Green Card & Visa News » Admission http://greencardandvisanews.com News regarding Immigration Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:47:34 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 When is a Lawful Permanent Resident considered seeking admission to the United States? http://greencardandvisanews.com/when-is-a-lawful-permanent-resident-considered-seeking-admission-to-the-united-states http://greencardandvisanews.com/when-is-a-lawful-permanent-resident-considered-seeking-admission-to-the-united-states#comments Mon, 24 Oct 2011 05:21:00 +0000 Tushar Mathur http://greencardandvisanews.com/?guid=855924284a384ce572823dd8326af80a The United States immigration laws confer certain rights and privileges to a person who has been granted Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status by the government.  These individuals, commonly known as green card holders, are authorized to work and live in the United States indefinitely.  Legal residents are also allowed to return to the United States after international travel.  Nonresidents, on the other hand, are considered applicants for admission and must establish that they are admissible to the United States in order to enter.

Sec. 101(a)(13)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides that a returning LPR should not be regarded as seeking an admission into the United States for purposes of the immigration laws unless the legal resident (i) has abandoned or relinquished that status, (ii) has been absent from the United States for a continuous period in excess of 180 days, (iii) has engaged in illegal activity after having departed the United States, (iv) has departed from the United States while under legal process seeking removal of the alien from the United States, including removal proceedings and extradition proceedings, (v) has committed an offense identified in section 212(a)(2), unless since such offense the alien has been granted relief under section 212(h) or 240A(a), or (vi) is attempting to enter at a time or place other than as designated by immigration officers or has not been admitted to the United States after inspection and authorization by an immigration officer.
If either one of the six conditions apply, the returning green card holder is considered an applicant for admission and will be subject to less legal protection that he or she normally enjoys as a legal resident.  A LPR is like a person who is returning home with a key (his green card) while an applicant for admission is like a visitor asking for permission to enter another person’s house.  A visitor seeking admission but not a legal resident is subject to all the grounds of inadmissibility contained in the immigration statutes.   When a legal resident is placed in removal proceedings, the government must first prove by clear, unequivocal, and convincing evidence that the grounds and basis for deportation are true before the person may be removed from the United States.  The burden of proof is on the government to prove that the person is deportable.  Similarly, to treat a returning resident as seeking admission to the United States, the Department of Homeland Security bears the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that a returning lawful permanent resident falls under one of the above six categories of individuals.
For example, in a recent Board of Immigration Appeal (BIA) case, Matter of Benno Rivens, decided October 19, 2011, the Board remanded the case to the Immigration Judge to analyze if the offenses committed by the respondent – a green card holder – constitute a crime involving turpitude (CIMT).   (This falls under condition v above.) If the DHS meets its burden by proving by clear and convincing evidence that the respondent had committed a CIMT, then he would be treated as an applicant for admission.  Further, since convictions of CIMTs are also grounds of inadmissibility, he would also not be allowed to be admitted to the United States and, consequently, he would lose his green card.  On the other hand, if the government fails to meet it burden of proof, the respondent would be allowed to return to the United States as a lawful permanent resident. 
Hence, before a legal resident travels outside of the United States, it is very important for him to determine whether or not he will be regarded as a returning resident or an applicant for admission upon his return.  Sometimes, it may be wise for a legal resident not to depart the United States at all. 



]]> http://greencardandvisanews.com/when-is-a-lawful-permanent-resident-considered-seeking-admission-to-the-united-states/feed 0 Tips for Improving Your Chances of Getting Cleared by US Customs at an Airport http://greencardandvisanews.com/tips-for-improving-your-chances-of-getting-cleared-by-us-customs-at-an-airport http://greencardandvisanews.com/tips-for-improving-your-chances-of-getting-cleared-by-us-customs-at-an-airport#comments Sat, 21 May 2011 15:26:00 +0000 Tushar Mathur
1) Be honest, upfront, and polite with the Customs & Border Protection (CBP) agents. They are trained to detect when you are lying so don’t even try, it will only hurt you. Being upfront with the agents is especially in your interest because during the admission process at the border/point of entry they are the only people who can help you. You have no right to an attorney during this time. The CBP agents have a certain amount of discretion and you want to make sure that they will feel inclined to exercise it with you, if necessary, to admit you to the US.

