Visa Lawyer Blog

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Visa issues have seemingly become the No. 1 reason for overseas artists to stop their tours lately. The Wall Street Journal took a look at the increasingly difficult process they have to go through to get their paperwork in order. This fall, Immigration restrictions are stopping some popular United Kingdom acts from reaching U.S. borders. At least three anticipated tours by British artists scheduled for this month alone have been called off or pushed back because of musicians’ visa problems.

It seems that processing artist visas like the P’s and the O’s is becoming more and more difficult in the age of the internet. I see this in my practice representing young artists coming to perform in America. YouTube and myspace evidence is what I use, but it is not always easy to convince the USCIS adjudicators not familiar with these popular mediums.

Here is an example, Last fall, the British band Klaxons landed a spot at the CMJ music festival in New York, an annual showcase of new talent. But its visa request was delayed when immigration officials said they needed more evidence of the band’s longevity. About a week before its scheduled trip to the U.S., the band pulled the plug on the tour. The group waited another seven months to enter the U.S. Can you blame them!

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It looks like the DREAM Act is on the agenda again. Each year, thousands of ambitious immigrant students who graduate from U.S. high schools are unable to pursue their dreams of going to college or serving in the U.S. military because they lack legal immigration status. This amendment would remedy this injustice by providing deserving immigrant students with a six-year path to permanent residence, provided that they complete their high school education and either pursue higher education or serve in the armed forces.

The DREAM Act will be offered by Senator Durbin (D-IL) as an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill that the Senate will consider this week! Call your Senators today and ask them to help immigrant kids achieve their dreams by supporting the DREAM Act!

If passed, the “Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act” would facilitate access to college for immigrant students in the U.S. The “DREAM Act” would also provide a path to permanent residence for ambitious immigrant youth who were brought to the U.S. as young children and who want to pursue higher education or military service, enabling them to contribute fully to our society.

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Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has become the seventh US Senator to co-sponsor the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA). The legislation, introduced in the Senate (S. 1328) and House (H.R. 2221) earlier this year would amend current US immigration law and give same-sex binational couples the same immigration rights as their heterosexual counterparts to stay together legally in the United States.

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One industry that has seen a rise of available jobs is the hospitality industry in the US, primarily hotels and Restaurants. Although many Hospitality workers wait months or even years for permission to live and work in the US legally, a small but growing number have found a legal path that is relatively simple and fast: come with LOTS OF MONEY to buy businesses here. As the Hospitality business is booming in the US, more and more Hospitality professionals in Europe are coming to the US and starting their own businesses via the E2 visa investment.

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According to the USCIS fact sheet, the average annual number of persons naturalizing increased from less than 120,000 during the 1950s and 1960s to 210,000 during the 1980s, 500,000 during the 1990s and to 625,000 during 2000 to 2006.

Citizenship Day itself has its roots in President Woodrow Wilson’s efforts in 1915, where as part of what he called National Americanization Day, the President himself, cabinet members, administration officials as well as prominent public figures such as Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, gave speeches at naturalization ceremonies throughout the nation.

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L’Shana Tova to our Jewish readers and Ramadan greetings to our Muslim audience. Shalom …. Salaam. May this new beginning bring us all togehter and may you have a relaxing celebrations.

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American hospitals are in a serious crisis, from large numbers of uninsured patients to spiraling costs, from outlandishly expensive prescription drugs to a severe and dangerous shortage of nurses, a shortage that can best be summed up by the fact that there are now over 140,000 open positions for registered nurses nationwide. The National Foundation for American Policy issued a report on this issue this week and the report is scary. Click here to read

Emergency rooms are shutting down, surgeries are delayed and, most disturbing of all, patients are sometimes not getting the critical care they desperately need. If the government will not address this issue via immigration reform and more nurcse visas we are heading for a dark age for health care. Sometimes I think that Michael Moore is not that wrong after all…….

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On August 29, the AFL-CIO and a number of other plaintiffs sued to stop the implementation of the “no match” regulations, and two days later, a Federal District Court Judge issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) prohibiting the SSA from sending out 140,000 letters to employers informing them of the new regulations, and stopping the rule from going into effect on September 15th. A hearing is scheduled on October 1 regarding the plaintiffs’ request for a permanent injunction against the regulations.

I will continue to update you as this crucial issue is argued in the Federal Courts.

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During the months of July and August we have filed an unusual number of Marriage based Green Card Applications. I have listed here some of the most common questions our clients and site visitors wish to know. Hopefully the following Questions and Answers will make your journey through this process a little less confusing.

1. How soon can an applicant that entered the US as a tourist or under the Visa Waiver Program marry a US Citizen, Could they apply for the Green Card in the United States?
Answer: A US citizen can marry a tourist or VW visitor and apply for the Green Card from within the US. It is better to marry 60 days after entry to lift the presumption that the immigrant entered the US in order to get married.

2. How soon after marriage can the US Citizen petition and file the immigration paperwork for the immigrant spouse?
Answer: There is no waiting period that must pass before the immigration petition can be filed. Make sure to have the certified Marriage Certificate registered with the county before you can file.

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