Immigration resource news magazine for United states of america

New Online Filing Immigration System USCIS ELIS

Tiyalaw — Sat, 19 May 2012 04:56:52 +0000

New Online Filing Immigration System USCIS ELIS

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is moving toward green (environmental) modernization. On May 22, 2012, USCIS will launch a new online immigration system to streamline the filing processes of certain immigration benefits. The new online immigration system is known as USCIS Electronic Immigration System (USCIS ELIS) and will be released in phases. Initially, certain applicants will be able to conduct online filing of Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status. Additional types of online filings of immigration benefits will be gradually introduced into USCIS ELIS, with improvements to the systems functionality. Eventually, USCIS ELIS will enable online filings for all immigration benefits. Optional paper filings may still be available.

May 19, 2012: By Aik Wan Kok Fillali, Attorney at Law, at Tiya; Tel: 703-772-8224; Email: koka at tiyalaw dot com

http://www.tiyaimmigration.com ; http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com ; http://immigrationresource.net

We represent employers, and individuals and their families in green card and all work visa matters in U.S. immigration law. We also have a focus on self-petition green card cases such as extraordinary ability and national interest waiver.

This article is intended for informational purposes only; and should not be relied on as a legal or any advice, or an attorney-client relationship

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CBP Travel Advisory: Border Crossing from Canada to USA

Tiyalaw — Fri, 18 May 2012 04:00:45 +0000

CBP Travel Advisory: Border Crossing from Canada to USA

With Victoria Day (May 21, 2012) holiday weekend approaching in Canada, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is anticipating a substantial increase in border-traffic crossing from Canada to the United States of America (USA). Through one of the government branches (CBP), USA being a welcoming nation, ensures and protects the safety of U.S. citizens, permanent residents as well as international travelers visiting USA for business, pleasure, studies or work.

Travelers are advised to plan accordingly such as factoring more time into their travel-commute activities or travel during non-peak border-traffic hours, and carrying proper documentation. Please see below.

Documentation: For efficient or expedited border-crossing services, CBP is encouraging travelers to utilize radio-frequency identification (RFID)-enabled travel documents such as U.S. passport card, Enhanced Driver’s License/Enhanced Identification Card, Trusted Traveler Program card (NEXUS, SENTRI, global entry, or Fast/Expres).
Avoid Peak Border-Traffic Hours: Typically, peak hours are between 7:00am and 7:00pm. Travelers may also check the wait times of various border-crossing port-of-entries at http://apps.cbp.gov/bwt/ to plan their border-crossing travels accordingly.

By Aik Wan Kok Fillali, Attorney at Law, at Tiya; Tel: 703-772-8224 & koka at tiyalaw dot com

www.tiyaimmigration.com ; http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com ; www.immigrationresource.net .

This article is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be relied on as a legal advice or an attorney-client relationship.

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36,700 H-1B Regular Cap Work Visas, and 14,800 H-1B Master’s Degree Exemption Visas Received for FY2013 (May 11, 2012)

Tiyalaw — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:33:02 +0000

36,700 H-1B Regular Cap Work Visas, and 14,800 H-1B Master’s Degree Exemption Visas Received for FY2013 (May 11, 2012)

What is H-1B?

H-1B petitions are temporary work visas for positions requiring theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields for qualified foreign nationals to live and work in the U.S. Many H-1B foreign nationals have successfully gone on to apply for and obtain lawful permanent residence status (also known as, green card).

Foreign nationals with at least a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent (equivalent degree and/or work experience) may be sponsored for H-1B petitions. A broad range of positions may fall under H-1B specialty occupations; each case depends on a position’s own set of circumstances.

H-1B Annual Work Visa Cap

As of May 11, 2012, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received 36,700 H-1B Regular Cap, and 14,800 H-1B Master’s Degree Exemption.

On April 2, 2012, the USCIS began accepting H-1B nonimmigrant petitions that are subject to the government-mandated annual H-1B cap of 65,000 and the 20,000 U.S. advanced degree cap exemption. The advanced degree exemption applies to an H-1B beneficiary who has successfully obtained a U.S. Master’s degree or higher. These H-1B petitions are for Fiscal Year 2013 (FY2013) visa quota (for employment start-date of October 1, 2012 or later). The FY2012 visas quota (for October 1, 2011 employment start-date or later) was already closed. Up to 6,800 visas are set aside from the 65,000 cap during each fiscal year for the H-1B1 program under the terms of the legislation implementing the U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreements. Unused numbers in this pool are made available for H-1B use for the next fiscal year; in recent years, all visa numbers had been exhausted eventually.

