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HOTLINES: CONSULTATION |
Please Note: Nothing in these articles is intended as nor shall be construed as a legal advice, guidance or interpretation. No Attorney-client relationship is established between the writer and the readers. The information provided in these articles is basically for general educational purposes only and specific questions about any fact, law, statute or regulation should be directed to the experts in the area or legislative houses. For Further Information or clarification to your questions you should contact us. All your questions will be treated with strict confidentiality. You may also find answers to your question on our FAQ page. Remember that each case is different, and requires unique treatment. Take the time to talk to any of our staff and explore all possible options together. Our staff are always eager and willing to help you. So, schedule a consultation today.
DETERMINATION OF LAWFUL PRESENCE
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VISA TYPES |
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Visa Type |
Description |
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A |
Diplomat = Foreign Government Officials |
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B-1 |
Visitor's visa = [Business] |
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B-2 |
Visitor's visa = [pleasure/tourist] |
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C |
Aliens in Transit Visa |
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D |
Crewman |
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E1 |
Treaty Trader |
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E2 |
Treaty Investor |
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F1 / F2 |
Foreign Student Visa, = Dependent cannot work |
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G |
International Organization Employee |
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H-1B / H4 |
Work Permit [Temporary Worker] = Dependent cannot work. Foreign Information Media Journalist |
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J1 / J2 |
Exchange visitor/scholar/post-doc. Student can work off-campus if International Student Office gives a letter of authorization. May be subjected to 2 year presence in the home country requirement. Dependent can work but needs to get needs to get the permission from INS |
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K1 |
For direct fiancée of US citizen |
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K2 |
For children of fiancée |
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L-1/ L-2 |
Intra-Company Transferee See L1 Visa section of this FAQ for more details. |
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M |
Vocational Student |
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N |
Parents of certain Special Immigrants special immigrant status (retired officers/employees previously accorded G-4 visa status) |
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O |
Aliens of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics |
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P1/ P2 |
Renowned artists, entertainers and athletes coming for internationally recognized or culturally unique performances |
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Q |
Participants in international cultural exchange programs which provide practical training, employment and which involve the sharing of history, culture traditions of the applicant's country |
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R |
Certain religious workers |
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NATO |
Representatives and staff of member states to NATO |
Employment Authorization Document (EAD) is a document that authorizes an alien to work in the U.S. for a period of time, usually one year. It is also sometimes known as a work permit. The EAD or work permit is in the form of a card, with the alien's name and photo on it, as well as the expiration date. With an EAD, an alien may legally work in the United States for any employer. However, an alien may also be authorized to work for a specific employer even if they do not have an EAD. For example, an alien with a valid status, like H-1B, L-1, L-2, or O-1, is able to work for a specific employer. There is no EAD card for such work authorization. The specific categories that require an Employment Authorization Document include (but are not limited to) Asylees and asylum seekers; refugees; students seeking particular types of employment; applicants to adjust to permanent residence status; people in or applying for temporary protected status; fiancés of American citizens; and dependents of foreign government officials. Some list of the categories of people who must apply for an Employment Authorization Document to be able to work in the United States are as follows:
WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR
WORK PERMIT
1.
F-1 student
seeking Optional Practical Training (OPT)
in an occupation directly related to studies. After having been enrolled
full-time in an approved school for at least nine months, such alien
students are eligible to apply for an EAD.
A. F-1 student
offered off-campus employment
under the sponsorship of a qualifying international organization.
B. F-1 student seeking off-campus employment due to severe economic
hardship.
Alien applicants must submit any evidence, such as affidavits, which
detail the unforeseen economic circumstances that cause the request
and evidence that the applicants have tried to find off-campus employment
with an employer who has filed a labor and wage attestation.
2.
J-2 spouse or minor
child of an exchange visitor.
Applicants must submit a written statement, with supporting evidence
showing that the employment is not necessary to support the J-1, but
is for another purpose.
3.
Adjustment Applicants.
After or at the time aliens file for adjustment of status (I-485), the
alien applicants may file the EAD application.
M-1 students seeking
practical training after completing their studies.
4. K-1
Nonimmigrant Fiancé(e) of US Citizens or K-2 Dependent.
Applicants can file an EAD application within 90 days from the date
of entry.
6.
Family Unity
Program.
If the aliens have been granted status under this program, they may
file the EAD application with a copy of the approval letter.
7.
L-2 visa holder
(7) Asylees - Asylum applicant
(with a pending asylum application) who filed for Asylum on or after
January 4, 1995 are also eligible. However, if the applicant filed a
request for Asylum and for Withholding of Deportation, on or after January
4, 1995, he/she must wait at least 150 days before he/she is eligible
to apply for an EAD. OTHERS ARE: Refugees OR aliens Paroled as Refugees.
8.
THE R-1
RELIGIOUS WORKER VISA The R-1 religious worker visa is a nonimmigrant
visa, which allows foreign nationals in religious occupations to enter
into the U.S. and perform the duties of a religious worker. You must
be a foreign national who, for at least the two years immediately preceding
the time of application for admission, have been a member of a religious
denomination having a bona fide nonprofit religious organization in
the U.S.
To qualify for R-1 visa, you must be: A Minister of religion; Working in a professional capacity, either in a religious vocation or occupation; Other religious worker working in a religious occupation or in a religious vocation.
As an On R-1 visa holder, you may: Engage in full time study in the U.S.; Travel freely in and out of the U.S.; Receive payment for services performed; Apply for Green Card;
Apply for R-2 dependent visa for your spouse and unmarried children below 21 years; or Receive payment for services performed;
The H-1C work visa is a nonimmigrant visa, which allows foreign nationals to enter into the U.S. to perform temporary services as a registered nurse in a health professional shortage area as determined by the U.S. Department of Labor. This category of work visa was created by the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act of 1999 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It was designed specially for registered nurses who meet the requirements of section 212(m)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and will perform services at a facility (as defined in section 212(m)(6) of the Act) for which the Secretary of Labor has determined and certified to the Attorney General.
To qualify for H-1C nonimmigrant status, the foreign national - Registered Nurse (RN) must meet the following requirements:
- Obtain a full and unrestricted license to practice professional nursing in the country where the foreign national obtained nursing education or he/she must have received nursing education in the U.S.
- Must have passed an appropriate examination (recognized in regulations promulgated in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services) or have a full and unrestricted license under state law to practice professional nursing in the state of intended employment and; - Must be fully qualified and eligible under the laws (including such temporary or interim licensing requirements which authorize the nurse to be employed) governing the place of intended employment to engage in the practice of professional nursing as a registered nurse immediately upon admission to the U.S. and be authorized under such laws to be employed by the facility. The terms and conditions under the H-1C classification are as follows:
The work authorization for H-1C nurses is employer-specific, i.e. it is limited to employment with the approved employer/petitioner; Again, a change of employer requires a new H-1C petition; Any employment other than the originally approved employment cannot begin until a petition for change of employment (Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker) is approved by the USCIS; Additionally, if the H-1C nonimmigrant nurse will work for more than one employer, each employer must file its own H-1C petition on the foreign national's behalf. And finally, the H-1C foreign national is not precluded from applying for Adjustment of Status to Lawful Permanent Residence if the foreign national is otherwise eligible for Adjustment of Status.
Under US immigration law, people who qualify for permanent residency normally have the choice of processing their green card in the US through a process called adjustment of status or process abroad at a US consulate. Processing in the US through adjustment of status normally requires a demonstration that the applicant has always complied with US immigration law. While processing in the US is certainly convenient, for many it is the only way to legally be able to get permanent legal status in the US. That is because for certain people who have overstayed visas or entered the US without inspection, consular processing will trigger reentry bars of up to three or ten years. Hence, it would certainly be a welcome news if Congress will restore Section 245 (i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act which will allow foreign nationals who have had certain status violations, did not enter the US lawfully and have engaged in unauthorized employment to adjust status within the US.
Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, allows the Attorney General in his or her discretion to adjust the status of an alien to that of a lawful permanent resident (LPR), in lieu of consular visa processing, while the alien remains in the United States. In order to be eligible, the alien must have been inspected and admitted or paroled, be eligible for an immigrant visa and admissible for permanent residence, have an immigrant visa immediately available and, with some exceptions, have maintained lawful nonimmigrant status. The alien must also not have engaged in unauthorized employment and must not be ineligible to adjust status under section 245(c) of the Act.
Adjustment of Status therefore, is suitable for the following foreign nationals: Married sons or daughters of a U.S. citizen with an approved immigrant visa petition; Brothers or sisters of a U.S. citizen with an approved immigrant visa petition; Spouse of a lawful permanent resident with an approved immigrant visa petition; Unmarried children (any age) of a lawful permanent resident with an approved immigrant visa petition; Foreign nationals who entered the U.S. on the fiancé or fiancée K-1 visa and have married the U.S. citizen petitioner within the 90 days period; Foreign nationals with an approved visa petition filed on their behalf by a U.S. employer; asylees and refugees with an approved immigrant petition; Cuban nationals to acquire permanent residence one year after they have been inspected and admitted or paroled into the U. S. Winners of the Diversity Visa Lottery who are already in the U.S. in a nonimmigrant visa classification. Foreign nationals who have been residing continuously in the U.S. since January 1, 1972 in lawful status petition. However, we shall be discussing each of these categories in detail beginning from ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS THROUGH THE FOLLOWING:
FILING FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCY WHILE IN THE U. S
If you would like to become a lawful permanent resident in the United States, you must file the following items with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services:
· Form I-485: Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
· Supplement A to Form I-485 should be reviewed to see if additional fee requirements apply to you.
· Form G-325A Biographic Data Sheet (Between the ages of 14 and 79)
· Form I-693 Medical Examination Sheet (not required if you are applying based on continuous residence before 1972, or if you have had a medical exam based on a fiancé visa)
· Two color photos taken within 30 days
· Form I-864 Affidavit of Support (completed by the sponsor. Although, this requirement may not apply to you if you are adjusting to permanent resident status based on an employment petition.
· Form I-765 Authorization for Employment (if seeking employment while case is processed).
· Evidence of inspection, admission or parole into the United States - Form I-94, Arrival Departure Record.
· If you have already been approved for an immigrant petition, you must submit a copy of the approval notice sent to you by the USCIS.
· If someone else is or has filed a petition for you that, if approved, will make an immigrant number immediately available to you, you must submit a copy of the completed petition that is being filed for you. Such applications include only immediate relative, special immigrant juvenile or special immigrant military petitions.
· If you were admitted into the United States as a fiancé of a U.S. citizen and married that citizen within the required 90 days, you must submit a copy of the fiancé petition approval notice and a copy of your marriage certificate.
· If you are an asylee or refugee, you must submit a copy of the letter or Form I-94 that shows the date you were granted asylum or refuge in the United States. You also must submit USCIS Form I-643 - Health and Human Services Statistical Data.
· If you are a Cuban citizen or native, you must use USCIS Form I-485 and submit evidence of your citizenship or nationality.
· If you have been a continuous resident of the United States since before January 1, 1972, you must submit evidence showing that you entered the United States prior to January 1, 1972 and that you have lived in the United States continuously since your entry into the country.
· If your parent became a lawful permanent resident after you were born, you must submit evidence that your parent has been or will be granted permanent residence. You must also submit a copy of your birth certificate, and proof of your relationship with your parent.
· If your spouse became a lawful permanent resident after you were married, you must submit evidence that your spouse has been granted permanent residence. You must also submit a copy of your marriage certificate and proof that any previous marriages entered into by you or your spouse was legally terminated.
HOW TO GET A WORK PERMIT
Employment Authorization Document (EAD) is a document that authorizes an alien to work in the U.S. for a period of time, usually one year. It is also sometimes known as a work permit. The EAD or work permit is in the form of a card, with the alien's name and photo on it, as well as the expiration date. With an EAD, an alien may legally work in the United States for any employer. However, an alien may also be authorized to work for a specific employer even if they do not have an EAD. For example, an alien with a valid status, like H-1B, L-1, L-2, or O-1, is able to work for a specific employer. There is no EAD card for such work authorization. The specific categories that require an Employment Authorization Document include (but are not limited to) Asylees and asylum seekers; refugees; students seeking particular types of employment; applicants to adjust to permanent residence status; people in or applying for temporary protected status; fiancés of American citizens; and dependents of foreign government officials. Some list of the categories of people who must apply for an Employment Authorization Document to be able to work in the United States are as follows:
WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR WORK PERMIT
1. F-1 student seeking Optional Practical Training (OPT) in an occupation directly related to studies. After having been enrolled full-time in an approved school for at least nine months, such alien students are eligible to apply for an EAD.
A. F-1 student offered off-campus employment under the sponsorship of a qualifying international organization.
B. F-1 student seeking off-campus employment due to severe economic hardship. Alien applicants must submit any evidence, such as affidavits, which detail the unforeseen economic circumstances that cause the request and evidence that the applicants have tried to find off-campus employment with an employer who has filed a labor and wage attestation.
2. J-2 spouse or minor child of an exchange visitor. Applicants must submit a written statement, with supporting evidence showing that the employment is not necessary to support the J-1, but is for another purpose.
3.
Adjustment
Applicants. After or at the time aliens file for adjustment of status
(I-485), the alien applicants may file the EAD application.
3 b)
M-1 students seeking practical training after completing their studies.
4. K-1 Nonimmigrant Fiancé(e) of US Citizens or K-2 Dependent. Applicants can file an EAD application within 90 days from the date of entry.
