Green Card & Visa News » Religious Workers

October 2011 Visa Bulletin: Advancements in Employment 2nd India/China, Family 1st and 2nd

Tushar Mathur — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 17:08:00 +0000

Following
the disappointment September bulletin, October kicks off the new fiscal year
with some good news. First, Eb-2 India
and China
advance nicely to July 15, 2007. On the
family side, after having been unchanged for a few months, Family 1^st
finally advances for all countries – China, India, and Other Countries all move
forward by six weeks; Mexico moves forward
by one week; Philippines advances two months.
Family 2A moves forward five weeks to January 8, 2009 for China, India,
Philippines,
and Other Countries. The Family 2B
categories also see anywhere from two to five weeks of advancement.

Family	Other Countries	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	15JUN04	15JUN04	15JUN04	22MAR93	08JAN97
F2A	08JAN09	08JAN09	08JAN09	15OCT08	08JAN09
F2B	15JUL03	15JUL03	15JUL03	22NOV92	01MAY01
F3	08SEP01	08SEP01	08SEP01	01DEC92	08JUN92
F4	15MAY00	15MAY00	15MAY00	08APR96	01AUG88

1st: Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Citizens (about 23,000 per year).

2A:
The 2 “A” preference is for Spouses and Children (under 21 &
unmarried) of LPR’s.

2B:
The 2 “B” Preference is for Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 or
older) of LPR’s.

3rd: Married Sons and Daughters of Citizens.(about 23,000
per year)

4th: Brothers and Sisters of Adult Citizens.(about 65,000 per year)

Employment	Other Countries	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
EB1	C	C	C	C	C
EB2	C	15JUL07	15JUL07	C	C
EB3	08DEC05	08AUG04	15JUL02	08DEC05	08DEC05
Other Workers	15SEP05	22APR03	08JUN02	15SEP05	15SEP05
EB4	C	C	C	C	C
Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
EB5	C	C	C	C	C

1st: Priority Workers (Extraordinary ability aliens, multinational companies
executives/managers, outstanding prof./researchers)

2nd: Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of
Exceptional Ability.

3rd: Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers (Unskilled.)

4th: “Special Immigrants” (Religious & others)

5th: Employment Creation (Investors)

September Visa Bulletin: F2A Advances; EB-2 India, China Stagnant

Tushar Mathur — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 01:44:00 +0000

The September 2011 Visa Bulletin has been released by the State Department. On the employment side, there is not much movement. As the FY2011 is coming to an end, many employment visa beneficiaries were hoping that there would be some nice movements in EB-2 and EB-3 preference categories. However, for September, both Eb-2 China and Eb-2 India remain unchanged at 15 April 2007, although EB-3 and Other Workers have some small movements.

Things are mixed on the family side. F1 is unchanged again for China, India and the Other Countries but advances more than six months and one week respectively for Philippines and Mexico. There are some significant movements in F2A (lawful residents’ spouses and children). F2A has advanced more than four months for China, India, Philippines and the Other Countries to 1 December 2008. F2A Mexico also moves forward to 22 September 2008.

Family	Other Countries	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	01MAY04	01MAY04	01MAY04	15MAR93	01NOV96
F2A	01DEC08	01DEC08	01DEC08	22SEP08	01DEC08
F2B	01JUL03	01JUL03	01JUL03	01NOV92	22MAR01
F3	22AUG01	22AUG01	22AUG01	22NOV92	15MAY92
F4	15APR00	15APR00	15APR00	22MAR96	08JUL88

1st: Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Citizens (about 23,000 per year).

2A: The 2 “A” preference is for Spouses and Children (under 21 & unmarried) of LPR’s.

2B: The 2 “B” Preference is for Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 or older) of LPR’s.

