Visa Lawyer Blog

by

Very Important information: DREAMers NOT currently in proceedings ( should NOT apply affirmatively for Deferred Action at this time. USCIS has stated that they will begin accepting affirmative applications by mid-August—stay tuned to our Blog for information about when this affirmative process will be available.

USCIS has stated that they will begin accepting affirmative applications by mid-August—stay tuned to this page for information about when this affirmative process will be available. Individuals who are about to be removed and who believe they can demonstrate that they satisfy the eligibility criteria should immediately contact either the Law Enforcement Support Center’s hotline at 1-855-448-6903 (staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) or the ICE Office of the Public Advocate through the Office’s hotline at 1-888-351-4024 (staffed 9am – 5pm, Monday – Friday)

Be careful of non lawyers trying to push you to file as you may be putting yourself at risk.

Continue reading

by

The American Immigration Lawyers Association released a great point by point discussion list for the new Policy, here is something to consider:

This action by the Department of Homeland Security stops the unjust deportation of promising youth—

These are some of the most compelling victims of our broken immigration system.

Continue reading

by

Since President Obama signed the E2 Investor Visa Bill with Israel, we get a lot of questions from prospective applicants as to when can they start applying for the Visa.

The most updated information on this subject was provided at the American Immigration Lawyers Association National Conference in Nashville, TN, that I attended as well. The information was presented at the Department of State open Forum by Mr. David S. Newman, Director, Office of Legal Affairs, Visa Services based in Washington DC. Mr. Newman stated that reciprocity must be established at this time between Israel and United States before the Visa filing can take effect.

usa_israel_flag.gif

The implementation of the Investor Visa with Israel will not be effective until the terms and conditions of the final agreement are determined between the two countries, issues of binding commitment from Israel on all terms of the agreement.

Continue reading

by

We just got the word that a major announcement will be made shortly. DHS will formally announce this morning that it will offer deferred action to DREAMers.

Who are these DREAMers? These are kids who were brought to this country illegally by their parents or perhaps another relative. They had no choice in entering America, but they were raised as Americans with American dreams. And they did what was expected of them to achieve that dream — stayed out of trouble, studied hard, got good grades. But as they look forward to college many of them won’t be able to pursue the career they want because of the actions of an adult in their lives years ago.

Preliminary information indicates that eligible applicants must:

Continue reading

by

At the American Immigration Lawyers Association Conference today, we heard updates about the increased H1B visa RFE’s and rate of denials. As the practice of H1B filings will continue to become more complex, it is important to know how to file and document H1B cases in specific occupations to increase the approval chances.

Attorney Ekaterina Powell from our office has handled numerous H-1B cases and has prepared this article to share her expertise. Now that the H-1B annual cap for fiscal year 2013 has been reached, the individuals who have missed this year’s cap are looking for other options to extend their stay and apply for H-1B next April.

We would like to remind those who wish to use next year’s H-1B Cap to plan in advance and have everything ready long before April 1, 2013. The accelerated speed with which H-1B cap was reached this year may be a sign that the visas will run out even faster next April.

Continue reading

by

So the H1B season is over, faster than expected. But what occupations were the most popular this H1B season, how many Computers Programmers, Engineers, Consultants, etc were filed this past few months? The Labor Department provided statistics as to the number of Labor Condition Applications (LCA) filed this season.

LCA stands for Labor Condition Application. Before an employer may file an H1B petition, the employer must first file an LCA with the Department of Labor. In filing an LCA, the employer attests to a number of conditions that must be followed during the term of the LCA. An employer may withdraw and LCA if the employer revokes the H1B petition. If an employer fails to adhere to the representations made, the DOL may bring an action to compel back pay and fines.

72,604 Programmer Analysts H1B LCA’s were filed, the top occupation. New Jersey is the leading state in filing Visas. California is second. Read more below:

Continue reading

by

Bad news, but it is official. The annual H-1B cap has been reached for this year, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and at a pace that is several months ahead of last year.

The U.S. issues 85,000 H-1B visas each year under its cap, with 20,000 of that number set aside for advanced degree graduates of U.S. universities.