5. Family Unity Program. If the aliens have been granted status under this program, they may file the EAD application with a copy of the approval letter.
6. L-2 visa holder ( 7 ) Asylees - Asylum applicant (with a pending asylum application) who filed for Asylum on or after January 4, 1995 are also eligible. However, if the applicant filed a request for Asylum and for Withholding of Deportation, on or after January 4, 1995, he/she must wait at least 150 days before he/she is eligible to apply for an EAD. OTHERS ARE: Refugees OR aliens Paroled as Refugees.
BECOMING A LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENT (LPR)
A "green card" gives you official immigration status (Lawful Permanent Residency) in the United states. Permanent Residency is procured through the following procedure:-
Immigration through a family member; Immigration through employment; Immigration under the national interest waiver for physicians in underserved areas; Immigration through investment; Immigration through the Legal Immigration Family Equity Act (LIFE); Immigration through Immigration Court Order; Adjusting to lawful permanent resident status as an asylee or refugee; Immigration through the Diversity Lottery; Immigration through International adoption Violence Against Women Act (VAWA); Immigration through "The Registry" Provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act Immigration as a "Special Immigrant"; Immigration through Country-Specific Adjustment; Immigration through the Cuban Adjustment Act; Immigration through the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 (HRIFA); Iraqi Exemption to Asylee Adjustment Cap; Immigration through the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief ACT (NACARA) Section 202; Immigration through the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief ACT (NACARA) (Section 203); Adjustment through Syrian Adjustment Act (P.L. 106-378) Immigration for Eligible Individuals from Vietnam, Cambodia.
If you are unsure of which immigration path best fits your particular situation, visit our Law Offices for expert Legal Advice regarding how your application for Green Card can succeed and be approved; how you can become a lawful permanent resident while in the United States; Eligibility information - Who may apply to become a lawful permanent resident while in the United States; Application procedures; Immigration Classification and Visa Categories; information about the Department of Labor and about Foreign Labor Certification;
HUMANITARIAN PAROLE
The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security may, in his discretion, parole into the United States temporarily, {under such conditions as he may prescribe on a case-by-case basis, for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit} - any alien applying for admission to the United States. Humanitarian Parole cannot be used to circumvent normal visa-issuing procedures, nor as an instrument to bypass preference immigrant visa availability or processing for refugee status. Parole is an extraordinary measure, sparingly used to bring an otherwise inadmissible alien into the United States for a temporary period of time due to a very compelling emergency. It can only be requested for persons who are outside of the U.S. Anyone can file an application for humanitarian parole to include the prospective parolee, a sponsoring relative, an attorney, or any other interested individual or organization. The denial of a request for humanitarian parole is a discretionary determination based upon a comprehensive review of all of the circumstances in each case, as presented in the documentation. There is no statutory provision for appeal. If there are new facts that you would like considered however, a new submission may be sent to the Parole and Humanitarian Assistance Branch as a new case for consideration, with a new filing fee.
TEMPORARY WORKERS:
The United States Immigration and Nationality Act provides several categories of nonimmigrant visas for a person who wishes to work temporarily in the United States. There are annual numerical limits on some classifications such as:
H-1B classification applies to persons in a specialty occupation which requires the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge requiring completion of a specific course of higher education. This classification requires a labor attestation issued by the Secretary of Labor (65,000). It also applies to Government-to-Government research and development, or co production projects administered by the Department of Defense (100); H-2A classification applies to temporary or seasonal agricultural workers; H-2B classification applies to temporary or seasonal nonagricultural workers. This classification requires a temporary labor certification issued by the Secretary of Labor (66,000); H-3 classification applies to trainees other than medical or academic. This classification also applies to practical training in the education of handicapped children (50);
L Visa applies to intra-company transferees who, within the three preceding years, have been employed abroad continuously for one year, and who will be employed by a branch, parent, affiliate, or subsidiary of that same employer in the U.S. in a managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge capacity;
O-1 classification: applies to persons who have extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or extraordinary achievements in the motion picture and television field; O-2 classification applies to persons accompanying an O-1 alien to assist in an artistic or athletic performance for a specific event or performance; This equally applies to participants in an international cultural exchange program for the purpose of providing practical training, employment, and the sharing of the history, culture, and traditions of the alien's home country.
P-1: applies to individual or team athletes, or members of an entertainment group that are internationally recognized (25,000); P-2 classification applies to artists or entertainers who will perform under a reciprocal exchange program; P-3 classification applies to artists or entertainers who perform under a program that is culturally unique (same as P-1).
APPLYING FOR A WORKING VISA
In order to be considered as a nonimmigrant under the Temporary Worker classifications the applicant's prospective employer or agent must file Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, with the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Once approved, the employer or agent is sent a notice of approval, Form I-797. It should be noted that the approval of a petition shall not guarantee visa issuance to an applicant found to be ineligible under provisions of the United States Immigration and Nationality Act. Applicants for temporary work visas should generally apply at the American Embassy or Consulate with jurisdiction over their place of permanent residence. Although visa applicants may apply at any U.S. consular office abroad, it may be more difficult to qualify for the visa outside the country of permanent residence.
Admission through U. S Port of Entry. Applicants should be aware that a visa does not guarantee entry into the United States. The U.S. United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has authority to deny admission. Also, the period for which the bearer of a temporary work visa is authorized to remain in the United States is determined by the INS, not the consular officer. At the port of entry, an INS official validates Form I-94, Record of Arrival-Departure, which notes the length of stay permitted. Those temporary workers who wish to stay beyond the time indicated on their Form I-94 must contact the INS to request Form I-539, Application to Extend Status. The decision to grant or deny a request for extension of stay is made solely by the INS.
Temporary Workers’ Family Members
With the exception of "Q-1 Cultural Exchange Visitors," the spouse and unmarried, minor children of an applicant under any of the above classifications may also be classified as non-immigrants in order to accompany or join the principal applicant. A person who has received a visa as the spouse or child of a temporary worker may not accept employment in the United States. The principal applicant must be able to show that he or she will be able to support his or her family in the United States.
Time Limit
All of the above classifications have fixed time limits in which the alien may perform services in the United States. In some cases those time limits may be extended by the INS in order to permit the completion of the services. Thereafter, the alien must remain abroad for a fixed period of time before being readmitted as a temporary worker under any classification. The INS will notify the petitioner on Form I-797 whenever a visa petition, an extension of a visa petition, or an extension of stay is approved under any of the above classifications. The beneficiary may use a copy of Form I-797 to apply for a new or revalidated visa during the validity period of the petition. The approval of a permanent labor certification or the filing of a preference petition for an alien under the H-1 or L classifications shall not be a basis for denying a visa.
ILLEGAL - ALIEN WORK-FORCE CAN HELP SOLVE THE U. S. SOCIAL SECURITY
CRISIS
The population of the United States is estimated to be 296 million people and of this figure, approximately 12.5 % is over 65 years of age and eligible for Social Security. In other words, a total of 35 million people are eligible for social security and in all probability, receiving it.
The working population, which comprises of the age bracket of (21-64 years), is approximately 150 million. Among them are, illegal aliens. There are currently about 15 million illegal immigrants in the United States who are working “off the books” but neither contributes to social security nor pay taxes. Thus, depriving the U. S. Social security program and Internal Revenue Services of the huge sums of money derivable from taxes. Although, Congress is aware of this yet, has failed to positively rise up to the challenges posed by this issue up till now.
Today, life expectancy is becoming longer and the older members of the population are increasing. In this age of fiscal uncertainty, it is now more important than ever, that seniors should be given a guarantee to their social security benefits. This group of people assumes that social security is a right, something that no politician can ever take away. But the sad truth is that with the current national economic crisis, Social Security can be taken away anytime and for any reason. In Fleming Vs. Nestor, the Supreme Court ruled that social security payments were merely taxes and that congress had no legal obligation to pay benefits in return. But, after many years of struggle by activist group, Social security Guarantee Act of 2003 was introduced – which sent a message to the seniors that their financial future is safe from partisan politics. The Bill now bind future congresses to honor the obligations made to seniors and insulate older Americans from being scared by politicians trying to make social security an election issue.
However, how can this obligation be adequately fulfilled when the means of fulfillment is very limited and cannot even be guaranteed due to incessant economic crisis. This is why the congress has to take very serious and timely action towards raising revenue from every available source to maintain the social security program.
Let us pause at this juncture, and consider one of the overlooked revenue sources. As mentioned earlier, there are presently, about 15 million employed illegal aliens working “off the books”, who make income in the united States but pay no taxes, (and not retiring here, they send their money abroad – supporting their own individual countries with the income made from the United states). The germane question here remains. Does the U. S. really need these group of people. Can we benefit in any way, from the income they make in the United States. And if so, can there be some sort of measures or policies whereby these aliens can be monitored and compelled to contribute to the Social security.
The answer is uncontroversial. We all know a great percentage of illegal aliens undertake jobs that most Americans do not want and/or will not do, and at affordable wages too. Take a look at the health field. Today, we have a severe shortage of Nurses in the United States. And, although thousands of nurses are produced from abroad, yet, their entry into the U S has been stopped due to the bureaucracy of some interest groups who make alien migration restrictive. A great number of these aliens work as certified Nurse Aides - (CNA); Nannies, or Home Health Aides (HHA). In the Hotel industries, they fill up the jobs in the Kitchen - mostly rejected by Americans. They are equally found in great numbers, in almost every nursing home in the U. S. undertaking jobs rejected by Americans. We also have them in the Agric sector as field laborers - all working off the books (just because they are undocumented and disallowed from paying taxes) and not because, they do not want to pay taxes or contribute towards the social security program. Time has come for us not to continue to close our eyes to this all important issue. Some interest groups have advocated a mass deportation of undocumented persons. But how does a measure (which has gulped over $206 billion in the past five years and is still estimated to gulp about $230 or more in future) continue to be implemented at this period of economic crisis when there is a more profitable alternative. As a matter of fact, the resources to be invested in deportation will be costing more than the money expended on the Iraqi War.
Social security in the U. S. today, is considered to be a social insurance program funded through a dedicated payroll tax - which is also known as the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance program (OASDI), in reference to its three components.
In the calendar year 2004 alone, it paid out almost $500 billion in benefits.
However, with the present crisis surrounding the social security program and all the uncertainties, the retirees feel their future welfare is being threatened – hence foreign retirement is becoming quite a norm for them. That is to say, they are beginning to make alternative retirement plans by moving abroad – thus transferring more money outside the country which in effect, heightens the social security crisis.
With the prospect of more than 30 Million American starting to retire next year, many developing countries expect a windfall. No doubt, we do not have to close our eyes to this economic drain. It is time to accept that we should do something to document our undocumented work force. The United States, depend heavily on immigrants to serve retirees, in the many kinds of services they need. In the 70s when the Schedule A policy was in operation, a degree holder in any field enters the United States to work even without any sponsor. It was then that the greatest amount of economic growth was recorded. Thus, making America, the World Power. Hence, any policy, which is aimed at increasing the population of the young working class (illegal immigrants or not), has to be encouraged. According to the 2000 census, hospital, nursing-home, and other health-care workers are immigrants and nearly 350,000 of them are young-work minded illegal immigrants who should be contributing highly to social security by paying taxes. Sending U S retirees abroad therefore, becomes one step towards closing that intractable labor and revenue gap. Hence the time has come for Congress to positively rise up to the challenges posed by this issue.
Think of why there are shortage of Pharmacists, engineers, health-care workers and scientists in the U. S. Pharmacist shortage has worsened nationwide - thus prompting fierce competition between employers for inexperienced fresh pharmacy graduates. Why, the aging population is growing, prescriptions have increased from 2 billion to 3.2 billions over the past decade. America’s nursing supply has taken a painful turn for the worse. The state of New York has about 15,000 fewer registered Nurses than it needs and this number is expected to more than double by 2012. What is the reason for the steep decline? The answer is simple! Restrictive immigration and political measures. Ironically, we have millions of already qualified, fully trained registered Nurses and other health-care workers from abroad who remain unemployed for being illegal immigrant. What an economic waste! We do not even need to train them because they are already highly trained from their countries and are qualified professionals.
It is generally believed that the dueling perceptions of engineer shortages lie behind some big policy debates in Washington, fuelling emotional clashes over immigration policy and the future of well paying jobs in America. The alternative route for the highly skilled professionals - especially information technology workers - which is the H-1B, has been capped by the congress from 200,000 in 2003, to 65,000 in 2005. Under the H-1B temporary work visa program, U. S. employers are permitted to hire foreign nationals with knowledge and skills deemed to be in short supply. Business groups have severally cried out that they need the foreigners because they can’t find enough skilled U. S. Engineers and technical workers. Ironically, the very few American engineers, particularly those who are unemployed, complain that the H-1Bs take away their jobs. Hence, over the past 20 years, the H-1B category underwent drastic changes, mostly with the purported aim at protecting the U. S. workers. This classification was initially reserved for individuals of distinguished merit and ability – coming to the United States to perform services of an exceptional nature requiring such merit and ability. Through the anti-immigration weapon, the immigration Act of 1990 changed this by creating the O and P visas to filter out the no degreed individuals from the H–1B category. It created the term “specialty occupation in lieu of the use of the term professional - for qualifying positions. The INA gave its own definition to specialty occupation thus, outlining four criteria that can be used to prove a “specialty occupation”. But, at the heart of what can justify a “specialty occupation” is the industry standard or their will be a denial of the petition.
