Visa Lawyer Blog

by

A final rule has gone into effect allowing the U.S. Department of State (DOS) to issue L visas based on the visa reciprocity schedule. Under current regulations, L visa issuance is limited to the petition validity period, which is determined by the Department of Homeland Security and cannot exceed three years.

The DOS has changed the regulation to allow a visa to be issued for the same period as determined in the reciprocity schedule, which reflects the reciprocal treatment the foreign national applicant’s country accords U.S. nationals.

Nationals from countries for which the reciprocity schedule prescribes visa validity for a longer period of time that the initial validity period indicated in the petition that was approved by the Department of Homeland Security and who have extended their stay in the U.S. would benefit from the pending rule. They would not need to re-apply for an L visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate overseas if they travel outside the U.S. during the period specified in the relevant reciprocity schedule, the number of visa applications that a foreign national will need to make will be reduced.

Continue reading

by

It looks like another state might be following California’s example soon. Immigrant students in New York City have gotten the attention of assemblymen in the New York state assembly.

The teens from Brooklyn and Queens are pressuring the polls to pass legislation that would help young people without papers get aid for higher education.

“I’m going to tell them that people like me, we want to succeed, we want to go to college,” said Katherine Tabares, 16, a senior at International High School. She left Colombia for Corona, Queens, two years ago and overstayed a tourist visa after her mother decided to remain in the city. She’s racked up 21 college-level credits and wants to become an environmental engineer — but won’t get state aid for higher ed because she doesn’t have a green card.

Continue reading

by

The Department of Labor (the Department) is amending its regulations governing the certification of the employment of nonimmigrant workers in temporary or seasonal non-agricultural employment and the enforcement of the obligations applicable to employers of such nonimmigrant workers. This Final Rule revises the process by which employers obtain a temporary labor certification from the Department for use in petitioning the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to employ a nonimmigrant worker in H-2B status. Theses are major changes, so please review the chart below to compare with the 2009 changes.

2009 2012 h2 b comps

View more documents from usvisalaw

by

Israelis may soon be able to live and work in the US as small Business owners by investing money in active and new Businesses. The US Congress is currently legislating a bill that, if passed, will make it easier for Israeli businessmen and investors to receive a visa to the US.

Jewish US Congressman Anthony Weiner from New York placed a bill on the House Judiciary Committee’s table that will allow Israeli investors access to this benefit.

The E2 visa is a special non-immigrant visa available to nationals of treaty countries entering the US to do the following:

Continue reading

by

Some good news to help speed up the process of getting a Student Visa. On January 19, 2012, President Obama announced an initiative to improve and speed up the visa process for certain categories of travelers. One of the cornerstones of this initiative is the Department of State’s Nonimmigrant Visa Interview Waiver Pilot Program, under which certain foreign visitors who were interviewed in conjunction with a prior visa application may be able to renew their visas without undergoing another interview.

What are the prevailing interview and fingerprint requirements of the U.S. nonimmigrant visa (NIV) application process?

Generally, all Non Immigrant applicants must make a personal appearance and be interviewed by a consular officer. In addition, visa applicants must provide biometric identifiers for verifying their identity (the biometric identifiers currently required are fingerprints and a photo image).

Continue reading

by

PERM is the process for obtaining labor certification, the first step of the green card process for foreign nationals seeking permanent residence through their employment.

To obtain an approved PERM Labor Certification, the employer must prove (through newspaper advertising and other recruiting methods) that they were unsuccessful in recruiting a qualified U.S. worker for a certain position.

The employer must be prepared to hire the foreign worker on a full-time and permanent basis. Watch our Video to learn more, and yes you can subscribe to our You Tube Channel as well, click here.

Continue reading

by

For more than a century, agriculture has been an entry point into the labor market for immigrants in the United States. Presently, close to three-fourths of all U.S. hired farm workers are immigrants, most of them unauthorized. Their unauthorized legal status, low wages, and an inconsistent work schedule contribute to a precarious economic state.

In a move that reflects the growing agricultural labor shortage across the country, Kansas Agriculture Secretary Dale Rodman has decided to seek a federal waiver that would allow Kansas dairies and feedlots desperate for workers to hire undocumented immigrants.

The proposal is likely to stir controversy in the Kansas Legislature and divide the Republican majority, some of whose members are pursuing proposals to crack down on illegal immigration. Representatives of the business coalition, which includes agriculture groups and the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, provided a draft copy of their proposed legislation to The Associated Press ahead of its formal introduction in the House and Senate.

Continue reading

by

The question whether a Fiance Visa beneficiary can obtain a work permit during the 90 days visa validity comes up frequently. The K-1 fiance visa was created exclusively for United States citizens engaged to a foreign citizen. It allows a United States citizen to bring their foreign fiance to the United States to live with them permanently, provided that they get married within 90 days of the foreign fiance’s arrival. The United States citizen is called the petitioner and the foreign fiance is called the beneficiary.

This issue came up recently at a meeting between representatives of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and Customs and Border Protection Reps.

By regulation, K-1 nonimmigrant aliens are authorized to engage in employment pursuant to and incident to their status, but they must apply to USCIS for an EAD. 8 C.F.R. §274a.12(a)(6). The EAD requirement creates a significant problem since USCIS routinely takes approximately 90 days to issue an EAD, and applicants may only hold K-1 status for 90 days following admission. Thus, a K-1 entrant cannot effectively obtain work authorization during the period of K-1 admission, even though he or she is supposedly work-authorized “incident to status.”

Continue reading

by

A number of measures to help startups and support entrepreneurs have either been introduced in Congress or on their way. But if lawmakers don’t act on them by early Spring, their sponsors are doubtful they’ll come to pass this year.

Yesterday, President Obama sent Congress a new Startup America Legislative Agenda to accelerate startup and small business growth following his State of the Union Address last week. The agenda lays out his legislative vision as well as his intent to proceed with a series of administrative reforms that would be completed in the future.

Among these are several key immigration initiatives to be implemented at some future point by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State. These include:

Continue reading

by

Rep. David Rivera (R-Fla.) proposed a bill this week similar to the DREAM Act but aimed only at those who serve in the military. Illegal immigrants are currently not allowed to join the military.

“If these young people are willing to die for America, then certainly they deserve a chance at life in America,” Rivera said in a statement.

Rivera’s bill, called the ARMS Act, would grant illegal immigrants who join the military the ability to apply for permanent resident status after five years.

Continue reading