The USCIS, which begins accepting H-1B petitions on April 1 of each year, announced today that the openings for fiscal 2013 have been filled.

Continue reading

by

We have been following the E2 visa Bill for Israel for months, well the wait is over.

President Obama, today, signed into law legislation making Israelis eligible for two-year investor visas.

The legislation from Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) cleared the House and Senate without objection. Israel is already one of the largest sources of foreign direct investment to the United States, but the E-2 visas for investors to come investigate business opportunities should help both the United States and Israel.

Continue reading

by

Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin drew public ire last month following the revelation that he had renounced his U.S. citizenship, a move widely seen as a tax dodge. But thousands of wealthy foreigners are lining up to replace him, making investments here and putting themselves on a path to citizenship in the process.

The State Department expects to issue over 6,000 “investor visas” in the current fiscal year, which would be an all-time record. Other countries, meanwhile, are following the U.S.’s lead, keen to spur growth in lean economic times.

“Our goal is certainly job creation, and that’s what this program is all about,” said Bill Wright, a spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. “At the same time, it’s allowing somebody from a foreign country to come and invest in our nation.”
Under the government’s EB-5 Immigrant Investor program, foreign investors can get conditional visas that allow them and their families to live, work and attend school in the U.S. To qualify for the visa, they must invest at least $1 million in a new or recently created business, or $500,000 for businesses in rural or high-unemployment areas.

The investment must be demonstrated to have created or preserved at least 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers within two years. Assuming this condition is met, investors and their families go through the next process that grants them permanent resident status, which allows them to apply for U.S. citizenship three years later.

While the EB-5 program has been around since 1990, demand has been surging as of late, fueled in large part by China’s growing elite, who accounted for 70% of the roughly 3,500 investor visas issued last year. State Department officials expect the program’s quota of 10,000 visas per year, which includes visas given to the spouses and children of investors, to be filled for the first time ever within the next year or two.

Some critics of the U.S. program question the fairness of letting wealthy immigrants pay for special treatment, while others say investments and job creation claims need stricter vetting. Immigrants who arrive via the program have no guarantee of recovering their investments, and may face deportation if they don’t produce the required number of jobs.

Of the roughly 12,000 immigrants who’ve arrived on the EB-5 investor visa, just 39% have earned permanent residency, according to USCIS data. There’s also the lengthy application and approval process — a 2005 study by the Government Accountability Office said the program’s reputation for red tape had decreased interest among foreigners in prior years.

USCIS press secretary Christopher Bentley said in an email that the agency “continues to take steps to enhance [the EB-5 program’s] efficiency and integrity.” USCIS recently expanded the team of analysts responsible for evaluating EB-5 projects and proposals, he said.

Whatever the program’s problems, interest has been growing recently, and meanwhile, the U.S. has faced increasing competition from other countries trying to woo well-heeled foreigners with the promise of residency or citizenship. In January, Ireland announced a new residency program for immigrant investors, and Australia unveiled a similar program last month.

Continue reading

by

Brenda Vazquez is a 29-year-old elementary school teacher in Matamoros, Mexico. Laura Castro lives across the border in Brownsville, Texas. She is a 32-year-old housewife who helps her husband manage several stores. They share one thing in common: Both say they were delivered by midwives in south Texas, but pressured by U.S. Border Patrol agents to deny their U.S. citizenship. Their problems began, according to attorney Jaime Diez, when a group of midwives along the U.S.-Mexico border were found guilty of selling birth certificates to people who were not born in the United States.

“Now all the midwives in the area are suspected of committing fraud,” said Diez, who said his office regularly sees cases of people delivered by midwives in Texas. Some of them are struggling to get passports because officials question the validity of their birth certificates, he said. Others have been deported and had their identification documents confiscated at the border, he said.

Vazquez, who Diez is representing in a federal lawsuit filed last week, said she was intimidated into signing a document swearing she was not a U.S. citizen at a border crossing in Brownsville, Texas, last year. “He said, ‘You’d better cooperate with me, because if you don’t, you’re going to jail. I had to lie and say that I was not a citizen. … I was quite scared. I was crying,” the second-grade teacher said.

Continue reading