Visa Lawyer Blog

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Today is Veterans day, and I wanted to send warm wards of support to our Veterans and the active duty men and women fighting for our country day and night.

As it relates to immigration, On July 3, 2002, President George W. Bush signed an Executive Order allowing certain noncitizens to become Naturalized citizens of the United States if they served an in an active-duty status during the war on terrorism.

Additionally,as a Gulf War veteran, one may be eligible for expedited Naturalization under Immigration and Nationality Act section 329, Naturalization through Active-Duty Service in the Armed Forces during World War I, World War II, Korean Hostilities, Vietnam Hostilities, or in other Periods of Military Hostilities. For example, if one performed active duty military service during the Persian Gulf (August 2, 1990 – April 11, 1991) or on or after September 11, 2001, one may be eligible for expedited Naturalization.

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There are certain employers, agents and even Attorney who engage in illegal and unethical practices. The government is working actively to punish such parties by excluding them from filing under the seasonal and permanent Labor Certification programs.

The Office of Foreign Labor Certification maintains the list below of employers, attorneys, and/or agents from the Permanent Labor Certification Program debarred under 20 CFR 656.31(f), the debarment provision, of the regulations governing the labor certification process. For more information on debarments under the Permanent Labor Certification Program, see 20 CFR 656.31(f).

For the complete list click here Download file

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From 31 July 2009, migrants who applied for a Certificate of Approval between 2005 and 2009 have been able to apply for their fee to be repaid. They were required to show that paying the fee caused them real financial hardship at the time of payment. The advertised repayment scheme came to an end on 31 July 2010.

Since 31 July, the UK Border Agency has accepted some adhoc applications for a repayment of the COA fee. The Agency accepted such applications in the interests of ensuring that all those who may have suffered real financial hardship as a result of the COA fee had an adequate opportunity to apply for a repayment. From 1 December, however, the UK Border Agency will no longer accept such applications.

Those wishing to make an ad hoc application for repayment of the COA fee before the repayment scheme finally ends should use the Repayment of Certificate of Approval fee request form COAFR by visiting following link:http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100503160445/http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/partners-other-family/coa-refund-form

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In view of Mr. President Barack Obama visit to South Asian giant ‘India’, here are some updates on Indo-US bilateral relationship. The basic purpose of Mr. Obama’s visit is to strengthen the bilateral relationship. U.S. President Barack Obama began his maiden visit to India on last Saturday by promising to remove restrictions on sensitive high-tech exports, a nagging irritant in the evolution of bilateral ties, even as he declared deals worth $15 billion that would support some 54,000 American jobs and seek to answer critics back home. This visit and the expected outcome of more employment generation is considered to be greatest achievement of Mr. Obama after the recent debacle in US Polls.

The White House will, of course, stay in Washington but the heart of the famous building will move to India when President Barack Obama landed in Mumbai on Saturday. Communications set-up and nuclear button and majority of the White House staff will be in India accompanying the President on this three-day visit that will cover Mumbai and Delhi, India. He will also be protected by a fleet of 34 warships, including an aircraft carrier, which will patrol the sea lanes off the Mumbai coast during his two-day stay there beginning Saturday. The measure has been taken as Mumbai attack in 2008 took place from the sea. Mr. Obama visit to Mumbai went considerably good.

The United States is the world’s largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). India is among the fastest growing investors in the United States. As the U.S.-India economic relationship deepens, investment from India contributes to the growth and vibrancy of the American economy and in the creation of jobs in the United States. Over the last decade, investment capital from India grew at an annualized rate of 53% reaching an estimated $4.4 billion in 2009. This growing flow of capital from India reflects the increased integration of the two economies and has brought many benefits to the United States, increasing U.S. exports and supporting tens of thousands of jobs in the last six years alone.

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The problem of illegal immigration is one of an endless debate. Ruben Navarrette JR. wrote an interesting story about American dependency on illegal labor.

Americans are still addicted to illegal immigrant labor — particularly around the house. And still, we hear that the only reason we have illegal immigrants in the United States is because the federal government isn’t enforcing the law.

From October 2009 through September 2010, ICE deported 392,000 illegal immigrants — a record number. More than half had been convicted of criminal offenses. ICE has also gone after employers who hire illegal immigrants and imposed more than $50 million in fines during the last two years.

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The International Exchange Center issued a practice guide regarding J1 visas for Trainees and Interns.

New final rules became effective Sept. 9, 2010 for J trainee and intern programs 22 C.F.R.§ 62 (2010). With few exceptions, the final rule will produce little change to the way J trainee and intern programs have been administered since the interim-final rule of 2007.

What are the significant changes?