2) Make sure you bring detailed documents with you to present to the CBP. This means more than simply your visa. Most importantly, non-immigrant visitors need to show reasonable ties and equities to and in their home country. This means you need to have documentation showing employment, family, and social ties to a residence abroad, and adequate financing arrangements to carry out the purpose of your visit.

If you are traveling to the US for an employer, make sure you have a letter from the employer detailing the purpose of your visit and the activities you will engage in during the visit. Remember, the burden is on you to prove that you are not inadmissible to the US. (No criminal convictions, prior immigration law violations, etc.) In general, this means you need to show that you have proper documentation and the requisite intent for the type of visa for which you applied. Common sense applies here. For example, if you are coming to the US for a three-day conference on a B-1 visa but your return ticket isn’t until 90 days later, you can expect that this will raise a red flag for CBP.

3) Make sure that you have a good phone number for the employer sponsoring you or the employer’s immigration attorney, or, if visiting family or friends, then the family meeting you, or your own immigration attorney. It’s best to have both a regular phone number and cell number for one or more of these people. CBP may call them to help answer questions that the agents have about your situation. Having the phone number of someone who is knowledgeable about your situation and available can make the difference between having to withdraw your application for admission and fly back to your country of origin the same day or being admitted to the US.

4) If you are offered the choice to voluntarily withdraw your application for admission because CBP does not believe you are telling the truth or you do not have proper documentation and they are unable to contact anyone that can clarify your situation (and you do not have a credible fear of returning to your own country or an asylum claim), it is always preferable to accept this offer rather than force CBP to use the alternative, which is expedited removal.

If you have committed visa fraud, and/or made misrepresentations starting back with the US consulate in your home country–this does not apply to asylum cases–then you can expect that CBP will order an expedited removal. This means you will be returned to your home country (or country of last embarkation) with no hearing and a permanent bar from returning to the US. (If CBP issues an expedited removal order for simply lack of documentation, there is only a five-year bar to returning.) In most cases, you will be put on the next flight back, using your return ticket if possible. The air carrier is liable to the US government to return anyone who is inadmissible, so most likely you will be sent back on the same carrier, or a code share partner. And, even though the carrier must fly you back, it will certainly look to you to pay the cost of the ticket.

An important note about the expedited removal power: an expedited removal order under INA 212(a)(6)(C) is for fraud and misrepresentation, and results in a LIFETIME bar from re-entry to the US. An expedited removal order issued under INA 212(a)(7) is for lack of documentation and results in a 5 year bar to re-entry. Not surprisingly, it is much harder to get a waiver to return to the US if you were removed under the (a)(6) ground than (a)(7).

The bottom line is that the best way to improve your chances of getting cleared by US Customs at the airport is to make sure you are traveling on the correct visa, bring copies of the appropriate documentation with you, bring phone numbers for contacts in the US who are available to speak to CBP to address any problems that may arise, and, above all, be honest!

If you have any concerns about you or a family member traveling to the US, consider consulting with an immigration attorney that is knowledgeable about CBP procedures. Advance planning can go a long way to improve the chances of CBP clearing you or your family member and admitting them to the US.

Also, frequent international travelers—non-citizens and US citizens alike—should apply for the CBP’s Global Entry program, which allows you to enter the US using automated kiosks at the airport.

]]> http://greencardandvisanews.com/tips-for-improving-your-chances-of-getting-cleared-by-us-customs-at-an-airport/feed 0 Attention Former Tri-Valley University Students http://greencardandvisanews.com/attention-former-tri-valley-university-students http://greencardandvisanews.com/attention-former-tri-valley-university-students#comments Mon, 21 Feb 2011 00:33:00 +0000 Tushar Mathur The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued the following notice to the
former Tri-Valle Universit Students recently:
“If you were formerly enrolled as an F-1 student at TVU and have been terminated
in SEVIS, please note the following.
SEVP terminated the records of all F-1 students enrolled at TVU as of Jan. 18,
2011. You should call SEVP Response Center (SRC) at 703-603-3400. This number is
currently staffed from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. (EST), seven days a week. Beginning
Friday, Feb. 18, 2011, this number will be staffed Monday through Friday from
8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST). At other times, you may leave a telephone number at
which SEVP will return your call the next day.
Please be prepared to provide the follow information to the SEVP staff when you
call:
* First and last name
* SEVIS ID#
* Address
* Telephone number where you can be reached
* E-mail address
* Dates of attendance at TVU
* Level and Major of study at TVU
When you call, SEVP will provide you with your options including the option to
depart from the United States without an otherwise possibly applicable bar to
re-admission in the future.”