The truth is that these drastic measures are merely restrictive measures, all aimed at stopping the migration of aliens into the United states. That is precisely to say it is a highly structured and increasingly infracted economic system which is simply aimed at limiting opportunities for immigrants and their families thereby, discouraging aliens from migrating to the U. S
To produce their products, countries like China and India trade engineers and other professionals. And for years, the rapid economic growth of China and India has been based on business with the developed world, and has often meant taking business away from Western industries. India-China trade had already been growing at a phenomenal rate, reaching $13.6 billion last year - a sevenfold increase from 1998. Nowhere can this trend be seen more clearly than in information technology, where India is already perceived as a global leader. INFOSYS Technologies, the software and information services giant in India for example plans to hire 2,000 computer immigrant specialists over the next two years. Today, options for people are increasing in India so rapidly, that hiring has become a matter of who is willing to overpay the most. When you look at the number of engineering graduates coming out of the Chinese Universities, this becomes a very attractive place for us. Each year, China produces 400,000 engineering graduates many of them, in computer studies, and expansion by India companies into China is aimed in part, at wooing them.
Looking at what is happening in France today, one can only say that in a country where the work force largely excludes the young people and discriminates against the aliens, but encourage early retirement, there will be little emphasis on creating new jobs and even less on grass-roots entrepreneurial activity. In immigrant banlieues, where the population is much younger, average unemployment reaches 40% and higher among the young ones.
In much of the Western Europe, the economic system is weighted towards the already employed (the overwhelming majority middle-aged native-born whites) and the growing mass of retirees. So, although the retirement of large numbers of workers ought to be opening up new job opportunities, yet, unemployment among the young continues to. In France today, joblessness among workers in their 20s exceeds 20%, twice the overall national rate.
With the U. S. Border security and proposals for a guest worker program back on the front page, it is vital that the U. S. in its effort to cope with undocumented workers – does not overlook legal migration at least. The number of people allowed in, is far too small, posing a significant problem for the economy in the years ahead. Only 140,000 Green Cards are issued annually, the result that scientists, engineers and other highly qualified workers often must wait for years before receiving the ticket to allow them to stay permanently in the U. S.
It is common knowledge that skilled immigrants such as engineers and scientists are in fields not attracting many Americans and they work in IT industries, such as computers and biotech, which have become the backbone of the economy. Many of the entrepreneurs and higher-level employees in Silicon Valley were born overseas. These immigrants create jobs and opportunities for native-born Americans of all types and levels of skills. They would also be more concerned with advancing in the American economy and less likely to abscond with the intellectual American companies-property that could help them advance in their countries of origin.
Certainly, the annual admission of a million or more highly skilled workers would lower the earnings of the American workers they compete against. Hence, the opposition from the competing American workers is the main reason for the sharp restrictions on the number of immigrant workers admitted and/or legalized today in the U. S. This is understandable but does not help the country’s economy. Does not the U. S. benefit tremendously if for instance, India spends millions of dollars on highly esteemed technology universities to train engineers and scientists who eventually emigrate to work in America and contribute to its revenue. This is how it appears to the sending country that protest against this emigration by calling it a “Brian drain”. So, why don’t we take advantage of this trend.
In the 40s, with American farms short of labor, congress created a foreign-guest worker-program to match low-skilled foreign laborers with U. S. jobs. Now, the U. S. service industries are facing a labor shortage, and Washington is considering another guest–worker program. But this time, the complaints are coming from many politicians and their increasingly immigration-wary constituents.
The truth unfortunately is that the economy needs the revenue derivable from the income of these aliens. The number of American-born, low-skilled workers fell by 1.8 million between 1996 and 2000, meaning there is a dwindling supply to staff in the booming construction, health-care and hospitality industries. But the intersection of labor demand and supply hasn’t been matched by a new legal framework. Because illegal aliens still work - using fake identity papers or offer no documentation at all.
The demand for the qualified pharmacists are high simply because they are restricted by quota system coupled with the 2-year practice course before proving eligibility. The fact however remains that these restrictive measures are not helping our economy. We only have to focus on allowing foreign individuals who are already qualified in their various areas to assimilate into our country - who in all probability, fall within the age range of 23 - to 4o years – with more years ahead, to work, pay taxes and support our Social Security. Once they are proven professionals, there will be no need to spend money educating them here.
Experience shows that if America does not accept these greatly increased numbers of highly skilled professionals, they might go elsewhere – Canada for instance. However, since earnings are much higher in the U. S. Many skilled immigrants would prefer to come here. But where they are restricted, they will alternatively compete against America through outsourcing, and similar forms of international trade in services. The U. S. would be much better off by having such skilled workers become residents and citizens – thus contributing to America’s Social Security, productivity, culture tax revenues and education rather than to the productivity and tax revenues of other countries.
Since America has a major advantage in attracting skilled workers, because this is the preferred destination of the vast majority of them, why not take advantage of their preference to come here rather than force them to look elsewhere.
In conclusion, I am not suggesting that we should not use discretion or discriminate where it comes to picking the right immigrants. However, anti – immigrant groups should not be allowed to import bias into the policies to be made on this all important issue.
A Look Back
There is a reason America is grappling with its ever-growing immigration problem. There is a reason commentators, politicians, bureaucrats and think tanks cannot agree on a solution. The country is feeling the effects of physical symptoms that have spiritual causes.
And the answers to spiritual causes are found in Scripture. Yet sadly, very few, including the leading scholars, thinkers and leaders of traditional Christianity, are aware of this.
To get a better understanding of America’s immigration headaches, we must first understand that, even since ancient times, nations and kingdoms have had to contend with growing populations of foreigners living among them.
Consider the beginning of the ancient nation of Israel. Even those who possess little biblical knowledge are familiar with the story of Joseph and his brothers, the family of Israel, coming to live in Egypt. At first, they were welcome. But after some years had passed—and as the Israelites began to reproduce faster than the Egyptians did—the rulers of Egypt began to see them as a threat. This fear led to Israel’s enslavement.
While most are familiar with the biblical account of God delivering them from slavery, few understand that the Jews consisted of only a fraction of the ancient Israelites. Israel was actually comprised of 12 tribes, which eventually divided into two distinct kingdoms: the house of Israel (led by the half-tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh) and the house of Judah (with parts of Levi, Benjamin and Simeon).
The American Dream—Now Obsolete?
Years ago, immigrants came to this country to begin a new and better life. They believed in the American Dream: the idea that through hard work, courage and determination anyone could achieve prosperity. This and other work-ethic values were passed on to successive generations.
The American Dream did not immediately pan out for most immigrants, but their diligence and willingness to sacrifice for their families became an investment that yielded dividends in following generations. Life became much easier for their sons and daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who (because of their parents) were able to earn college degrees and pursue successful professions—engineering, finance, medicine, law, etc. It was once common for every new generation to aspire to live better than its parents did.
Becoming an American meant learning another language; learning and obeying the laws and customs of the land; embracing the U.S. over native countries and siding with America in war, including volunteering for military combat. Many believed that fighting for one’s country was a sure way to prove that his heart, soul and future were vested in it.
But today, the American Dream has radically changed—and some would argue shattered.
Many immigrants come to the U.S. to find a better life, while others come strictly for employment, sending their wages back home to their families in the native lands.
Foreigners once came to America to become Americans, to be “Americanized.” They instilled this desire in their children as they assimilated into society. Their culture fused into the greater American culture, which became the Great Melting Pot.
And that, many argue, is precisely why so many who come to the U.S. no longer desire to assimilate. They fear losing their national culture and traditions, their identity. And so they cling to their languages and customs, even to the point of expecting—even insisting—that street signs and driver’s tests and government forms be given in their native language. Speaking, reading and writing in English—once considered necessary to fulfilling the American Dream—is now viewed as obsolete, intrusive, even an infringement upon one’s “right” to live however he or she may choose.
The United States is a nation that values the rights of the individual. One can freely speak against the policies of the president—even spew verbal attacks on his character—without fear of being arrested, imprisoned, tortured, executed or made to “disappear” without a trace.
Ironically, those same “rights” are being used to tear down, rip apart and demolish confidence in the American system of governance. Respect for law, order and authority is at an all-time low. A cultural war of opposing ideologies is being waged, polarizing government and dividing the nation.
How long can America survive?
Both houses were taken away into national captivity. The people of Judah (today known as the Jews) returned, and retained their ancient identity to this very day. But the house of Israel “disappeared” into the pages of history, and lost knowledge of their origins; today, their descendants are largely oblivious to their biblical identity.
In delivering Israel out of Egypt and leading them to the Promised Land, God intended to fulfill His promise to the patriarch Abraham (Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:17-18).
But did God pick Israel to be His chosen people, “holy” and “special…above all people that are upon the face of the earth” (Deut. 7:6), because they were inherently superior to everyone else? Notice: “The Lord did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all people: But because the Lord loved you, and because He would keep the oath which He had sworn unto your fathers, has the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (vs. 7-8).
God is not a “respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34; Rom. 2:11). He rescued the Israelites from their meager existence and gave them His commandments, statutes and judgments so they would become a model nation: “Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do so in the land where you go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who has God so near unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon Him for? And what nation is there so great, that has statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?” (Deut. 4:5-8)
If ancient Israel had faithfully obeyed God, diligently turning to Him as their Ruler and Lawgiver, they would have reaped the wonderful blessings of national peace and prosperity. Also, their shining example would have led the surrounding nations—and ultimately all nations (Gen. 18:18)—to learn God’s laws, and reap the subsequent blessings of practicing His way of life.
Among these laws were statutes and precepts that governed the welfare and conduct of foreigners who were allowed to live among the Israelites (Ex. 12:37-38). God declares that He loves the “stranger” (Deut. 10:17-18) and expected Israel to do the same: “And if a stranger [foreigner] sojourn with you in your land, you shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwells with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Lev. 19:33-34).
“Strangers” (or foreigners) were protected from oppression: “You shall neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Ex. 22:21), and “Also you shall not oppress a stranger: for you know the heart of a stranger, seeing you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (23:9).
They were to receive the same standard of judgment and fairness that was rendered to the Israelites (Lev. 24:19-22; 19:34-35; Deut. 24:17-18; 27:19).
But to live among the Israelites, immigrants had to keep the same commandments, statutes and judgments that God’s people were commanded to keep. This included observing God’s weekly Sabbath (Ex. 20:8-10; 23:12) and annual Holy Days (Exodus 12:18-19; Lev. 16:29-31). They were required to participate in God-sanctioned executions (24:16) and abstain from pagan sexual practices described in Leviticus 18: “You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourns among you: (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled)” (Lev. 18:26-27).
God divided the Promised Land among the clans and families of the 12 tribes. These properties—which were vital to the Israelites’ livelihood—were to be inherited from generation to generation. They were not allowed to be sold to non-Israelites.
But God did not forget those who were without property or who suffered hardship. He established a financial assistance program to provide for the Levites (who did not receive a land inheritance), the fatherless, widows and for “the stranger” (Deut. 26:12). However, the poor were expected to do their part; for example, while God instructed His people to leave some crops behind for the underprivileged when harvesting, the poor had to glean the food. This required work!
Yes, Israel’s Deliverer looked out for the immigrants among His people. However, He also set a difference between the “stranger” and the Israelite. There were certain things that only His people were allowed to do. For example, foreigners were forbidden to eat the Passover meal (Ex. 12:43-47)—that is, unless they became full citizens (vs. 48-49).
Modern Problem, Ancient Roots
While God instructed His people to treat the foreigners among them with fairness, He also expected Israel to lead the way—His Way—in how to live, rather than allowing “strangers” to dictate the course of the nation.
But ancient Israel rejected God and His Law. As they continually rebelled against their Deliverer and rejected His guiding hand, the kingdom gradually fell into a downward spiral toward national depravity. Despite multiple warnings from His faithful servants, God had to remove His blessings, replacing them with severe droughts, famines, diseases, humiliating military defeats and other national curses. Also among these was the fulfillment of God’s warning: “The stranger that is within you shall get up above you very high; and you shall come down very low. He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him: he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail” (Deut. 28:43-44).
Verse 45 explains that “all these curses shall come upon you, and shall pursue you, and overtake you, till you be destroyed; because you listened not unto the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you.”
Israel was ultimately sent back into slavery, and the national birthright promise to Abraham’s seed had to be fulfilled at another time. God did this through the greatest “nation and a company of nations” (Gen. 35:10-12) in man’s history—the United States of America (Manasseh) and the former British Empire (Ephraim).
But like their ancestors before them, Israel’s modern-day descendants have rejected their Lawgiver. They have thrown out His laws—which were to be their “wisdom” and “understanding in the sight of the nations” (Deut. 4:6)—in order to live by their own laws, their own rules of conduct.
Look at the result. Without God’s laws as the standard of wisdom and rendering good judgment, men cannot agree on right and wrong. They are forced to pass new laws—new codes—new regulations—year after year, as society’s values change with each successive generation.
This is reflected in America’s struggle to find a solution to aliens living and working in the country illegally. The American people cannot even agree on whether to call them “illegal immigrants” or “undocumented workers”!
Consider the irony. Millions of Americans, even most who claim to be Christian, consider the Law of God burdensome and that it restricts individual freedoms. Yet God’s Law, contained in the pages of the Bible, can be held in one hand—while men produce vast libraries of laws, codes, rulings and regulations that attempt to address virtually every miniscule detail of life!