1. Clarification of the required academic background for interns.

2. Elimination of the requirement that sponsors secure a Dun & Bradstreet report on all host companies.

3. Clarification that social work falling under Public Administration and Social Service Professions is allowed; clinical social work is not allowed.

4. Clarification that dental services are not allowed.

5. Elimination of training or internships for counter help positions.

6. Clarification that telephone interviews are appropriate when video conferencing is not available for the purpose of screening English language proficiency.

Who can be an intern under the new rule?

Interns must be either currently enrolled in and pursuing post-secondary academic studies abroad, or have graduated from an overseas post-secondary academic institution no more
than 12 months prior to the start date of his or her exchange visitor program. In the Analysis of Comments to the new rule, the Department of State explains that it expect “currently enrolled” to mean that the potential intern has completed at least two academic semesters’ credit before participating in a J internship program.

An internship must be in the intern’s specific academic field.

Who can be a trainee?

The new rule makes no changes to the definition of a trainee. Trainees are individuals who have either a degree or professional certificate from a postsecondary academic institution abroad and at least one year of related work experience acquired outside the United States, or have five years of related work experience acquired outside the United States. A trainee program must be in the applicant’s specific occupational field.

What about foreign nationals with degrees from the United States?

The new rule does not change that U.S.-based education or degrees cannot be used to
establish eligibility for either J-1 training or intern programs.

Will sponsors screen applicants differently?

Sponsors must interview every J-1 applicant either in-person or by video conference or web camera. The new rule allows sponsors to use a telephone interview if a video or web camera conference is not possible. All third parties involved in the recruitment and selection process must have a written agreement with the sponsor detailing what are the parties’ responsibilities.

Who can be a host organization?

A host organization conducts training or internship programs on behalf of Department of
State designated program sponsors (such as the American Immigration Council). A host
organization must sign a written agreement with the program sponsor. Host organizations that have not successfully participated in the J visa sponsor’s training or internship programs must be visited by a representative of the visa sponsor prior to approval of a DS-2019. Companies with 25 or more employees or with at least three million dollars in annual revenue are exempt from this mandatory visit.

The host organization must have workers’ compensation insurance. Where possible, the
intern or trainee must be covered by the insurance. The host organization must be able to provide an Employer Identification Number (EIN). The requirement found in the interim-final rule that all host organizations have a Dun & Bradstreet Number has been dropped in the new rule.

Host companies must agree to contact the visa sponsor immediately in the event of an emergency involving trainee or interns. The final rule clarifies that social work falling under Public Administration and Social Service Professions is allowed; clinical social work is not allowed.

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Love it or hate it – it works! The people have spoken! President of AILA, David Leopold said it well:

I worry that Rep. Lamar Smith, the expected chair of the House Judiciary Committee, will use his gavel not to fashion an historic overhaul of the broken immigration system, but to thwart any meaningful effort to fix it; that he will take us back to the mean spiritedness that resulted in the passage of the infamous H.R. 4437 which would have criminalized the undocumented. I fear that Rep. Steve King, the likely chair of the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law, will use his newfound subpoena power not to design a safe, orderly, and fair immigration policy for America, but to embarrass the Administration by dragging President Obama’s aunt up to Capitol Hill to interrogate her about her asylum status.

I hope I am wrong. I hope the new House majority will seize the opportunity to do the right thing and reach across the aisle for the good of the country.

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It is election day in San Diego and all 1,466 polling locations in San Diego County opened on time today, and no major voting problems have been reported, the Registrar of Voters said. How will this election results affect Immigration will remain to be seen.

The Republican class set to sweep into the House after Tuesday’s midterm elections could include several freshmen who have some experience cracking down on illegal immigration. Take Sen. Jeff Perry, who’s running against Democrat William Keating for an open seat in a Massachusetts district that includes Cape Cod. For the past four years, Perry has introduced a bill that would ban illegal immigrants from accessing social services such as public housing.

If he wins, Perry plans to introduce federal legislation that would stop social services funding, just like the law he tried to get through in Massachusetts, and supports ideas such as a mandatory national verification program that isn’t popular with business groups and Republican House leaders.

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So many times a client will come to the office and ask for an extension to stay longer in the United States. Many times we will determine that the client is already out of status, and an extension can not be filed. When I inform the client of the news, the reaction is often one of shock, how can that be, my visa is good for 5 years???

There is a common misconception that a U.S. visa is the evidence of your lawful status in the United States. Many individuals have difficulty understanding the difference between the visa expiration date and the length of time you have permission to remain in the U.S. These are very different terms.

A visa must be valid at the time a traveler seeks admission to the U.S., but the expiration date of the visa has no relation to the length of time a temporary visitor may be authorized by the Department of Homeland Security to remain in the United States.

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