing. According to him however, it would be most effective to act if the public understands the facts on immigration. According to white house officials, after November elections, the pressure to act on immigration reform would take on a whole new meaning. The house and senate would be re-energized and the topic would no longer be as politicized. Within this frame of mind, Republicans and Democrats alike could maximize the odds of bringing about immigration reform by coming together with integrity on the issue, rather than at each other’s throats prior to the elections. For further updates, please continue to visit our blog.
What is the purpose of filing an I-751 Petition for Removal of Conditions?
If you were granted conditional residence based on your marriage to a U.S. Citizen or legal permanent resident, you must file the I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on your Permanent Resident Card. This form allows the conditional resident to request USCIS to remove the conditions on their residence. For conditional residents who are still married, the petition must be filed jointly with your spouse through with you gained your conditional residence.
But what happens when the marriage ends in divorce, annulment, or other factors?
The conditional resident can request for waiver of the joint filing requirement IF any of the following applies:
For the purposes of this segment, we will focus on what must be proven when a conditional resident’s marriage ends in divorce or annulment.
By Marie Puertollano, Esq.
When an immigrant gets married with a U.S citizen, the immigrant can obtain a green card either through consular processing, if the immigrant is outside the United States, or through adjustment of status within the United States, if the immigrant entered with a visa and is present in the United States. This article will focus on the interview that will be the last step of the adjustment of status and will take place at a USCIS field office within the United States.
Why are we interviewed?
From our family to yours, Happy Labor Day!
On August 23rd the Chief of the Department of State’s Immigrant Visa Control and Reporting Division, Charles Oppenheim, made an important announcement regarding significant changes made to the EB-5 preference category. Oppenheim announced that for the first time since the creation of the EB-5 category, the EB-5 preference category would become unavailable to Chinese applicants for the 2014 fiscal years.
What does it mean for the EB-5 preference category to become unavailable?
What the department means is that, the maximum number of EB-5 immigrant visas available to Chinese applicants for the fiscal year of 2014 have already been issued. Thus, there are no longer any available EB-5 immigrant visas for the 2014 fiscal year.
You are a H-1B visa holder from a country with a backlogged employment based category and you are currently living and working in the United States. You have applied for permanent residence through your employer. You have been working for the same employer for years and have extensive experience in your field. Despite all of these factors, you are still waiting in line for your priority date to become current, and what’s more, your spouse has not been eligible to apply for their employment authorization due to the restrictions on their visa. What, if anything, can be done to receive your permanent resident card sooner?
Thousands of immigrants are in the same hypothetical situation. Comprehensive Immigration Reform is necessary not just for undocumented immigrants living in the United States, but also for such specialty workers who regularly contribute to our economy and society, but are stuck in limbo awaiting their permanent residency. Comprehensive immigration reform is also necessary because specialty occupation workers often run out of their H-1B status while they are in line for their priority date to become current. If the specialty occupation worker is married, chances are their spouse has not had the opportunity or privilege to legally obtain employment while the primary applicant has been in line waiting to adjust their status. Many immigrants who have found themselves in similar situations fear international travel due to the risk they may run in not being able to return to the United States.
Bypassing the Quota System
Much of the deliberation surrounding immigration reform has largely occurred behind closed doors, despite pressure from the booming immigrant population in the United States to become more transparent. In a much anticipated June speech, President Obama announced that he would be utilizing executive action to bring about comprehensive immigration reform in response to Congress’ inaction.
For the most part, the administration has remained mum about the process and the proposals that have been laid out on the table.
Here’s what we do know about what is happening behind closed doors:
By Lupe Lopez
Francis was excited. As a student of holistic nutrition, he had excelled and the school he was attending wanted him to stay on to work with them as an assistant instructor. The school Francis was attending in the M1 status was pleased with his depth of knowledge and his ability to work with people. They wanted to find a way for Francis to work with them and to help other students achieve the level of knowledge that he had and so willingly shared. Also, Francis not only had previous education, he had years of experience in a community clinic using holistic nutrition and alternative medicine to heal people of serious ailments.
Francis called us excitedly looking to learn about his employment options. The school had not ever offered optional practical training (OPT) to their foreign students and although they are SEVIS certified (schools are required to be certified to enroll foreign students), they were not able to answer the questions that Francis had relative to employment authorization.
It is our pleasure to introduce our most senior Paralegal, Linda Parrish, to our readers.
Bio: Linda has been working with the Law Offices of Jacob J. Sapochnick since 2005. Linda has extensive knowledge of all aspects of immigration law, though her specialty lies in assisting investors, executives, and corporate clients to meet their immigration needs. She is also our resident Notary Public. Linda Parrish is an asset to our team for her expertise, kindness, and for the invaluable contributions she has made to our firm.
Mrs. Parrish is married, has four adult children and several grandchildren. She enjoys quilting and crocheting in her spare time.
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