H-1B petitions can be filed under premium processing (faster processing of certain employment-based petitions and applications). Premium processing H-1B petitions filed during an initial five-day filing window are undergoing a 15-day processing period that began April 9. For all other H-1B petitions filed for premium processing, the processing period begins on the date that the properly filed petition is physically received at the correct USCIS Service Center.

When the H-1B cap is exhausted is the date USCIS informs the public that the cap has been reached (“final receipt date”), and this may differ from the actual final receipt date. In ensuring a fair system, on the final receipt date, the USCIS may utilize the random selection approach by selecting the number of petitions that will be considered for final inclusion within the cap. The USCIS will reject H-1B cap petitions that are not selected, as well as those received after the final receipt date. The final receipt date will be the date the USCIS physically receives the petition, and it is not based on the date that the H-1B petition has been postmarked.

Some H-1Bs Are Not Subject to H-1B Annual Work Visa Cap

Not all H-1B petitions are subject to annual visa cap, depending on the types of H-1B petition being filed, and the types of entity-sponsor. For examples, foreign nationals who already have approved H-1B petitions or H-1B status may still have H-1B petitions filed for them to extend their H-1B status or to change H-1B employers. These H-1B petitions may not be subjected to the annual visa cap.

Duration of H-1B

In general, H-1B petitions/work visas are approved for three years each time (up to a total of 6 years). Under certain circumstances, H-1B work visas can be extended beyond the 6-year maximum time limitation.

H-1Bs Not Selected or Filed When All H-1B Annual Work Visas Are Used Up

Potential H-1B candidates who do not make it to the Fiscal Year 2013 H-1B visa quota (October 1, 2012 employment start-date or later) have the options to have their H-1B cap petitions submitted or resubmitted to the USCIS on or after April 1, 2013 (October 1, 2013 employment start-date or later) for the Fiscal Year 2014 H-1B visa quota. They can also consider other immigration options such as self-petition green card filings, if eligible.

By Aik Wan Kok Fillali, Attorney at Law, at Tiya; Tel: 703-772-8224 & koka at tiyalaw dot com

www.tiyaimmigration.com ; http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com ; www.immigrationresource.net

We represent employers, and individuals and their families in green card and work visa matters in U.S. immigration law. We also have a focus on self-petition green card cases such as extraordinary ability and national interest waiver.

This article is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be relied on as a legal advice or an attorney-client relationship.

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P Work Visas Performing Artists and Entertainers

Tiyalaw — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:29:44 +0000

P Work Visas Performing Artists and Entertainers

On May 15, 2012, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) issued a binding precedent decision addressing the term “culturally unique” and its significance in the adjudication of P nonimmigrant petitions for performing artists and entertainers. Precedent decisions are administrative decisions that are legally binding on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s branches responsible for enforcing immigration laws in all proceedings involving the same issue.

“Culturally unique” requires USCIS to make factual determination on a case-by-case basis, and the style of art or entertainment may include artistic expression of a hybrid/fusion of more than one culture or region and is not limited to traditional art forms.

By Aik Wan Kok Fillali, Attorney at Law, at Tiya; Tel: 703-772-8224 & koka at tiyalaw dot com

www.tiyaimmigration.com ; http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com ; www.immigrationresource.net .

This article is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be relied on as a legal advice or an attorney-client relationship.

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N-400 Naturalization or Citizenship Oath Ceremonies

Tiyalaw — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:58:04 +0000

N-400 Naturalization or Citizenship Oath Ceremonies

The district office Washington, D.C. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) located in Fairfax, Virginia, has several large Oath Ceremonies scheduled in the coming months of May and June 2012. There was already an 800-person swearing in ceremony scheduled for Wednesday April 25, 2012 at George Mason University. USCIS in Fairfax, Virginia, will schedule several additional large oath ceremonies off-site. In the next months, on-site same-day ceremonies may still be held for those applicants who are back in the office, by appointment, for a re-exam or Request of Further Evidence. Depending on circumstances, on-site ceremonies for Saturday interviews (N400s only) will be also conducted through the summer months.

By Aik Wan Kok, Attorney at Law, at Tiya; Tel: 703-772-8224 & koka at tiyalaw dot com

www.tiyaimmigration.com ; http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com ; www.immigrationresource.net .

This article is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be relied on as a legal advice or an attorney-client relationship.

