Visa Lawyer Blog

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The Department of State announced the introduction of a redesigned Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA). The CRBA is an official record confirming that a child born overseas to a U.S. citizen parent acquired U.S. citizenship at birth. The redesigned document has state-of-the-art security features that make it extremely resistant to alterations or forgery.

CRBAs have been printed at U.S. Embassies and Consulates around the world since their introduction in 1919. Effective January 3, 2011, CRBAs will be printed at the passport facilities in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and New Orleans, Louisiana. Centralizing production and eliminating the distribution of controlled blank form stock throughout the world ensures improved uniform quality and lessens the threat of fraud.

Applications for U.S. passports and the redesigned CRBA will also use the title of “parent” as opposed to “mother” and “father.” These improvements are being made to provide a gender neutral description of a child’s parents and in recognition of different types of families according to the Department of State.

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A few months ago we posted the most recent update about Visa Waiver overstay adjudications in San Diego District office and other offices, see here

In San Diego the situation is still on hold and there is no clear guidance yet. Nationwide we have some clarity. This is the update by Stephen Manning, AILA Amicus Chair & Laura Lunn, 2010 ILG Summer Immigration Litigation Fellow:

In Bradley v. Holder, the government filed a Brief in Opposition to the cert request. While it seems doubtful that the Supreme Court will grant certiorari to hear the argument given the government’s position and the general state of the law among the circuits, the government’s brief presents the position of the United States. Indeed, the brief can be cited in litigation as the considered interpretation of the statutes and policy of the United States as it comes from the Solicitor General.

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More news from Arizona. Immigration hawks Sen. Russell Pearce, the author of SB1070, and Rep. John Kavanagh will attend a Jan. 5 press conference at the National Press Club to introduce model legislation that aims to force the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the longstanding interpretation of the 14th Amendment that grants citizenship to the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants. Lawmakers from 14 states who plan to introduce the bill will attend as well.

Legislators in Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah plan to introduce birthright citizenship bills in 2011. What a way to start 2011??

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Immigration law is important and that is all that we cover most of the time. But our immigrant readers, may be facing other legal challenges from time to time. So we rely on our lawyer friends from across the country, to provide guest articles and reports. This week we are proud to feature Attorney Habib Hasbini’s Employment Law expertise.

Many of our clients and Blog readers are immigrants on work visas. Employment Law and Immigration often go side by side, so the info presented in this article should be very useful to our readers. We often hear the term overtime as it relates to employment practices, but what is Overtime?

An employer may dictate the employee’s work schedule and hours and legally require the employee work overtime. The employer may discipline an employee, up to and including termination, if the employee refuses to work scheduled overtime.

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As Lawyers specializing in Investment visas we often get questions from clients about the amount of investment needed for an E2 visa and what money can be used to invest. The source of the funds is a key determination for any successful E2 case.

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

a.) Develop and direct the operations of an enterprise in which they have invested, or are actively in the process of investing a substantial amount of capital;

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We recently learned that USCIS is planning to publish proposed rule to establish a mandatory, Internet-based, electronic registration process for U.S. employers seeking to file H-1B petitions for workers that are subject to either the 65,000 or 20,000 annual numerical limitations.

This rule proposes an electronic registration program for petitions subject to numerical limitations contained in the Immigration and Nationality Act. Initially, the program would be for the H-1B nonimmigrant classification; however, other nonimmigrant classifications will be added as needed.

This action is necessary because the demand for H-1B specialty occupation workers by U.S. companies generally exceeds the numerical limitation. This rule is intended to allow USCIS to more efficiently manage the intake and lottery process for these H-1B petitions. We are concerned that large H1B filers may find a way to abuse the registration system, leaving smaller employers at a risk of loosing visas.

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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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In light of the increase in RFEs focused on the employer-employee relationship, right to control, and availability of “qualifying employment” at third-party worksites, here are some suggestions in order to maximize the likelihood of securing a three-year H-1B extension for petitions involving placement at third-party worksites:

1. Submit a certified labor condition application (LCA) that lists multiple work locations, including the Petitioner’s home office address, as well as the third-party worksite location(s);

2. Document “qualifying employment” for the Beneficiary at the third-party worksite through End-Client letters confirming a project duration of longer than a year, preferably for the entire three years if the requested validity is three years;

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Gov. David A. Paterson announced that he had issued pardons to 24 immigrants with prior criminal convictions, to prevent their deportation.

In a statement, Mr. Paterson said his administration had reviewed more than 1,100 pardon applications and found that federal immigration laws were often “excessively harsh and in need of modernization.” Tell me about it.

Mr. Paterson said the 24 people he pardoned had committed offenses in the past but had paid their debt to society and were now making positive contributions to their communities.

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The US National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for parts of New York, New Jersey and other states along the east coast of the United States as a major winter storm bears down on the area on Sunday.

A band of frigid weather was snaking up the East Coast on Sunday, promising blizzards and a foot of snow for New York City and New England, while several states made emergency declarations as the storm caused crashes on slick roads.Heavy snow and blizzards in parts of North Carolina were making driving conditions difficult, and there were dozens of traffic accidents.

North Carolina authorities reported a fatal traffic accident near Charlotte.The North Carolina Highway Patrol said late on Saturday that most of the roads in and around Asheville were either covered or partially covered with snow and ice.

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