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Posts Tagged ‘Uscis’

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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Tags: Adjudicated, Asylum Applicants, Catch 22, Consular Processing, Department Of Homeland, Department Of Homeland Security, Dhs, Extreme Hardship, Family Unity, Foreigners, Immigrant Visa, Immigrant Visas, Immigration And Nationality, Immigration And Nationality Act, Immigration Policy, New Hope, Removal Proceedings, Resident Spouse, Section 212, Unauthorized immigrants, unlawful presence, Uscis, waiver, Waiver Applications

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Form I-130 Filing Location Changes

December 26th, 2011

Tushar Mathur

“WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will change the filing locations for Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. Effective Jan. 1, 2012, domestic petitioners will mail their stand-alone I-130 applications to either the Chicago Lockbox or the Phoenix Lockbox, depending on where they reside in the United States. The new filing locations will be updated with the corresponding addresses on Jan. 1 on the Form I-130 Direct Filing Locations page. This effort will balance workloads between the two locations and provide more efficient and effective processing of Form I-130.

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Tags: Alien, Applications, Chicago Lockbox, Citizenship And Immigration, Citizenship And Immigration Services, filing address, Form I 130, Form I 130 Petition, Form I 485, I-130, Jurisdiction, Location Changes, Overseas Addresses, Permanent Residence, Petitioners, Phoenix, S Citizenship And Immigration Services, U S Citizenship And Immigration Services, Uscis

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H-1B Cap Reached for FY2012

November 24th, 2011

Tushar Mathur

USCIS announced yesterday that the H-1B regular cap has been reached for FY2012. The final receipt date for H-1B petitions is November 22, 2011. Applicants who wish to apply for H-1B status must wait until April 1, 2012 to file a FY2013 petition that permits employment on October 1, 2012. Last year, the regular H-1B cap was reached on January 26, 2011.

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Tags: 1b Cap, 1b Petitions, 1b Status, April 1, H-1B cap, Petition, Receipt, Uscis

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Only 7,400 H-1B Visa Numbers Available for FY2012

November 7th, 2011

Tushar Mathur

As of November 2, 2011, the USCIS announced that approximately 50,800 H-1B cap-subject petitions have been received. There are about 58,200 total regular cap visa numbers available after certain set aside usage, leaving only 7,400 visa numbers still up for grabs.

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Tags: 1b Cap, Grabs, H 1b Visa, H-1B, H-1B cap, November 2, Petitions, Uscis, Visa Numbers

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L-1 visa petitions for applicants starting a new U.S. office

November 1st, 2011

Tushar Mathur

Immigration Act Section 101(a)(15)(L) allows a multinational company to temporarily transfer foreign nationals with management, executive, and specialized knowledge skills to the United States to continue employment with an office of the same employer. Petitioners seeking to classify foreigners as intracompany transferees must file an I-129 petition with a USCIS service center for a determination. There are many complicated issues involved in the adjudication of an L-1 visa petition. For examples, the petitioner must establish that there is a qualifying relationship between the U.S.

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Tags: Act Section, Adjudication, Business Entity, Department Of Homeland, Department Of Homeland Security, Foreign Countries, Foreign Nationals, Foreign Operations, Immigration Act, immigration petitions, Knowledge Capacity, Knowledge Skills, L-1A, Management Executive, Multinational Company, Petitioner, Petitioners, Strict Scrutiny, Uscis, Visa Applications, Visa Category, Visa Petition, Visa Petitions

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New Medical Examination Form I-693 must be used beginning January 1, 2012

October 31st, 2011

Tushar Mathur

On Nov. 1, 2011, USCIS will introduce a new, more user-friendly version of the form used to report results of medical examinations for those seeking certain immigration benefits, Report of a Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, Form I-693. Civil surgeons completing medical examinations between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, 2011, should use the new form dated 10/11/11. However, USCIS will continue to accept the previous version, dated 7/20/10, for examinations completed between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, 2011. Beginning Jan. 1, 2012, civil surgeons must use the new version of the form.

Source: USCIS website, 10/28/2011