And what has this yielded? Mass bureaucracy—inconsistent and unjust court renderings—abuses in interpreting the law—legal chaos and confusion! This is freedom?
The U.S. already has laws in place that address the rise of illegal immigration—yet the people lack the will to enforce them. Lawmakers are at a crossroads: If they do nothing, the problem will not go away; it will only grow worse. On the other hand, no matter what proposals are passed and enforced, a large segment of the voting populace will be upset—and they will show their anger in the ballot box.
Without the Law of God as their guiding light (Prov. 6:23), the people of modern Manasseh are entering dark times ahead.
Cancellation of Removal and Suspension of Deportation
Cancellation of removal is a limited form of relief for certain permanent and nonpermanent residents. It is available to certain nonpermanent residents who are in removal proceedings before an immigration judge, if the nonpermanent resident alien has been in the U.S. continuously for at least ten years, is of good moral character, and can establish that his or her removal would subject a lawful permanent resident or U.S. citizen, who is an immediate family member, to extreme and unusual hardship. Upon review of the evidence, the Immigration Judge may cancel the removal proceedings and grant the alien permanent residence.
Permanent residents convicted of certain crimes and subsequently put into removal proceedings may also be eligible for cancellation of removal, if they were present continuously in the U.S. as a legal permanent resident for 7 years and were not arrested and convicted of a crime within their first five years of residency.
Additionally, a nonpermanent resident alien that can establish the following is eligible to apply for cancellation of removal: Demonstrate that the he/she has been in the U.S. for at least ten years; Is of good moral character; has not been convicted of specified criminal offenses; And that, his/her removal would result in extreme and unusual hardship to a spouse, parent or child who is a legal permanent resident or U.S. citizen. Currently, an alien is only eligible to apply for cancellation once. Hence, if the cancellation is denied, or if the alien ever loses his residency, the alien cannot reapply at a later date. ON THE OTHER HAND,
SUSPENSION OF DEPORTATION occurs when persons under deportation proceedings are granted permanent residence if they (1) are continuously present in the U.S. for a minimum of seven years, (2) are persons of good moral character and (3) their deportation would result in "extreme hardship" on themselves and their parents, spouses and children who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
Prior to 1996, individuals who had been continuously physically present in the United States for seven years, had good moral character, and could show that they, or a parent, spouse, or child would experience extreme hardship if they were returned to their country of origin qualified for suspension of deportation. With the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), Congress replaced suspension of deportation with a new form of relief called cancellation of removal.
The requirements that an applicant must meet in order to qualify for cancellation of removal are more stringent than those for suspension of deportation. They include ten years of continuous physical presence in the U.S., good moral character, and a showing that the applicant's U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse, children, or parents would suffer "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship" if the applicant were returned to his or her country of origin. Thus, whereas prior law allowed applicants to make a case that they themselves would suffer hardship, the post-1996 law takes into account only hardship to the individual's qualifying relative.
The BIA's analysis notes that, in the context of eligibility for relief from deportation, the phrase "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship" first appeared in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as a standard for applicants for suspension of deportation.. According to the BIA's decision, the House Report for the 1952 legislation indicates that suspension of deportation under this standard "should be available only in the very limited category of cases in which the deportation of the alien would be unconscionable." However, the BIA declined to adopt an "unconscionable" standard, finding that the nearly fifty-year-old legislative history of a statutory provision arising in a different context provides little guidance for interpreting the cancellation of removal statute. In 1962, the suspension statute was amended to require only "extreme hardship," while the "exceptional and extremely unusual" standard was retained for applicants for suspension who were deportable because of criminal convictions or other misconduct.
It was decided that little guidance from prior case law interpreting the meaning of the phrase "exceptional and extremely unusual," since these cases often depended on the hardship to the respondent, which is not a factor in the context of cancellation of removal. The BIA concluded that this language requires a showing of hardship beyond what has historically been required in suspension of deportation cases. The BIA held that the hardship shown must be substantially beyond the ordinary hardship that would be expected when a close family member is forced to leave the U.S. and goes to live in his or her country of origin.
The BIA reviewed the factors to be considered in cancellation of removal cases. Among the factors that may be weighed are the age, health, and other circumstances of the respondent's U.S. citizen and lawful permanent resident spouse, children, and parents. The possibility that the respondent's standard of living will be lowered or that there are other adverse conditions in his or her country of origin are factors that may be considered only insofar as they may affect a U.S. citizen or LPR family member.
Yet, the presence of factors such as these was still considered insufficient in itself to support a finding that the relevant U.S. citizen or LPR family members face exceptional and extremely unusual hardship should the respondent be removed. However, the BIA's decision suggests that a respondent whose child is a U.S. citizen or LPR with serious health problems might have a strong cancellation of removal case, as might a respondent with elderly U.S. citizen or LPR parents who are heavily dependent on the respondent.
Section 240 A of the INA allows the Attorney General to cancel the removal of inadmissible and deportable aliens who meet certain statutory requirements. Section 304(a) of the 1996 Act added cancellation of removal, as a form of relief from removal. Whereas section 240A(a) is analogous to the waiver under former Section 212(c) of the INA, which allowed the INS, in its discretion, to waive the exclusion of a lawfully admitted permanent resident who was returning to the United States to a lawful unrelinquished domicile of seven consecutive years. While the literal language of the former statute appeared to limit its relief to returning permanent residents in the exclusion context, the relief was extended by case law to permanent residents in deportation proceedings, and the BIA accepted this construction.
The new cancellation of removal statute makes clear that the relief is available to both inadmissible and deportable aliens and eliminates some of the ambiguity caused by the language contained in the former statute. The 1996 Act specifies that the alien must have been a permanent resident for at least five years and must have resided in the United States continuously for seven years after having been admitted in any status. The new law also contains important provisions governing the accrual of the seven-year statutory period which settle much of the litigation that developed under the prior statute.
Section 240A(b) is analogous to suspension of deportation under former Section 244(a) of the INA. Former Section 244(a) allowed the Attorney General to cancel deportation proceedings and automatically adjust the alien's status to that of a permanent resident. The grant of suspension eliminated all existing grounds for deportation, so that the alien was afforded a "clean slate" for immigration purposes. Different standards were applied in adjudicating suspension applications depending on whether the alien had committed aggravated deportable offenses. The latter class of aliens was required to establish ten years of continuous presence in the United States, good moral character, and "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship." Persons who had not committed an aggravated offense were required to show continuous presence for seven years, good moral character, and extreme hardship to a qualifying U.S. citizen or permanent resident relative.
Additionally, aliens who were victims of abuse by their U.S. citizen spouse or parent were eligible for suspension if they had been physically present in the United States for a continuous period of at least three years, they were persons of good moral character, and extreme hardship would result from deportation.
The 1996 Act clarifies that both inadmissible and deportable aliens are eligible for cancellation of removal under Section 240A(b). This change mainly benefits persons who entered without inspection who are considered applicants for admission under the 1996 Act and, therefore, subject to the grounds of inadmissibility. More significantly, the 1996 Act eliminates relief for persons who have committed offenses that render them inadmissible or deportable under one of the criminal grounds for removal. In addition, the 1996 Act increases the required period of continuous presence to ten years and tightens the hardship standard for most aliens who remain eligible for relief. Specifically, the alien must establish exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to an immediate relative who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. As under prior law, the 1996 Act relaxes the standards for aliens who are victims of abuse by their U.S. citizen spouse or child.
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MAXIMUM STAY INFO FOR TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT VISAS |
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Class |
Initial Stay |
Extension of Stay |
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E-1 |
Two (2) years |
Up to 2 years per extension. No maximum number of extensions, with some exceptions. |
|
E-2 |
Two (2) years |
Up to 2 years per extension. No maximum number of extensions, with some exceptions. |
|
H-1B1 |
Up to 3 years |
Increment of up to 3 years. Total stay limited to 6 years. |
|
H-1B2 |
Up to 3 years |
Increment of up to 3 years. Total stay limited to 6 years, with some exceptions. |
|
H-1C |
Up to 3 years |
Total stay limited to 3 years. |
|
H-2A and H-2B |
Same as validity of labor certification, with maximum of 1 year. |
Same as validity of labor certification (increments of up to 1 year). Total stay limited to 3 years. |
|
H-3 |
Special
Education Training-up to 18 months. |
Special
Education Trainee-total stay limited to 18 months. |
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L-1A |
Coming
to existing office-up to 3 years. |
Increments of up to 2 years. Total stay limited to 7 years. |
|
L-1B |
Coming
to existing office-up to 3 years. |
One increment of up to 2 years. Total stay limited to 5 years. |
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O-1 and O-2 |
Up to 3 years |
Increments of up to 1 year |
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P-1, P-2, P-3 and their support personnel |
Individual
athlete-up to 5 years. |
Individual
athlete-Increments of up to 5 years. Total stay limited
to 10 years. |
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Q-1 |
Up to 15 months. |
Total stay limited to 15 months |
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(Note: definition of each class of visa should display once only per chart) |
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R-1 and R-2 |
Up to 3 years |
Increments of up to 2 years. Total stay limited to 5 years. |
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All other |
Up to 1 year |
Increments of up to 1 |
Marriage to a United States citizen qualifies one for a green card. If the marriage occurs abroad, the green card petition must be filed through a U.S. Consulate with jurisdiction over the applicants place of residence. The procedures usually take between six to nine months to complete. Although, the same process that takes 6-8 months abroad, takes 12-18 months in the US, if the alien is already in the U. S. With this petition, the applicant may work and live in the U.S. from the date of filing. Thus the lengthy processing period is not as inconvenient as it would seem. Those who apply abroad must wait out side of the US during the entire processing period. As a result, many newly weds prefer to undertake the entire green card application process in the U.S., so that they can live together and work while they patiently wait for the bureaucracy to grind out the green card approval notice.
However, since the INS will not admit people who intend to live in the US permanently as a non-immigrant. The choice is to file the green card application abroad and come to the US as a permanent resident or come to the US as a non-immigrant tourist or worker, then marry and finally file for the green card in the U.S. In the later case, if INS knew all the facts, they would deny entry and possibly bar entry for five years under summary removal procedures because, it is fraudulent for one to enter the U.S. as a non-immigrant with the intent to live in the U.S. permanently.
FIANCÉE (K-1) VISA
Rather than force people to lie about the purpose of their entry to the U.S., in 1970, Congress created the K-1 or fiancee visa category. This is a non-immigrant visa allowing your Fiance(e) to enter the United States for the purpose of marriage. This visa is only valid for a limited period of time, during which the marriage must occur. The K-1 Visa is normally valid for a period of three (3) months. There is no extension of stay allowed. K-1 petition is automatically terminated when the Petitioner dies or voluntarily withdraws the petition. The K-1 visa avoids the risk of being denied entry to the U.S. and permits a fiance to enter the U.S. as long as the marriage takes place within 90 days of entry. The applicant may work in the U.S. during the 90 day period. Immediately after the marriage, the couple may file the green card petition, form I-130 and the adjustment of status petition I-485 with INS. This visa tends to reduce the INS processing period.
PROCEDURE:
The U.S. citizen files I-129F on behalf of the intended l at one of the four INS regional processing centers. This form requires personal data of each applicant, proof that applicants have met within the two years prior to application and a statement that the applicants intend to marry within 90 days of entry to the U.S. INS will then make exceptions for arranged marriages if the applicants can show that arranged marriages are a long standing family custom. If the petition is approved , INS will send the file to the Consulate nearest the residence of the alien fiancée. The Consul will conduct security clearance procedures and then schedule an interview, much like a permanent residence interview. If the Consul issues the visa, the supporting documents are put in a sealed envelope for presentation to INS at the port of entry. This same package can be used for the adjustment of status and green card application with INS after the marriage. The fiancée has 4 months from the date of visa petition approval to apply for the K-1 visa at a U.S. Consulate. Although the four month period may be extended, each extension requests casts doubt on the ultimate intention to marry in the U.S. The fiancé(e) must either marry with in the 90 day period or leave the U.S. If however, the fiancée leaves prior to the expiration of the 90 day period and returns, he or she will only be admitted for the balance of the first 90 day period
The K-2 non-immigrant visa allows a child of your Fiancée to enter into the U.S. and await the availability of an immigrant visa. A CHILD is described for this purpose as someone: younger than 21 yeas of age; unmarried; and seeking to immigrate to the U.S. K-1 children may stay in the U.S. on K-2 visa for a maximum period of 90 days from the date of entry. If you and your Fiancée do not marry within 90 days, K-1 children must depart the U.S. together with your Fiancée.
Valid passport (not needed if a child is under 16); Nonimmigrant Visa Application (Form DS-156), in duplicate with two recent color photographs; Official birth certificate; Permission to travel from other parent; Complete medical examination report.
NOTE importantly that an interview is required at the American Consulate. Some consulates do not require a child of your Fiancée to attend interview if he/she is below the age of 14. Many consulates require a child to attend even if he/she is not going to move to the U.S. with K-1 parent immediately, but will follow later. The cut-off date for issuance of a K2 visa is 1 year from the date of the K-1 visa is issued to the principal alien. K-1 and K-2 visas are valid for one entry into the U.S. at any time within the next six months.
