Visa Lawyer Blog

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The Government of India has stated that educational cooperation is an “important facet” of Indo-UK ties. They will be in contact with the British High Commission to “better understand the reasons” for the temporary freeze on UK student visa applications by those based in Northern India.

The Indian Government is trying to help genuine students planning to study in the UK who have been affected by the temporary ban on student visa applications made at UK Visa application centers in New Delhi, Chandigarh and Jalandhar from 1 February 2010. An Indian official said, “Student exchanges form a vital component of this cooperation. We would remain in touch with the BHC (British High Commission) on this matter.”

The Ministry of External Affairs has been in touch with the British High Commission on this matter to better understand the reasons behind this decision and also to ensure that genuine Indian students planning to go to the UK for studies are not adversely impacted. It is also interesting to note that the UK Border Agency is investigating a number of UK education providers. This week approximately 60 education providers in the UK were suspended from the sponsors’ register.

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Australian immigration will soon start implementation of biometric checks for Australian visa applications in ten Countries. $69 million Australian dollars will be invested over four years. The Australian Government had the following to say about the new Australian visa biometric requirements.

* If you apply for an Australian visa in any of the ten Countries you will need to also submit your fingerprints and facial images This biometric data is unique to a particular individual and will enable the Australian Government to confirm the true identity of visa applicants.

* Checks will be made in databases for known terrorists and criminals and other people of concern.

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Important notice to our clients from Eritrea. Consular operations, including visa services, at the U.S. Embassy in Eritrea have been suspended until further notice. According to Embassy Asmara, the closure is in response to the Government of Eritrea’s flagrant violations of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. These violations include failing to notify U.S. consular staff of the arrest of American citizens, hindering the travel of Embassy officials to visit American citizens in distress, and interfering with the delivery of the U.S. Embassy’s diplomatic pouches. The Consular Section will continue to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens.

Information courtesy of the Rome District Chapter (RDC) of AILA.

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We like to intimate about the special tax return filing requirements for foreign students. According to Notice 2005-77:

“Non-resident aliens whose U.S. wages do not exceed the personal exemption amount are not required to file a tax return”.

We encouraged to go for Tax filing in order to receive a refund. If you are a student and having a taxable scholarship, partially or fully exempted income, or any other taxable income, you are required to file a tax return. If you are a foreign student having an income from a foreign source, a tax free scholarship/fellowship, other non-taxable income, income generated through interest at a U.S. Bank, U.S. savings and loan institution, U.S. credit union, U.S. insurance company, or an investment that accrues portfolio interest, you are not required to file a tax return.

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The Department of Labor announced Public Briefings on the Changes to the Labor Certification Process for the Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Aliens in the United States. Members of our office will attend the briefings tomorrow in San Diego.

On February 12, 2010, the Department of Labor (the Department or DOL) amended the H-2A regulations at 20 CFR part 655 governing the certification of temporary employment of nonimmigrant workers in temporary or seasonal agricultural employment. See, Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Aliens in the United States, Final Rule, 75 FR 6884, Feb. 12, 2010 (the Final Rule). The Department’s Final Rule also amended the regulations at 29 CFR part 501 to provide for enhanced enforcement under the H-2A program requirements when employers fail to meet their obligations under the H-2A program. The Department has also made changes to the Application for Temporary Employment Certification, ETA Form 9142.

The Final Rule will become effective on March 15, 2010. All H-2A program users will be required to file their applications under the new regulations, and to comply with all applicable program requirements.

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Here are some important changes to the K visa process, effective February 1st, 2010, when both the I-129F petition for a nonimmigrant K visa and the I-130 petition for an IR-1 (or CR-1) spouse of a U.S. citizen visa have been approved by USCIS and sent to the National Visa Center (NVC), the availability as well as the need for a nonimmigrant K-3 visa ends. If the NVC receives both petitions: The nonimmigrant K visa will be administratively closed.

If the NVC does not receive your I-130 petition and I-129F at the same time, the NVC will process your I-129F petition. Then NVC will send the petition to the embassy or consulate in the country where the marriage took place. If your marriage took place in the U.S., the NVC will send the petition to the embassy or consulate that issues visas in your country of nationality. If your marriage took place in a country that does not have an American embassy, or the embassy does not issue visas, the NVC will send your petition to the embassy or consulate that normally processes visas for citizens of that country. For example, if your marriage took place in Iran where the U.S. does not have an embassy your petition would be sent to Turkey.

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I am proud to say that fellow San Diegans are fighting to keep the Immigration debate alive. A group of about 100 people rallied in front of the San Diego downtown offices of California’s U.S. senators Thursday night, calling for renewed attention to immigration reform.

The group gathered at St. Joseph Cathedral on Third Avenue near Beech Street and marched about two miles to a pair of office buildings on B Street near Seventh Avenue, where the offices of Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein are located.

There they delivered a message calling on the lawmakers to work on legislation to legalize the millions of illegal immigrants in the country. Their speeches focused on the themes of unity, family and hope. They held signs, in both English and Spanish, with messages like “Don’t destroy more families. Help families” and “God does not separate families. The government does.”

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Mexico’s National Migration Institute published its Manual of Criteria and Migration Procedures. The Manual will be enforced as of 5/1/10 throughout the 32 delegations of the National Migration Institute in Mexico. Courtesy of AILA member Enrique Arellano.

The intention of the National Migration Institute is to clarify, streamline and simplify

processing requirements for each immigration category. Applications currently being

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The Labor Department published in the Feb. 12 edition of the Federal Register, a final rule governing the labor certification process and enforcement mechanisms for the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program.

The H-2A nonimmigrant visa classification applies to foreign workers coming to or already in the U.S. to perform agricultural work of a temporary or seasonal nature. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security may not approve an H-2A visa petition unless the Department of Labor, through its Employment and Training Administration, certifies that there are not sufficient U.S. workers qualified and available to perform the labor involved in the petition and that the employment of the foreign worker will not have an adverse effect on the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.

What are the major Features of the Final Rule:

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Can you guess how many illegal immigrants reside in the US at this time? DHS released a report estimating that the unauthorized immigrant population living in the U.S. decreased to 10.8 million in January 2009 and grew by 27 percent between 2000 and 2009.

Between 2000 and 2009, the unauthorized population grew by 27 percent. Of all unauthorized immigrants living in the United States in 2009, 63 percent entered before 2000, and 62 percent were from Mexico. The number of unauthorized residents declined by 1.0 million between 2007 and 2009, coincident with the U.S. economic downturn. The overall annual average increase in the unauthorized population during the 2000-2009 period was 250,000.

In 2009, 61 percent of unauthorized immigrants were ages 25 to 44 years, and 58 percent were male (see Figure 3 and Table 5). Males accounted for 62 percent of the unauthorized population in the 18 to 34 age group in 2009 while females accounted for 52 percent of the 45 and older age groups.

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