]]> http://greencardandvisanews.com/attention-former-tri-valley-university-students/feed 0 How to Read Your US Visa http://greencardandvisanews.com/how-to-read-your-us-visa http://greencardandvisanews.com/how-to-read-your-us-visa#comments Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:20:41 +0000 Tushar Mathur http://greencardandvisanews.com/?p=38 How to Read Your US Visa?

It is really important that you are able to read and interpret the information on the United States visa document clearly and properly. This is not going to help you understand the information properly that is displayed on the visa document but would also help you understand what kind of a visa has been issued to you and not to forget, with that you would be able to avoid future troubles too.

Here is how you would be doing the same:

  1. First from the top left corner you should look for the information related to, from where your visa was issued. This should be the place or rather the name of the city from where you had appeared for the interview with the visa officer.
  2. Next you ought to check the Passport number on the visa document is printed correctly.
  3. Next you need to check that your name is spelled correctly on the visa document. Even the smallest of the errors needs to be reported to the authorities immediately having failed to do the same could have serious consequences even up to refusal of entry into the United States after you have arrived at the port of entry.
  4. Below the passport number would be your permitted umber of entries. “M” is for multiple entries and in case there is a number mentioned there you would be eligible to apply for entries up to that many times.
  5. Below the entries would be the annotation field, this field is primarily indicated for extra information about your visa document. If you consider the example of the student visa then in this annotation field what you would be finding is the Sevis number and the name of the school in which you would have taken admission.
  6. Above the annotation field would be the field where in the expiry date of the visa would be mentioned. The point to be noted here is that this date has got nothing to do with how long your stay is going to be in the United States. All that it specifies is that beyond that specified date you would not be able to request for an entry in to the United States basis that visa, and you would have to procure or have a new one approved.
  7. Above that your date of birth would be mentioned again the smallest of the errors here needs to be reported
  8. Above that is mentioned is the Visa type and the class of the visa. The class is dependent on the purpose of your travel, and could be B1, J1 so on and so forth. The alphabet “R” would signify passport type Regular.
]]> http://greencardandvisanews.com/how-to-read-your-us-visa/feed 0 Help for Students on F1 Visa in US http://greencardandvisanews.com/help-for-students-on-f1-visa-in-us http://greencardandvisanews.com/help-for-students-on-f1-visa-in-us#comments Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:28:43 +0000 Tushar Mathur http://greencardandvisanews.com/?p=34

Getting an admission to one of the schools in the United States and then getting the visa approved basis that to get in to the United States on an F1 visa is really the easy part. It’s to be noted that the F1 visa is not a sponsored program, as in the case of the J1 visa. Thus the visitor has to bear all the related expenses himself during his stay in the United States. Thankfully the United States government is considerate about this and to help the students during the stay they are allowed to work for limited number of hours.

Thus a lot of the students choose to take up driving as a profession during this period. As this profession fetches them more money than any other job that they would be eligible for. Though every state has a different set of rules and procedures related to the issuance of the driving license but the basics are as follows.

There are 2 steps for the same.

  1. Pass the written test.
  2. Pass the road test.

The procedure to get the Drivers license is.

  1. Go to the DMV office with a prior appointment for a prompt service.
  2. Now submit the fee along with the completed form for the test.
  3. A thumb print would also be required from you.
  4. Have your picture clicked.
  5. You would be required to provide your SSN and proof of your date of birth, along with your passport.
  6. Now you are good to appear for the written test.

The written test – A fee of $12 is required for the same, and you would be able to attempt thrice basis the amount. Normally there are 36 questions related to traffic laws and signs and its essential you have atleast 31 correct answers to pass the test. Once this is passed, then you need to appear for the eye test. Upon successful completion of the same, you would be eligible to be issued the temporary driving permit. You can use the same to practice driving.

The road test – It’s the practical part of the tests and is the most important part. In this part you would be tested for your carefulness and your ability to drive safely on the streets. It’s not going to take long but is a 100 marks test in which the minimum passing score would be 70%. In this one also you would be given three chances to pass the test in case you flunk in the 1st attempt.

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