Basically, the new K3 visa works much like the K1 fiancée visa with a few new twists and turns. With the obvious exception that you must be married rather than engaged to the beneficiary, the requirements for the K3 visa are very similar to the K1 fiancée visa. If you are already married to, or about to marry, someone from another country, this is the visa for you. This is true in most cases even when you have already filed the I-130 petition for your spouse. Obtaining a K-3 visa for your international wife can reduce the time it takes to get her into the US by two years or more.
If you are considering marrying overseas, but have not already done so, we encourage you to call our offices so we may advise you on your particular situation. Depending on where you live in the U.S. and where your fiancée lives, it may or may not be in your best interest to marry your fiancée before bringing her to the U.S. Call us immediately.
The foreign spouse's unmarried children under the age of twenty-one can be included in the parent's petition and receive K4 visas with the same privileges as the parent's K3 visa. However, if a child is 18 years of age or older at the time of marriage then, although the child can receive a K4 visa and enter the U.S., that child cannot obtain a green card and become a U.S. immigrant. The child's K4 visa will simply expire after two years or when the child reaches the age of 21, whichever occurs first.
1. You don't
need to marry immediately in your Fiancée's country or the U.S.
2. You bring your loved one to the U.S. as your Fiancée, and
both of you have 90 days to get married. This allows you both to get
to know each other better and make a decision about whether you want
to spend the rest of your lives together.
3. You deal nearly
exclusively with the U.S. immigration system and U.S. immigration officials
here, in the United States.
4. You avoid dealing with local
foreign procedures of marriage in a foreign country in a foreign language.
5. Your fiancée has a chance to see the country and get familiar
with U.S. customs and language before the marriage.
DISADVANTAGES:
1.Your Fiancée needs to make a strong effort to convince the Immigration Officer at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in her home country, that you are both in love and are planning to get married upon her arrival in the U.S. Close family and friends will NOT see your Fiancée get married in the U.S. unless they could manage to obtain another type of visa such as a tourist visa, which is hard to obtain.
A. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced new policy changes aimed at ensuring compliance with the International Marriage Brokers Regulation Act of 2005.
Under these laws, United States citizens may petition foreign national fiancés or fiancées for K-1 visas.
They may also petition foreign national spouses for K-3 visas. These visas permit spouses to enter the US while they await final processing of their green cards.
B. However, the International Marriage Brokers Regulation Act of 2005 (IMBRA) affects US citizens who petition foreign national fiancés in three primary ways: First, US citizen petitioners who met their fiancée via an international marriage broker must now disclose this information in their visa petition. An international marriage broker under IMBRA is considered to be any business, international or domestic, agency that charges fees for matchmaking services. Thus, petitioners who pay for such dating services, including online services, are now required to disclose this information on their petition. Second, K-1 visa petitioners must now disclose whether they have been convicted of certain crimes, including sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, and drug and alcohol related convictions where the petitioner has three or more such convictions. Third, the petitioner should not have filed two or more previous K-1 visa petitions, providing the beneficiary/fiancé (ee) actually applied for the visa. In other words, if a petitioner has filed a K-1 petition for a previous fiancé, and that fiancé applied for a K-1 visa, the petitioner can only file one more K-1 petition. Further, if a previous petition has been approved, a second K-1 petition cannot be filed before two years have elapsed since the filing of the first petition. However, petitioners may apply for a waiver of the limitation on the number of petitions they may file.
Except in extraordinary circumstances, those who have criminal records containing violent offenses against another person will not be eligible for this waiver. Therefore, many petitioners who have a criminal record will be strictly subject to the limitation on the number of petitions they may file.
US citizen petitioners who file K-3 petitions, on behalf of their spouses, must also disclose certain criminal convictions. Notably, there is no limit on the number of K-3 petitions one may file.
Under this new legislation, K-1 and K-3 visa applicants will be notified of certain facts at the time of their visa interview. They will receive notification of the petitioner’s past criminal convictions, as well as the existence of any protective orders obtained against the petitioner.
C. While the primary changes affecting K-1 and K-3 visas are described above, other new rules and caveats exist. This new law applies to pending K visa petitions as well.
The USCIS has returned pending K visa petitions to the petitioners to request new information required under IMBRA. It has announced a new policy with respect to Fiancée Visas – whereby, thousands of pending applicants will be getting Requests for Evidence (RFE) from the USCIS. With this policy, all petitions filed after March 6, 2006 will require additional supporting material, and recent applicants will be sent Requests for More Evidence by the USCIS.
We have 100 percent success rate
We boast a 100 percent success rate on all USCIS submissions. The reason for this success rate is attributed to years of experience and extreme attention to detail. Each petition is meticulously reviewed before USCIS submission, in order to be 100 percent certain there are no potential problems.
We have Faster approval rate
Although there are certain, unavoidable waiting periods, the entire process can be accelerated by experienced attorneys. The fact that the case is assembled professionally, with a close eye to detail, will ensure that the USCIS will have everything they need, in the proper order, the first time, which will spare the client costly delays. If the client chooses the Premium service we will prepare all the paperwork for the Fiancée and assist her in obtaining the required supporting documents, thus enabling her to obtain an earlier interview date.
We give Full USCIS as well as Embassy support
The basic service includes full USCIS service. Your I-129F petition will be carefully assembled and submitted to the appropriate office. From there it will be monitored until approval. For those that choose the Premium service our full Embassy service is included. This entails the completion of all the forms and assistance with collecting all documents necessary for the Fiancée/beneficiary for their Embassy interview. Our staff will also consult with the Fiancée to double check all her forms and get her ready for the interview process. Most attorneys in Our Law Offices have experienced the visa process first hand – hence, they understand how your Fiancée feels and will make the process much more comfortable for her.
We are mindful of every single detail others neglect
We do not expect you to understand or even care to understand what is involved in filing a proper visa petition. It is not your job; it is not what you do. It is what we do, and what you are paying us to do. We are responsible for keeping abreast of the constant changes in the K1 process - not you. We are responsible for making sure you receive approval of your petition in the fastest time possible - not you. All you have to do is supply us with the necessary information and supporting documents (all of which are detailed in the package you will receive) and we do the rest.
We have: English, French, Spanish, and Italian - speaking Staff network. Our Attorneys and paralegals, are licensed in both U.S. and other countries of the world, and this enables us to empathize with both petitioners and the Fiancée since most of them have gone through the visa process. They are capable of speaking to many of these clients in their native languages and help to make them more comfortable with the process
Fiancée Visa Services has been working to bring together International Couples. Our experience is invaluable when it comes to support issues such as how to deal with being separated during the Visa processing time, long distance relationships, as well as how to make your Fiancée feel at home once they arrive in the U S. If interpersonal problems do arise before or after your fiancé (e) arrives, our staff is available for free consultations and will share our vast experience with you and give our perspective so you have an objective opinion on which to rely.
We are Licensed to practice Immigration Law in all 50 states in the U. S.
It makes no difference as to which state you reside in, we are available to assist you in the Fiancée visa process. All documents and correspondence are sent by next day Express mail and are traceable, so there is never a concern about lost documents.
We give Additional Assistance with Fiancée K1 or Spousal Visas K3 in any country
It makes no difference where you find your special someone; we can assist you with the Fiancée visa in any country in the world. With our Law offices, support and counseling are available to the Fiancée. The Premium Service includes support and counseling for your Fiancée during the entire process. This is an important process for both parties as every step of the process is important. Problems can and do arise at the embassy that can be easily dealt with by an experienced attorney. Your Fiancée will have all the support and assistance she will need in order to make the process as stress free and smooth as possible.
All our clients receive highly competent legal services from expert Immigration Attorneys/staff.
For your own protection, be sure that whomever you decide to assist you in your case is an expert attorney. NOTE IMPORTANTLY that: USCIS regulations prohibit non-lawyer companies from representing petitioners or the Fiancée.
"I have heard so much about the CSS and LULAC Amnesty Program for Green Card. It’s all too confusing to me and I am not sure if I am eligible to apply or not. Could you clarify all what this program is about and who is eligible to apply?"
The first thing you will have to understand is the background information
about the Settlements known as the -
CATHOLIC SOCIAL SERVICES (CSS) AND NEWMAN (LULAC) CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENTS.
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, created a one-year amnesty
program from May 5, 1987 to May 4, 1988. During this time, individuals
who had resided unlawfully in the United States from: (before January
1, 1982 to the time they submitted applications) could apply to
adjust status to permanent residency. However, INS created restrictive
regulations and policies in the implementation of this program and wrongfully
refused to accept thousands of applications. In response, the Center
brought two class action lawsuits called the: CSS and LULAC/Newman.
- Hence, commencing May 24, 2004, and continuing for one year, (May
24, 2005) thousands of long-term immigrants around the country have
the opportunity to apply for legalization of status under the 1986 IRCA.
As noted earlier, this legalization opportunity results from the recent
settlements reached in the Catholic Social Services (CSS) v. Ridge (CSS
I ) AND Newman v. Department of Homeland Security (formerly LULAC v.
INS) class action. CSS challenged an INS regulation declaring
that persons who had traveled outside the U.S. during the original 12-month
application period (May 1987 – May 1988) were ineligible to apply for
legalization unless they had re-entered with advance parole. But, on
January 23, 2004, the Federal District Court in Sacramento, California,
approved a settlement of the CSS class action. While, on February 17,
2004 a Federal Judge - approved a final settlement in the Newman
(LULAC) case.
The INS initially defended its advance
parole rule as a reasonable interpretation of the IRCA’s "continuous
physical presence" eligibility criterion, but the district court
entered summary judgment striking the rule down shortly before the end
of the 12-month application period. The Court held the advance parole
rule as being inconsistent with INA S.245(a)(3)(B), which specifically
permitted applicants "brief, innocent, and casual" absences abroad.
One month after the application period closed, the INS conceded that
its advance parole regulation was improper, declined to appeal the merits
of the summary judgment, and agreed to discontinue applying the rule
to pending legalization applications. By then, however, the agency
had turned away or discouraged thousands of would-be applicants.
Under the CSS Interim Relief Order, the INS was required to grant
temporary work authorization and stays of deportation to class members
who were prima facie eligible for legalization. And those persons were
permitted to apply for interim relief until December 2, 1995. In
1998 however, it was ruled that the court did not have jurisdiction
to address the claims of CSS class members unless the applicant "attempted
to file a complete application and application fee" with a legalization
officer and the applicant’s application and fee were refused. The
CSS case was subsequently dismissed and INS stopped issuing work permits
and began detaining and removing CSS class members. In response, a new
case, - Catholic Social Services (CSS) v. Reno, (CSS II) was brought
by the Center. And, in June of 1998, Chief Judge Emeritus Lawrence K.
Karlton, in the Federal District Court in Sacramento, California, issued
a temporary restraining orders barring the INS from revoking employment
authorization previously granted to class members and enjoined INS from
detaining or removing any CSS I class members. Therefore, in November
of 2000, the Court of Appeals issued an opinion reversing the panel
opinion directing that CSS be dismissed and held that the CSS case could
go forward. Hence, on August 27, 2001, the United States District Court
of California reinstated the action. By June 2002, the Center presented
a motion for summary judgment to the Federal District Court, asking
that the court enter judgment requiring the INS to accept and decide
legalization applications from CSS class members under the original
1986 amnesty law. The result of this latest Motion is the present Settlement
Agreement.
The Settlement Summary Consist Of Agreement
pinpointed the following:
Class Definition:
This explains that the persons entitled to benefits under this settlement
are those who are otherwise prima facie eligible for legalization under
S. 245A of the INA, and who already tendered completed applications
for legalization under S 245A of the INA and paid the required fees
during the period from May 5, 1987 to May 4, 1988, and whose applications
were rejected because an INS officer or QDE concluded that they had
traveled outside the United States after November 6, 1986 without advance
parole. As well as all other persons who filed for class membership
under the CSS case were informed that they were ineligible for legalization,
or were refused by the INS or its QDEs legalization forms, and for whom
such information, or inability to obtain the required application forms,
was a substantial cause of their failure to timely file or complete
a written Application. Note that the phrase “filed for class membership”
includes the spouses and children of persons who actually filed for
class membership as provided in 8 C.F.R. of the section.
Distribution Of The Settlement - The CSS
settlement requires that within fourteen (14) days from the date on
which the district court approves the settlement, or on which the separate
settlement in Newman’s case is approved, whichever is later, the (“DHS”)
must use good faith and reasonable efforts to distribute the CSS settlement
to all DHS officers, agents and employees who will be responsible for
processing class membership claims. And that the DHS must serve Class
Counsel with copies of all supplemental instructions regarding implementation
of this Settlement Agreement. The press release, Class Notice, Class
Member Applications and Appeal to Special Master of Denial of Class
Membership shall be posted also on the BCIS’s web site until the end
of the application etcetera.
Application Period
- This is 30 to 60 days after notice is issued to class members BCIS
was required to begin accepting Applications and Forms I-687- Application
for Status as a Temporary Resident, with fee and supporting documentation
up to a period of one year only.
Filing Of
Applications - Individuals asserting a claim for relief under the
CSS settlement must file a CSS Class Membership Application and a Form
I-687 - Application for Status as a Temporary Resident, with fee and
supporting documentation. Applicants who wish to receive an
employment authorization document must file a Form I-765 with fee.
And, if a person previously filed for class membership, BCIS shall refund
the fee for filing the Form I-687 if such person’s application for class
membership is denied. The BCIS shall, without fee, reissue or renew
for a period of one year employment authorization to applicants in the
class defined herein who were previously issued such employment authorization
pursuant to interim relief orders in CSS case. An applicant shall be
entitled to have his or her employment authorization renewed only during
the application period and only one time under this provision.