3rd: Married Sons and Daughters of Citizens.(about 23,000 per year)

4th: Brothers and Sisters of Adult Citizens.(about 65,000 per year)

Employment	Other Countries	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
EB1	C	C	C	C	C
EB2	C	15APR07	15APR07	C	C
EB3	22NOV05	15JUL04	08JUL02	22NOV05	22NOV05
Other Workers	01AUG05	22APR03	01JUN02	01AUG05	01AUG05
EB4	C	C	C	C	C
Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
EB5	C	C	C	C	C

1st: Priority Workers (Extraordinary ability aliens, multinational companies executives/managers, outstanding prof./researchers)

2nd: Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability.

3rd: Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers (Unskilled.)

4th: “Special Immigrants” (Religious & others)

5th: Employment Creation (Investors)

The Religious Worker Path to a Green Card

Tushar Mathur — Wed, 11 May 2011 20:21:00 +0000

If you work for a recognized religious organization, either as a minister or a religious worker, you might qualify for a green card as a special immigrant. You can apply for your green card as a minister or religious worker from inside the U.S.—if you are in lawful status and not working without authorization—or from abroad. You start the process by filing an I-360 petition on your own or through your employer. Whether you or your employer files the petition, the prospective U.S. employer must submit certain documentary evidence, including an attestation showing that certain requirements have been met regarding the organization, its history of filing this type of petition and the position and salary.

Now, the immigration regulations define a “minister” as someone who is fully authorized by a religious denomination to conduct religious activities, such as a minister, priest, rabbi, imam, ordained deacon, or Buddhist monk. A “religious worker” is defined as someone who is in a religious vocation or occupation and is authorized to perform normal religious duties, such as religious instructors, religious counselors, missionaries, religious broadcasters, workers in religious hospitals and cantors. Purely non-religious workers and volunteers are not included in this definition. Over the years the regulations defining religious occupations have changed and there has been litigation over varying interpretations. Someone attempting to immigrate under this category would be well advised to consult with an immigration attorney about their specific circumstances.

To qualify for a green card as a minister or religious worker, for at least 2 years immediately before filing the visa petition, you must have been a member of a religious denomination that has a bona fide, nonprofit, religious organization in the U.S.

Also, you must be seeking to come to the U.S. to work full time (35 hours) in a paid position, purely to carry on your vocation as a minister or to work for a bona fide, nonprofit religious organization in the U.S. or its affiliate in the U.S.

Finally, you must have been working as a minister or religious worker—abroad or lawfully in the U.S.—for at least 2 years immediately prior to filing the visa petition. (There can be breaks in the 2-year period but only in certain situations. And, unauthorized employment during the 2-year period stops the 2-years from accruing but it can be restarted again.)

Because of a recent court decision, immigrants can no longer file both the visa petition for a special immigrant visa as a religious worker and the green card application at the same time. This applies specifically to the religious worker classification. Currently, any green card application (I-485) that is based on a special immigrant petition (I-360) for a special immigrant religious worker must be filed only after you have an approved I-360 petition.

In addition, currently, all religious workers (not ministers) must enter the U.S. with a valid immigrant visa or adjust to permanent resident status (have an approved I-485) before September 30, 2012. This date might be extended in the future, but this is the current law.

Seattle Immigration Lawyer | Employment Preferences Continued

Tushar Mathur — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 07:11:00 +0000

Picking up where I left off last in discussing the Third Preference category, the subcategory of “Professionals” includes not only attorneys, doctors, engineers, teachers and architects, but also, generally anyone who has a degree and who is working in a field related to their education and/or experience background.

To qualify for the subcategory of “Skilled workers,” an immigrant must have at least two years of training or experience (no university degree required). As of November 2010, the priority date for “Professionals” and “Skilled workers” was January 22, 2005, meaning that if you have a priority date before 1/8/05, you are eligible for a visa number. (However, the wait is even longer for immigrants from China, India, or Mexico.)

The subcategory entitled “Unskilled workers” is for jobs that typically require fewer than two years of training or experience. Not surprisingly, since very few green cards are given for unskilled workers (only 10,000 available per year), the current priority date is April 1, 2003. (However, there is an even longer wait for immigrants from India or Mexico.) A common mistake that immigrants make when applying under the “Unskilled worker” subcategory is that just because this subcategory requires less than two years of training or experience does not mean that the immigrant’s qualifications do not have to match the actual job requirements—they still do.

