Posts Tagged ‘Immigrant Visa’

New hope for foreigners who are subject to the three/ten year bar

January 10th, 2012 Tushar Mathur

A new proposal by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) brings new hope to foreigners who are subject to the three and ten year bars because of their unlawful presence in the United States. Rather than leaving the United States to apply for a waiver at an overseas consulate office, these foreigners would be allowed to have their waiver pre-adjudicated by the USCIS in the United States according to the proposal. If their waiver applications are approved, they would still be required to depart the U.S. to apply for immigrant visas to return to the United States.

The 3/10 Year Bar
Section 212(a)(9) of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides that any noncitizen who after having been unlawfully present in the United States for 180-364 days and then voluntarily departs the country before they are placed in removal proceedings is not allowed to return to the United States for three (3) years.

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U Visa – An important tool for crime victims to obtain legal status

January 6th, 2012 Tushar Mathur

Many immigrants in the United States are hesitant to approach police and other law enforcement officers when they become crime victims. For people who are in the U.S. without legal status, they try to avoid contacts with police officers for fear that their illegal status may be exposed. Even legal immigrants are sometimes afraid to approach police in the U.S. because of cultural differences and language barriers. Most of them do not know that there exists a special visa designed for victims of certain crimes called the U visa.

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Chennai will no longer process Immigrant Visa petitions as of January 1, 2012.

January 6th, 2012 Tushar Mathur

“Important Announcement: The U.S. Consulate General in Chennai will no longer process Immigrant Visa petitions as of January 1, 2012. The U.S. Consulate General in Chennai will no longer process Immigrant Visa petitions as of January 1, 2012. The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi and U.S. Consulate in Mumbai will become the only acceptance centers in India for Immigrant Visas.
The Immigrant Visa allows an individual to live and work in the United States on a permanent basis, as well as provides the immigrant the opportunity to work towards U.S.

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Important issues about the filing of I-485 adjustment application

December 23rd, 2011 Tushar Mathur
The cutoff dates for employment based 2nd preference immigrant visa for China and India have advanced significantly for the past three months.  Since November 2011, the cutoff dates have leaped forwarded by more than 17 months to January 1, 2009.  The rapid advancement means that many EB-2 professionals and advance degree holders are able to submit their I-485 application to adjust status to that of legal resident of the United States.  Simultaneously the applicant may also apply for a general employment authorization document (EAD) and a travel document.   Upon approval of the I-485 application, the applicant will receive her permanent resident card (or green card).  There are some important issues related to this last step of the immigration process.

First and foremost, an applicant must ensure that she is not subject to any grounds of inadmissibility that would cause the denial of her green card.  The U.S.

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BIA held F2A visa beneficiaries may not "opt out" of automatic conversion to F1

October 6th, 2011 Tushar Mathur

The Board of Immigration Appeal (BIA) has just held that a visa beneficiary is not allowed to retain his F2A preference status by opting out of automatic conversion to the F1 category as a son of a United States citizen upon his parent’s naturalization. Matter of ZAMORA-MOLINA, ID 3729, 25 I&N Dec. 606 (BIA 2011)

The mother of the beneficiary son filed a visa petition on his behalf when he was under the age of 21.  However, while the case was waiting for a visa number, the son turned 21 and, subsequently, the mother became a naturalized citizen.

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USCIS proposes rule to process EB-5 immigrant petitions filed between 1995 and 1998

September 28th, 2011 Tushar Mathur

On Sept.

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USCIS Continues to Accept Adjustment Applications with Current Priority Dates

September 16th, 2011 Tushar Mathur

In spite of the State Department’s notification to USCIS that all EB immigrant visa numbers have been exhausted for FY2011, the USCIS today announced that it will continue to accept adjustment of status applications (I-485) based on the September visa bulletin through the entire month of September.  The regulations provide that the visa bulletin published by the State Department controls whether or not there are visa numbers available for an adjustment applicant.  The September visa bulletin does not indicate unavailability of visa numbers in any of the EB preference visa categories. 


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Employment-Based Immigrant Visa Exhausted for FY2011

September 15th, 2011 Tushar Mathur

The State Department's Immigrant Visa Control section has notified the USCIS that all employment based immigrant visas have been used up for fiscal year 2011, as reported by AILA.  No visa numbers
would be authorized effective 09/15/2011 until the end of September (the end of the fiscal year).  Immigrant visa numbers will become available again on October 3, 2011 as FY2012 begins.  USCIS adjudication officers may continue to submit requests for visa numbers as usual.  These requests will be put on hold until October 3, 2011 by the State Department.  Strong demand for employment visas and processing from August is the reason for the exhaustion, according to the State Department.


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