Adjudication Of Class Member Applications - The BCIS will approve
CSS Class Membership Applications if, based on responses to questions
asked on the application, it appears more probable than not that the
applicant meets the class definition. A determination that an applicant
is a class member is not binding in any manner for the purposes of adjudication
on the merits of the application for temporary residence, which shall
be conducted de novo. Class Member Applications shall not be denied
solely because applicants do not possess documentary evidence establishing
class membership.
Intended Denials of Class Membership -
Before denying an
application for class membership, the applicant or his or her representative
shall be sent a notice of intended denial explaining the perceived deficiency
in the applicant's Class Member Application and providing the applicant
30 days to submit additional written evidence or information to remedy
the perceived deficiency.
Denial of Applications
- When any application is denied the BCIS shall send written notice
to the applicant and his or her attorney of record, explaining the reasons
for the denial and notifying the applicant of his or her right to seek
review of such denial by a Special Master. And on review, neither the
BCIS nor the applicant shall be permitted to submit new evidence to
the Special Master. Any such appeal must be post-marked within 30 days
of the date of mailing of the notice denying the application for class
membership.
Time for Determining Applications
- BCIS shall use good faith and reasonable efforts either to approve
applications for class membership or issue notices of intended denials
within ninety (90) days of receipt. Once a notice of intended denial
is issued, the BCIS shall endeavor to issue a final decision on the
application within ninety (90) days after receipt of an applicant's
supplemental evidence or explanation. It is also expected that BCIS
shall use good faith and reasonable efforts to adjudicate class members'
I-687 forms within one hundred and eighty (180) days of approval of
their application for class membership.
Removal
Of Class Applicants - DHS shall not remove from the U S or detain
any putative class member who appears to be prima facie eligible for
class membership under the CSS settlement and for legalization under
S. 245A of the INA. This however, does not apply to any alien who is
subject to detention or removal despite his or her having been previously
determined to be eligible for class membership. For example, if, after
having been deemed a class member, it is found that the alien has been
convicted of a crime that renders him or her ineligible for legalization,
the alien may nevertheless be detained and removed from the U. S.
To apply, immigrants must be able to show
that they are “Prima Facie” eligible as a CSS member or a Newman (LULAC)
class member that is - i. they continuously and unlawfully resided in
the U. S. prior to January 1st 1982;
ii. they were continuously present
in the U. S. from November 6 of 1986 to May 4th 1988 or until they attempted
to apply for amnesty and;
iii. they are not inadmissible for
immigrant status.
For example, if they are a criminal, or
terrorist, national security comes first; and also iv. they must show
that they are a member of the CSS and/or Newman (LULAC) class.
(CSS) subgroup - 1 Applicants must show that they:
i. attempted
to file a completed application with the required fee to an INS officer
or QDE from May, 5, 1987 to May 4th, 1988; and
ii. were rejected
because they traveled outside the U.S. after Nov 6, 1986 without parole
authorization; WHEREAS THE
(CSS) SUBGROUP - 2 Applicants
must show that:
i. INS or QDE told them that they were ineligible
because they traveled outside the U. S. after Nov 6, 1986 without parole
authorization; and/or:
ii. did not file a timely application because
of the information obtained from INS or QDE or their refusal to give
them the legalization Forms; and or
iii. applied as a class member
under CSS temporary employment authorization with or without filing
fees before October 1st, 2000.
TEMPORARY RELIGIOUS WORKER VISA
This is a nonimmigrant visa (category "R") for foreign nationals entering
the United States to work in a religious capacity. This is an unusual
category in that if the applicant is outside the US, they can apply
for an R-1 visa without prior BCIS (INS) approval. The applicant can
go to the appropriate consulate and present the required evidence and
be issued the visa on the spot. The BASIC CRITERIA for classification
of an R religious worker are that :
The alien is a member of a religious denomination having a bona fide
nonprofit, religious organization in the United States; the religious
denomination and its affiliate, if applicable, are exempt from taxation,
or the religious denomination qualifies for tax-exempt status; The alien
has been a member of the organization for two years immediately preceding
admission; The alien is entering the United States solely to carry on
the vocation of a minister of that denomination; or At the request of
the organization; the alien is entering the United States to work in
a religious vocation or occupation for that denomination or for an organization
affiliated with the denomination, whether in a professional capacity
or not; or The alien is the spouse or child of an R-1 nonimmigrant who
is accompanying or following to join him or her; and The alien has resided
and been physically present outside the United States for the immediate
prior year, except for brief visits for business or pleasure. If he
or she has previously spent five years in this classification you should
generally apply at the US embassy or consulate with jurisdiction over
your place of permanent residence. Although you may apply at any U.S.
consular office abroad, it may be more difficult to apply for the visa
outside your country of permanent residence. You must intend to depart
the United States at the end of your lawful status.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION: The most important evidence that must
be presented by the applicant is documentation of the sponsoring religious
group’s tax exempt status in the US; a letter from the organization
that will employ the R-1 visa holder. This letter should outline the
applicant’s two-year minimum membership, including where that membership
occurred, in or out of the US, it should also include a statement that
the foreign-based religious group and the US based religious group for
which the applicant will work belong to the same denomination. It must
state the name and location of the organization in the US for which
the applicant will work. Finally, it should outline the applicant’s
qualifications and salary.
It is important to
note that if a person is in the US and wishes to change from one nonimmigrant
category to R-1 status, an application must be made with the BCIS (INS).
This is done on Form I-129. Also, extensions of stay in R-1 status are
made on this form. The maximum stay in R-1 status is 5 years. A person
can obtain R-1 status again after remaining outside the US for one year
before making another application. Your spouse and unmarried children
under 21 years of age may accompany or join you in derivative status.
Derivative status means that their visas will be dependent on your nonimmigrant
status. If you change your status, your family must change their status.
If you lose your status, your family will also lose their status. Your
spouse and unmarried children under 21 years of age may study but may
not accept employment in the United States. But they are not permitted
to work unless they have their own work visas. You can obtain a green
card through religious category. In this case, you will be required
to file an I-360.
The
K class visa is an "alien fiancé(e)” visa, which is a nonimmigrant visa.
A US citizen who wishes to marry a foreigner may file a 'K' class petition
(I129F) which, when granted, allows the foreigner to enter the US and
marry within 90 days of arrival. Once married, the foreigner should
file for conditional permanent residence. There are two types of ' K'
class visas: K1 - for direct fiance(e), K2 - for children of fiance(e)
The times can vary greatly. Upon approval and successful passing of
the medical exam and interview at the foreign consulate, the result
will be given with 3 distinct deadlines: A visa will be issued with
a validity of 180 days; You have to enter the United States before the
expiry date shown on that visa; from the date of entry another deadline
becomes effective:- You have to marry your fiance(e) within 90 days
after entering the USA on a K-1 visa; After the marriage you have another
deadline to inform the USCIS that you have married and apply for change
of visa status. The times can vary greatly. When the petition is approved
or disapproved, you will be sent a Notice of Action, Form I-797, stating
an approval or disapproval. After petition approval the fiance(e) should
call the US consulate, and an interview will be scheduled after the
fiance(e) has gathered the following items: --two certified copies of
the birth certificate; a passport valid for at least 6 months; a police
certificate in duplicate, certifying no criminal record; a medical examination
by a doctor approved by the consulate will take place before the interview;
four color photographs; evidence of support in the US --proof that the
fiance(e) will not become a charge of the USA. The requirements are
detailer out in Form 167. Under I-134 the following will be needed:
1) Income, property, and investment information. 2) Loans and expenses.
3) Willingness to deposit a bond with immigration. 4) Acknowledgment
of the Social Security Act.... 5) Notarized copies of latest tax return.
6) Statement from employer about salary. 7) Statement from bank officer
about accounts... 8) If well established as a business owner, a rating
from a rating agency. For previously married persons, two copies of
their marriage certificate and proof of termination. For proof of the
relationship, you are required to provide photos showing the two of
you together, letters and correspondence, telephone bills, airline tickets,
etc.
The USCIS is very interested in being certain
that it is not a "sham" marriage for the purpose of immigration. Typical
questions can be asked like: where you met, where the US citizen works
etc. When filling out fiance(e) papers, children are, of course, normally
included on the application filled. However, since if your Fiancée will
be bringing her child with her to the U S, she is also required to obtain
from her ex-husband, his permission, in certified writing, to allow
her to bring the child. This does not mean of course, that the father
is giving up his rights for the child, but merely allows the child to
move to the U.S. Separate legal action, after the child has arrived
into the U.S. can then be taken-up to attempt adoption by the new "step-parent".
If your fiancé(e) becomes accepted for the K1 visa, and moves to the
U.S, she will automatically be given work authorization. And once the
Petition for Alien Relative and application to Register Permanent Residence
is filed at the USCIS, the K-1 visa holder's status changes to an applicant
with a pending Adjustment of Status. Upon receiving the work authorization
card (EAD), s/he can start working while their case is pending and can
travel outside the country so long as they have a valid Advance parole.
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It is important to note here that exchange visitors may be subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement of Section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act for one or more of the following reasons: IF - they received funding from the United States Government, their own government, or an international organization in connection with their participation in the Exchange Visitor Program; The education, training, or skill they are pursuing in this country appears on the Exchange Visitor Skills List for their country; OR they acquired J1 status on or after January 10, 1977, for the purpose of receiving graduate medical education or training. Note also that if a participant in an exchange program is subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement, his or her spouse and unmarried minor children who were admitted as exchange visitors or acquired such status after admission are also subject to this requirement.
However, exchange visitors who are subject to, but do not wish to comply
with, the two-year home country residence requirement, may apply for
a J1 waiver of that requirement under any one of the five applicable
grounds provided by the United States immigration law:
NO OBJECTION STATEMENT: where J1 visa holders
may obtain a waiver of the two-year foreign residence requirement by
obtaining a letter from their home government stating that there is
no objection to the J1 visa holder remaining in the US without returning
home for two years. This option is available to all J1 visa holders
subject to S. 212 (e) except for medical doctors who came to the US
for graduate medical training. The government processing time is roughly
four to eight weeks.
INTERESTED GOVERNMENT
AGENCY (IGA): J1 visa holders who wish to obtain a waiver
through this method do not need to actually work for the government
agency who will sponsor the waiver. To qualify for an IGA waiver, the
J1 visa holder must have an important role in a research project where
the J1 visa holder’s S. 212(e) requirement to return home for two years
would negatively impact that project. Government Agencies who have an
interest in seeing that you complete your research, may sponsor your
waiver petition. IGA waivers may also be obtained by medical doctors
who will agree to work in VA Hospitals or other medical facilities located
in designated underserved areas in urban or rural settings. The government
processing time is roughly four to six weeks.
PERSECUTION: A J1 visa holder who believes that he or she will be
persecuted upon return to their home country due to race, religion,
or political opinion may obtain a waiver of the two-year foreign residence
requirement. The government processing time is roughly three to four
months.
HARDSHIP TO J1 VISA HOLDER’S US CITIZEN SPOUSE OR CHILD:
J1 visa holders who can demonstrate that his or her departure from the
United States would cause extreme hardship to his or her United States
citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or child, may obtain a waiver
of the two-year foreign residence requirement. The government processing
time is roughly three to four months.
REQUEST BY A DESIGNATED STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH:
Medical doctors who have an offer of full-time employment at a health
care facility in a designated health care professional shortage area,
and who agree to begin employment at the facility within 90 days of
receiving such waiver, and who sign a contract to continue to work at
the health care facility for a total of 40 hours per week and not less
than three years, may apply for this type of waiver. Only medical doctors
may apply for this type of waiver. The government processing time is
roughly six to eight weeks.
Electronic Diversity VISA Lottery (EDV)
The D. V. Lottery
Program administered annually by the Department of State provides for
an immigrant class called the “diversity Immigrants” who are
given permanent residence visas only if they meet the simple,
but strict mandatory eligibility requirements.
Under the terms of section 203 [c] of INA, 50,000 immigrant visas are
annually made available through lottery to people who come from countries
with low rates of immigration to the United States. None of these visas
are available for people who come from countries that have sent more
than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the past five years.
Applicants are selected at random by computer
from among all qualified entries. Those selected will be notified by
mail between the months of May and July 2006. While the unselected applicants
receive no notification. Spouses and unmarried children – less than
21 years of age of successful applicants are eligible to apply for visas
to accompany or join the principal applicant. It is important to note
that your natural children include all legally-adopted and stepchildren,
who are unmarried and under the age of 21 (except children who are U.
S. citizens or Legal Permanent Residents) even if you are no longer
legally married to the child’s parent and even if the spouse or child
does not currently reside with you or will not immigrate with you. Note
also that married children and children under 21 years of age or older
will not qualify for the diversity visa. Failure to give the full list
will result in disqualification for the visa.
Being selected as a winner in the diversity visa lottery does not automatically
guarantee that you will be issued a visa, even if you are qualified.
This is because the number of entries selected is usually greater than
the number of immigrant visas available, as not everyone selected will
be qualified for the visa or will choose to complete the processing.