Fourth Preference (EB-4): “Special immigrants,” including certain religious workers, employees of U.S. foreign service posts, retired employees of international organizations, alien minors who are wards of courts in the U.S., and certain other classes of persons. (Labor Cert. is NOT required.)

Fifth Preference (EB-5): Business investors who invest $1m or $500,000 (if the investment is made in a targeted employment area) in a new business that employs at least 10 full-time U.S. workers. (Labor Cert. is NOT required.)

Thinking of migrating to the United States?

Tushar Mathur — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 05:33:00 +0000

Indians who are thinking of migrating to the United States have a few options when it comes to the immigration process. If they have close relatives currently residing in the United States who are already permanent residents or citizens, they can have their family members sponsor them. Alternatively, if they have any special skills or work in a position which is in high demand in the United States, they may opt to apply for an employment-based visa.

There are five different categories of those eligible for employment-based visas with the code E1 (Employee First Preference) taking precedence over the other codes; namely E2, E3, E4 and E5. Those who have extraordinary skill in different industries i.e. arts, sciences, business can be considered for this category. Additionally, professors or researchers, and/or those who are currently being employed in the branch or subsidiary of a US employer may be eligible under E1.

However, there is a clause in immigration laws of the United States whereby they reserve the right to waiver or deem ineligible certain categories of applicants. If you had previously suffered from or are currently suffering from any communicable disease, have a history of violent behavior of mental illness, are a terrorist or have terror affiliations, have previously committed violent acts, then you would not be eligible for a green card.

The Immigration Department of the United States also visas for foreign religious workers; of which there are two different visas. Religious workers include those who have been given the right by their denomination to preside over religious worship. Only those who have taken life-long vows and have been ordained into the denomination are covered under the definition of religious workers. Examples are monks and nuns.

Religious workers who are filing petitions to migrate to the United States have to fulfill an important condition – they should at least have been a member of that particular denomination for at least two years prior to the application, and who have been working for the past two years in a professional capacity. The applicant should fill up form I-130 after which if the application has been approved, he will be notified of the next step in the immigration process.

New Rule in Force from 6th October

Tushar Mathur — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:13:30 +0000

There is a rule from the Department of Homeland Security that requires the sponsoring employers to file a petition for all the Aliens for whom R-1 non-immigrant status is sought. To comply with the same now the consular officers are required to ensure that, the said applicants have obtained an I-129 petition form from the Department of Home land security, prior to the issuance of the visa. The said rule has been in force from the 6^th of October 2009.

In case there is a further requirement of a clarification about this rule you might feel free to get in touch with the Legislation & Regulations division of the Visa Service’s. The contact person would be Lauren Prosnik. Phone # (202) 663-2951.

Now the question is what is this rule been promulgated for? The answer to that is, on the 26^th of Nov 08, the department of homeland security announced the requirement for the sponsoring employers to file a petition for all the Aliens for whom R-1 non-immigrant status is sought. Also as per the same law the period of the validity of the visa is not supposed to exceed the period as mentioned in the petition. As a result of that, an R-1 non-immigrant visa would now require the applicant to be established as a beneficiary of an approved petition. The implementation of this petition requirement by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has been, for the purpose of authenticating and determining the petitions from the religious organizations for the religious workers. This would also help to ensure that such religious workers are admitted into the United States on the request of a religious organization and that is exactly where the workers work.

Miscellaneous regulatory findings:

As per the Administrative procedure act there is a regulation that involves the foreign affairs function of the US therefore according to the 5 USC 553(a)(1) is not subjected to the procedures of rule making as set by 5 USC 553.

As per the Executive orders 12866, the new rule has been reviewed by the department of State to ensure its consistency with the regulatory philosophy and the principals set by the Executive orders 12866. They have also determined that the cost of maintaining this rule is justified according to the benefits that are to be derived out of it.

As per the paper work reduction act does not impose the requirements of information collection, as per the provisions of the paper work reduction act 44 USC chapter 35.