Once all 50,000 visas have been issued, the diversity visa program for
the year will end. THE 2007 D V VISAS WILL FINALLY BE ISSUED TO SUCCESSFUL
APPLICANTS BETWEEN OCTOBER 1ST 2006 AND SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2007. For your
information, the E-DV Entry submission commenced from the 5th of October
2005 and will end on the 4th of December, 2005. Be further informed
that nobody can copy or save the d. v 2006 entry form into any program
or website for completion and submission on a later date or for any
applicant to download. This is because the E-DV Entry form is a Web
Form ONLY and is more universal than a proprietary word processor format.
Hence it only requires that the Application be filled - in and submitted
on-line. Therefore, the only authentic GREEN CARD D. V. 2007 LOTTERY
FORM cannot be accessed in any other website besides the one provided
in
http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/.
Applicants who do not have access to the scanner can send photos to
relatives or our law offices in the U S. or our branches all over the
world for purposes of scanning them to required specifications. The
photos MUST have to be electronically submitted and must meet the photo
requirement instructions. It cannot be submitted separate from the online
application and only one on-line entry can be submitted for each person
as multiple submissions will automatically disqualify the entry for
that person. The Visas can only be issued to applicants who meet
All Eligibility
Conditions Under The United States Law.
CONDITIONS OF ELIGIBILITY The State Department's National Visa
Center, chooses winners randomly from all qualified entries. Anyone
who is selected under this lottery will be given the opportunity to
apply for permanent residence. If permanent residence is granted, then
the individual will be authorized to live and work permanently in the
United States. You are not considered eligible to apply for the D. V.
2007 Lottery You are primarily considered eligible IF: 1. You or your
spouse is a native of a country that is eligible to participate in the
Diversity Visa Lottery.
2. Any of your parents was born in a country
that is eligible to participate.
NOTE: that if
a person was born in a country whose natives are ineligible but his/her
spouse was born in a country whose natives are eligible, such a person
can claim the spouse’s country of birth provided that both the applicant
and spouse are issued visas and enter the U S simultaneously. Also,
if a person was born in a country whose natives are ineligible, but
neither of his/her parents was born there or resided there at the time
of his/her birth, such person (s) may claim nativity in one of the parent’s
country of birth if it is a country whose natives qualify for the D
V – 2007 program.
3. You have a high school diploma or the equivalent,
defined in the United States as successful completion of a 12-year course
of elementary and secondary education.
4. You have two years of
work experience within the last five years in an occupation that requires
at least two years of training or experience to perform.
5. Persons
who are in the U. S. are also eligible to apply for the program and
the submission can be made either in the U S or from abroad. Again,
persons who are already registered for an immigrant visa in another
category can be qualified too.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Paper Entries are no longer accepted and an entry will be disqualified
if more than one application is submitted for one applicant irrespective
of who and how it is submitted. You are also disqualified if all required
photos are not submitted. Recent photographs of the applicants (with
separate photographs of each family member included) are required to
be submitted electronically with the electronic diversity Visa Entry
Form. Group family photos are not acceptable. The on-line submission
of EDV Entry Form should be made along with the Applicants digital photo
(image) Or A New Digital Photograph taken or scanned photographically
with A digital scanner. Also required are: The Applicant’s full name,
Date of birth, gender, city or town of birth, country of birth, photographs,
mailing address, phone numbers and email address (which is optional),
country of eligibility if the applicant’s native country is different
from the country of birth, marital status, number of children (all natural
children –except the ones born in America or the U S permanent residents)
that are unmarried and under 21 years of age, spouse information and
children information.
All applicants are
subject to all grounds of ineligibility for immigrant visas specified
in INA. There are no special provisions for the waiver of any ground
of visa ineligibility other than those ordinarily provided in the Act.
Be informed that persons who are selected in
the DV-2007 lottery are entitled to apply for visa issuance only during
fiscal year 2007, Those applicants must obtain the DV visa or
adjust status by the end of the Fiscal Year (September 30, 2007). There
is no carryover of DV benefits into the next year for persons who are
selected but who do not obtain visas during FY-2007. Also, spouses and
children who derive status from a DV-2007 registration can only obtain
visas in the DV category between October 2006 and September 2007. Applicants
who apply overseas will receive an appointment letter from the Kentucky
Consular Center four to six weeks before the scheduled appointment.
WINNING TIPS
With the newly introduced
Electronic Diversity Visa Lottery program which now requires only -
online filing of the entries, the technicalities involved coupled with
the inaccessibility of computer to many applicants are complex issues
to most applicants. With the complexities, there is therefore going
to be a huge reduction in the number of the D.V. Applications to be
approved because, most applicants will certainly
not be able to handle the issues involved.
THE GOOD NEWS HOWEVER
IS
that: with our expertise and experience, we can enhance your chances
of success by handling it all for you. PRESENTLY, we have already started
receiving and processing thousands of applications from Applicants all
over the world. We shall help you to process and submit your Application
according to all prescribed specifications once we receive your completed
Registration form, with the relevant processing fees of $25 per
Application and color passport photos. Also the applications must be
received by our Law offices latest by 11/30/05 to enable us enough time
to screen all entries to avoid errors before submission.
THERE ARE THREE
EASY WAYS YOU CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR LEGAL SERVICES:
1. Completing the on-line Registration Form from our website,
which automatically submits your personal information to us. Note that
this form is already on our website at
Green Card.
2. By Mail or Fax. Print out the form, fill
it out and mail or fax to us. To print the form click:
Registration Form
3. By visiting our Law Offices where
you can collect and complete the registration form.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT US. HURRY! REGISTER NOW!
ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS
AS A US CITIZEN OR LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENT:
Under US immigration law, people who qualify for permanent residency normally have the choice of processing their green card in the US through a process called adjustment of status or process abroad at a US consulate. Processing in the US through adjustment of status normally requires a demonstration that the applicant has always complied with US immigration law. While processing in the US is certainly convenient, for many it is the only way to legally be able to get permanent legal status in the US. That is because for certain people who have overstayed visas or entered the US without inspection, consular processing will trigger reentry bars of up to three or ten years. So it was certainly welcome news when Congress temporarily restored Section 245i of the Immigration and Nationality Act in December 2000 which allows foreign nationals who have had certain status violations, did not enter the US lawfully and have engaged in unauthorized employment to pay a 00 penalty fee and adjust status within the US. However, Section 245(i) expired in January 1998, but as part of the Legal Immigration and Family Equity Act (LIFE Act), was extended until April 30, 2001. This means that to be eligible for adjustment of status under section 245(i), the applicant must have a qualifying family member or an employer petition for their immigration before April 30.
Adjustment of Status therefore, is suitable for the following foreign nationals: Married sons or daughters of a U.S. citizen with an approved immigrant visa petition; Brothers or sisters of a U.S. citizen with an approved immigrant visa petition; Spouse of a lawful permanent resident with an approved immigrant visa petition; Unmarried children (any age) of a lawful permanent resident with an approved immigrant visa petition; Foreign nationals who entered the U.S. on the fiancé or fiancée K-1 visa and have married the U.S. citizen petitioner within the 90 days period; Foreign nationals with an approved visa petition filed on their behalf by a U.S. employer; asylees and refugees with an approved immigrant petition; Cuban nationals to acquire permanent residence one year after they have been inspected and admitted or paroled into the U. S. Winners of the Diversity Visa Lottery who are already in the U.S. in a nonimmigrant visa classification. Foreign nationals who have been residing continuously in the U.S. since January 1, 1972 in lawful status petition.
Employment Based Immigration.
This is categorized into four.
is sub-categorized into: "People with extraordinary ability"
That is: "Outstanding professors or researchers" and "certain multinational
executives and managers" or people with a "Doctorate" degree use. To
this category, up to 40,000 visas a year may be issued. In addition,
any visas left over from the fourth preferences and investment immigration
are added to this category. Labor certificate is not required for this
category as the requirement of a job-offer may be waived. Second
Preference: A person who are "members of the professions holding
advanced degrees or aliens of exceptional ability" may immigrate to
the U.S. under this category. A labor certificate for the job (obtaining
through the Department of Labor by the employer) is required unless
your work can be proved to be in the national interests. In the circumstance
of "National Interests", the Immigration and Naturalization Service
may waive the requirements of a job offer and labor certification. Up
to 40,000 visas a year plus any visas left over from the first preference
may be issued to this category. Third Preference: This category
is sub-divided into three: "skilled workers"; "professionals"
and "other workers". A labor certificate must be obtained from
the Department of Labor. Up to 40,000 visas a year plus any visas left
over from the first and second preferences may be issued to this category
with "other workers" limited to 10,000 visas per year. Fourth Preference:
Up to 10,000 visas a year may be issued to certain special immigrants,
including ministers, religious workers and long time employees of the
U.S. government employed abroad, as well as some investors and physicians
who have resided in the U.S. for a number of years.
FAMILY BASED IMMIGRATION
Immediate
Relatives:
This involves, the immediate relatives of U.S. citizens: spouses, unmarried
children under 21 years of age, and, a parent of a U.S. citizen who
is at least 21 years of age. The First Preference: unmarried
sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and their children if any. About
23,400 visas per year are issued to this category. Whereas, Second
Preference are: spouses, children, and unmarried sons and daughters
of lawful permanent resident alien (LPRs). Issued per year to
this category are about 114,200 visas. There is also the - Third
Preference: Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and their
spouses and children. 23,400 visas are issued per year. And finally,
the - Fourth Preference: These are the brothers and sisters of
U.S. citizens, and their spouses and children, provided the U.S. citizens
are over 20 years of age. 65,000 visas are issued to this category yearly.
INVESTMENT IMMIGRATION Up to 10,000
visas a year may be issued to persons who have between $500,000 and
$3 million dollars to invest in a job-creating enterprise in the U.S.
At least 10 full-time U.S. workers must be employed by each investor.
Under section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA),
8 U.S.C. S 1153(b)(5), about 10,000 immigrant visas per year are available
to qualified individuals seeking permanent resident status on the basis
of their engagement in a new commercial enterprise. Of the 10,000-investor
visas (i.e., EB-5 visas) available annually, 5,000 are set-aside for
those who apply under a pilot program involving a CIS-designated “Regional
Center.” Permanent resident status based on EB-5 eligibility is available
to investors, either alone or coming with their spouse and unmarried
children. Eligible aliens are those who have invested or are actively
in the process of investing about $1000,000.00 or at least $500,000
where the investment is being made in a "targeted employment area".
They must further demonstrate that this investment
will benefit the United States economy and create the requisite number
of full-time jobs for qualified persons within the United States.
ASYLUM If you are from a Politically unstable country, OR if you changed your religion, OR if, for any reason you, fear persecution - should you return to your country, you are qualified to apply for asylum. It is a FREE, special way to get green card and a faster way to get U.S. citizenship when compared to normal employment - or family-based immigration. However, certain conditions, limitations and deadline apply to the asylum seekers. Basically, Asylum is Suitable for: Foreign nationals in the U.S. who are unable or unwilling to return to their home country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, or membership in a particular social or political group.
When a person present
in the United States in one nonimmigrant (temporary) status decides
to engage in a different primary activity permitted only under a different
nonimmigrant (temporary) status, for example, a B-2 tourist decides
to attend school, or an F-1 student decides to take up other than school-approved
employment - the nonimmigrant has two options:- to process a visa in
that category at a U S consulate abroad or file an application with
the INS in the U S for a change of Status.
Under
the first option, the person leaves the United States, applies for the
appropriate visa at a U.S. consulate abroad, and then re-enters the
U.S. in the correct nonimmigrant classification. The second option entails
an application to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to
request a change of status to a different nonimmigrant classification
appropriate to the proposed activity.
Note however,
that a change of status is distinct from adjustment of status
- the process by which an alien becomes a lawful permanent resident
of the United States.
CONDITIONS OF ELIGIBILITY
(A)
S. 248 of INA, 8 USC S. 1258,
provides that the Attorney General may authorize a change from one nonimmigrant
classification to another in the case of an alien, who was lawfully
admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant, who is continuing to
maintain that status, and who is not inadmissible for having been unlawfully
present: that is:
(i)
The applicant must have been lawfully admitted to the United States
as a nonimmigrant. And (ii) The applicant must be maintaining
nonimmigrant status and continue to maintain the same as at the time
of application for a change of status.
(B)
The application
for change of status generally must be submitted before the alien’s
authorized stay expires. This is because, an application filed untimely,
cannot be granted by INS unless it can be established that: (i)
the failure to file a timely application was due to extraordinary
circumstances beyond the control of the applicant and the INS also finds
the delay commensurate with the circumstances. (ii) the alien
has not otherwise violated the nonimmigrant status; (iii) the
alien is a bona fide nonimmigrant; and (iv) the alien is not
the subject of removal proceedings.
(C)
The immigration and Naturalization service (INS) takes the position
that an applicant who obtains voluntary departure status (even if he
or she is within the time limits of a grant of voluntary departure and
was never in deportation proceedings), is not eligible for a
change of status. However, if a motion to reopen were filed and granted,
and the alien’s previous nonimmigrant status were reinstated, the alien
would again be eligible for change of status. The INS will consider
any conduct by the applicant relating to the maintenance of the status
from which the applicant is seeking a change. For example, accepting
unauthorized employment is a per se, failure to maintain status. This
would be true even if the failure to maintain status would not lead
to deportation proceedings, such as would be the case with an E-2 dependent.
It is important to state also that for purposes of change of nonimmigrant
status under INA S. 248, 8 USC S. 1258, an alien who has been granted
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is considered as being in and maintaining
lawful status as a nonimmigrant during the period of granted TPS. Again,
the applicant for change of status must be qualified for the new visa
status and meet the eligibility requirements for the classification
sought.
CONDITIONS OF INELIGIBILITY a
change of status from one nonimmigrant classifications to any other
nonimmigrant class is precluded under the following conditions: (i)
A change of status for an alien in immediate and continuous transit
through the U.S. without a visa. (ii) An alien classified as
a nonimmigrant under subparagraphs (C) (transit), (D) (crewman), or
(S) (witness/informant) (iii) An alien classified as a nonimmigrant
under subparagraph (K) (fiance(e). (iv) An alien classified as
a nonimmigrant under subparagraph (J) (exchange visitor), who came to
the United States to receive graduate medical education or training,
regardless of the applicability of the two-year foreign residence requirement.
(v) An alien classified as a nonimmigrant under subparagraph
(J) (exchange visitor), other than an alien physician, who is subject
to the two-year foreign residence requirement, and who has not received
a waiver thereof.
EXCEPTIONS:
An exception to this preclusion exists where:
1.
The alien applies for change of status pursuant to subparagraph (A)
(diplomat) or (G) (international organization representative) of INA
S. 101(a)(15), 8 USC S. 1101(a)(15). 2. A Canadian citizen J
nonimmigrant subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement may
not change his or her status to TN classification, however, he or she
may leave the U.S. and re-enter in TN status. AND, the bar to change
of status remains in place so long as he or she has not received a waiver.
3. A nonimmigrant alien student, applying for a change of student
status is not ineligible for this classification solely because the
alien may have started classes prior to submitting the application.
While the INS will not deny an application simply for this reason, the
application may be scrutinized more closely to determine whether the
alien entered the United States with a preconceived intent to change
status. 5. Applications for change of status from NATO Aliens
will be approved notwithstanding the fact that the alien may be an intending
immigrant. The status may be granted for up to three years with employment
authorization granted incident to status. 6. State Federal Law enforcement
agencies, including the federal courts or a U S Attorney may request
change of status for an alien to S (witness/informant). However,
the alien must be in lawful nonimmigrant status and must not be in an
ineligible category under 8 CFR S. 248.2. 7. When temporary workers
in H or L status have reached certain time limits in the U.S. they are
precluded from changing their status to another H or L category. For
example: (1) H-1A registered nurse for five years (six years in certain
extraordinary circumstances). (2) H-1B specialty worker or fashion model
for six years. (3) H-1B worker involved in a Department of Defense (DOD)
research and development project for ten years (but limited to a change
of status to perform services involving a DOD research and development
project). (4) H-2B temporary worker for three years. (5) H-3 alien participant
in a special education program for 18 months. (6) H-3 trainee for 24
months. (8) L-1 specialized knowledge alien for five years. (9) L-1
manager or executive for seven years.
Time limits
do not apply where the temporary workers did not reside continually
in the U.S. or, where their employment was seasonal or intermittent
or for an aggregate of six months or less per year, or where they reside
abroad and regularly commute to engage in part-time employment. The
INS has clarified that nothing prevents L-2 dependents from changing
nonimmigrant classification after the principal L-1 temporary worker‘s
time limit has expired and he or she departs the U.S. This same reasoning
should apply to H-4 dependents where the principal H temporary worker’s
time limit has expired.
APPROVAL: If the
application for change of status is approved, Form I-797 is issued.
This form is printed on safety paper which includes a tear-off I-94
indicating the alien’s status in the U.S. If the spouse or child of
an alien whose status has been changed to E, F, H, I, J, L, M, O, P,
R or TN classification is abroad and will follow to join the principal
alien, the spouse or child presents the principal’s approval notice
(INS Form I-797) to the U.S. consular post abroad to apply for a visa
or to the U.S. port of entry to apply for entry. Of course, the spouse
or child must also present proof of the family relationship.
DISAPPROVAL:
If the application for change of nonimmigrant status is denied, the
applicant is notified of the decision and the reason. There is no
appeal from a denial of an application for a change of nonimmigrant
status. However, it may be possible to request a reopening or reconsideration
of the decision by motion. An alien who is maintaining valid nonimmigrant
status at the time the application is submitted will be allowed to continue
in that status if the application is denied and the alien is otherwise
entitled to remain in the original status. However, at the time of filing
the application for change of status, a specific request should be made
to leave the alien in current status should the application be denied
for any reason. If the alien is no longer in status at the time the
application is adjudicated or has otherwise violated status, the INS
will grant a period of voluntary departure, usually 15 to 30 days, within
which time the alien will be requested to leave the United States and
the applicant may be placed under docket control.
SECURING A SAFE
& RELIABLE
ENERGY SUPPLY
In light of the
horrific attacks of September 11th, the oil and natural gas
industry is taking additional steps to secure their facilities both
at home and “ABROAD”. Let us pause and consider what is presently happening
around the globe in the course of securing oilfield facilities and bases
by different countries of the world.
Iraq for
instance, supplies 20% of the world’s oil. While the United States has
publicized its efforts to institute a democratic government in Iraq,
none of the wealth or material benefits of shared wealth has filtered
down to the man in the street. To the Iraqis, democracy is just not
a ritual of voting, but a system that engages the citizens of a Iraq
in the leadership issues and allows the people to benefit from their
God-given resources. They believe a true and genuine democracy is a
system where the people should be able to persuade their leaders on
decisions directly affecting their individual lives whenever the need
arises.
In Saudi Arabia for example, families
participate in the control of all the oil wealth of their nation. Why
should this not apply to the Iraqis and other African countries like
Nigeria where only the beneficiaries are still the Husseins, the Batthists
and the “ARMED POLITICIANS in these oil reach Nations?
In Alaska, the people do not have to pay personal income Tax since 1980
as a compensation from the revenue from their oil. Further to this,
A permanent Trust fund was established by the State Constitutional Amendment
passed in 1976 as a savings account for some of the state’s oil revenues.
The first payment began since 1982 and now, everyone living in Alaska
receive a payment of $919.84 as dividend from the Trust fund set up
with some of the state’s oil wealth. This dividend goes out to all Alaskans
of all ages in all their 232 communities.
Prior to getting the poverty – stricken Iraqis
or the oil - reach third world nations to understand the meaning of
Democracy, we have to make them understand how the money from their
oil wealth is controlled and why they should not personally benefit
from the wealth of their natural resources. To have a democratic set-up
in such communities, someone has to advice Allawi and the armed political
leaders in Africa (and their Allies) to offer each family at least $750
a month or some sum of money based on the enormous quantities of oil
being exported daily from these nations. This will be seen as to a fair
sharing of the wealth of the nation and an honest step towards democracy.
But instead, what we have right now is the U S government and companies
like Halliburton, (and their allies) running the oil production. This
has made everybody (particularly the Iraqis conclude that the PRIMARY
reason for the invasion and occupation, of the U S in Iraq and other
third world countries as well as the main course of the war is not to
ride the world of terrorists as claimed.
People
believe that if the U S peace-keeping crusade is genuine why are reasonable
peace-keeping troops from America not sent to places like Sudan or other
war-torn nations across the world where people are being slaughtered
and tortured by their military or civilian dictators.
It is common sense that the Iraqis should own their own oil and profit
from the sale of it. Since this is not happening, it does not make any
difference to them if their oil wells are bombed or exploded. These
people are now convinced that protection of the oil wells make more
sense to the U S rather than protection of the people. The major crusade
by the U S and coalition troop would have really been for the Iraqi’s
foreign debt to be forgiven since the debt was the result of the insider
trading with Saddam Hussein involving fraudulent transactions. The nations
of the world would be advised by the U S to forgive this country the
huge debts accrued under the Saddam Hussein dictatorship.
Since this is not happening, the world is now forced to believe that
the U S government tricked people into supporting the war by using terror-tactics,
whereas Iraqi indeed was incapable of attacking the West and America
will seize and control Iraqi’s oil, including the sale of that oil.
Recently the U S has proposed that Britain and the United States - popularly
known as “The Authority” – would decide how income from the sale of
Iraqi oil would be spent (How interesting!) So, what do we have here?
War on Oil or on Terror? They went on to say that “they” are going to
spend the sale proceeds on “reconstruction” meaning that American oil
companies like Halliburton will get the money. These are the companies
that funded the Bush administration and its personnel into power.
They are the companies that provide many of the
personnel in the Bush administration and these corrupt oilmen will make
$billion from Iraqi’s oil and from oil industry-related contracts –
and even more by manipulating global oil markets, using their new control
over the world’s second largest supply in Iraq. Hence, the world now
sees the whole act as nothing but armed robbery on a gigantic scale.
Presently it is no doubt that the so called war
on Terror has made the world a more dangerous place and created divisions
which make more conflict more likely.
These divisions emanated from the fact that when the U S attacked Iraq
and seized their oilfields there were no weapons capable of threatening
America, Europe or even Israel. The only weapons they “may” have was
not such weapons capable of reaching outside their own boarders. Despite
knowledge of this fact, Iraq was attacked and the civilian infrastructures
decimated. The oilfields were guarded while the schools and hospitals
were looted. The “so called liberated” people were largely without water
and food. They live in deprivation and squalor whereas indeed, the cooperate
America received the “liberation”. So much lies, disinformation and
unanswered questions. The fear is that nobody knows who is next. First,
it was Afghanistan, then Iraq, and next perhaps, Syria, Saudi Arabia,
Nigeria or Alaska.
In Nigeria today, disappointment
and anger against the leadership of the country is widespread. It is
a paradox that a country which is the 6th largest producer
of crude oil is one of the poorest in the world. What ordinarily should
be a windfall for the people of the country has now turned into a curse
for them due to the wicked calculations of the Armed Political leaders
at the herm of the country’s affairs.
The Delta region of the country is home to vast oil reserves, which
make Nigeria one of the world’s largest oil exporters. Yet, the people
remain very poor, the country very undeveloped and prone to violence
and hostility. Presently the Local ethnic leader of this region said
he and his mafia group has moved from stealing oil as a means of survival
to fighting for the region’s independence. Recent report commissioned
compared the level of conflict in the region to that in Colombia, Chechnya
and may grow to that in Iraq. Aggrieved Militant gang of indignant youths
now roam the swamps and creeks seeking vengeance. We need not look any
further than the Nigerian Corrupt Political and elite class as the problem
with Nigeria and its people.
At this time when oil prices have reached highs, with Nigeria exporting
about 2 Million Barrels of crude oil everyday to the international market
at $50 per barrel, it is not only good sense but good governance to
use the extra revenues from Nigeria’s oil fields to help the people
and improve their living standards yet, the people remain poorer and
more neglected. And amidst the sufferings of the people, the government
just recently increased petrol prices by 25% which has now sparked off
a general strike. The Union Leader speaking to reporters on this issues
stated that the people’s basic grievance emanates more from the fact
that the country’s leadership is such which take laws into their hands
and consider their decisions as good enough to be imposed upon the people
without bothering on how such policy decisions affect the lives of the
people. When you have a government that say “don’t dare talk, debate
or question our decisions - on Price” or that our decisions on oil prices
are: a “no – go – area”, then that is not acceptable to democracy.
The point is that any system which makes it impossible
for its people to talk to the leaders in a democracy, is a “problem”
and poses a serious political threat to the nation. And any political
regime that does not allow a president to harvest the ideas, the views
& freedom of speech of its citizens, is not something to defend, because
people fought and died for democracy. It is not just for the
rituals of voting but a system that allows the citizens to engage its
leaders.
The point here is that this kind of impunity
with which the democratic institutions are treated and ignored is unacceptable.
It is a disturbing issue in a democratic regime because it means the
National Assembly does not function. Otherwise, why would the president
feel so comfortable to ignore the motion by the senate of 109 eminent
Nigerians to reverse the oil price rates amidst cries of the people
and hardship suffered by them. The recent strike is just a moral imperative
and a necessity “to attempt” to save the people of Nigeria. Same story
can be told all over the world today.
It is my
opinion that Public Policy and the Oil and Natural Gas Industry share
a keen interest in the policy arena all over the world today. Oil and
Natural Gas keep the world going very strong today. In the United States,
parents are driving their children to school, emergency vehicles are
responding to critical situations, delivery trucks are getting consumer
products to store helves, medical equipment and medicines are saving
lives and people are enjoying hot food and cold milk. All of these are
made possible due to the commitment of the oil and natural gas industry.
As the demand for energy to keep our homes, vehicles and businesses
running continues to increase, so does our advancement in technology,
allowing us to provide safe, reliable and affordable energy. While serious
challenges face many developed nations on a variety of fronts, oil and
natural gas industry representatives remain actively with government
leaders to ensure informed and fair decision making so the energy needs
of tomorrow are not to learn more about the key issues currently engaging
our industry and public policy leaders.
Please Note* Nothing in this article is intended as nor shall be construed as a legal advice, guidance or interpretation. No Attorney-client relationship is established between the writer and the readers. The information provided in this article is basically for general educational purposes only and specific questions about any fact, law, statute or regulation should be directed to the experts in the area or legislative houses.
Note* These materials are for general informational purposes only, They are not intended and should not be construed as conclusive legal advice or opinion on any specific facts or circumstances. Every case is unique. Therefore, the information contained in this website is not intended to be a conclusive authority. It does not constitute a lawyer-client relationship nor is it intended to substitute for the advice of an attorney. Internet subscribers and on-line readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional legal counsel.
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