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F-1 Student Optional Practical Training (OPT) and Expanded STEM degrees

Tiyalaw — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:27:33 +0000

F-1 Student Optional Practical Training (OPT) and Expanded STEM Degrees

In an effort by the Obama administration to improve United States of America (USA)’s economic, scientific and technological competitiveness, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on May 11, 2012 an improved program to attract international students to study and remain to apply their expertise in USA. The improved program is the expanded list of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) designated-degree programs that qualify eligible graduates on student visas for the F-1 student visa Option Practical Training (OPT) extension, to include fields of studies such as pharmaceutical sciences, econometrics and quantitative economics.

Under the OPT program, international students who graduate from colleges and universities in the USA are able to remain in the country to receive work experience training in their field of studies for up to 12 months. Students who graduate from a science, technology, engineering, and math designated STEM degree program can remain for an additional 17 months on an OPT STEM extension.

For a full list of expanded STEM degrees, please see http://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/stem-list.pdf .

By Aik Wan Kok Fillali, Attorney at Law, at Tiya; Tel: 703-772-8224 & koka at tiyalaw dot com

www.tiyaimmigration.com ; http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com ; www.immigrationresource.net .

This article is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be relied on as a legal advice or an attorney-client relationship.

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Employment-Based ( EB ) Immigrant Visa Numbers for June 2012

Tiyalaw — Sun, 13 May 2012 17:00:47 +0000

Employment-Based ( EB ) Immigrant Visa Numbers for June 2012

Processing time for employment-based lawful permanent residence (green card) preference category cases (EB cases) are tied to immigrant visa number availability. Immigrant visa numbers can retrogress (take much longer than the government’s previously estimated processing time). The wait time for an immigrant visa number for an employment-based case is determined by a case’s priority date, the employment-based preference category (EB category) and the foreign national beneficiary’s country of birth (not nationality). A priority date is the date of filing a case (such as the date of filing a PERM or an I-140 Immigrant Petition). The types of EB cases include extraordinary ability, outstanding professor and researcher, multinational executive and manager, exceptional ability, national interest waiver, PERM labor certification, and others.

On May 8, 2012, the U.S. Department of States issued the latest summary of immigrant visa number availability in its Visa Bulletin June 2012. In June 2012, immigrant visa numbers are available for employment-based green card preference category 2 for foreign nationals of all country of birth other than India or China (no visa numbers available for China or India). The cut-off priority dates for EB preference category 3 is August 8, 2005 (China), September 15, 2002 (India), May 22, 2006 (Philippines), and June 8, 2006 (Mexico and all other country of birth).

For more information on the immigrant visa number (especially June 2012), please visit the immigrant visa bulletin website of U.S. Department of States at

http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_5712.html .

By Aik Wan Kok Fillali, Attorney at Law, at Tiya; Tel: 703-772-8224 & koka at tiyalaw dot com

www.tiyaimmigration.com ; http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com ; www.immigrationresource.net .

This article is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be relied on as a legal advice or an attorney-client relationship.

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Tiya Attorney USA Immigration Services

Immigration Resource — Sat, 12 May 2012 09:15:04 +0000

Choosing the correct and most suitable immigration classification and category when initiating and applying for green card status in and to the U.S. is extremely important. Depending on the type and/or classification of the green card, the wait time to obtain green card status varies tremendously, and the difference can be several months, to several years or even decades.

Immigrating to the U.S. via sponsorships through certain skill sets or employment are effective ways to legally and permanently live and work in the U.S., or gain legal permanent residency status in the U.S.

The employment-based green card cases in the U.S. fall under several preference categories. Some of the categories include, but are not limited to, green card employment-based preference 1 category (“EB-1”), employment-based preference 2 category (“EB-2”), and employment-based preference 3 category (“EB-3”). Choosing the most effective employment-based green card preference category is important to the foreign nationals for many reasons. For foreign nationals who have any green card cases (whether or not based on employment) that have been pending for too long, right now will be a good time to review various employment-based green card options. The differences in the various EB categories include, but are not limited to:

1. Many employment-based green card cases require sponsorships by employers. Other employment-based green card cases do not require the sponsorships of any specific employers, and can be self-petitions or self-sponsorships by the foreign national themselves.

a) For example, an EB-3 green card case requires the sponsorship by an employer.

b) On the other hand, an EB-2 national interest waiver green card case that is based on the foreign national’s contribution to the industry does not require the sponsorship by an employer.

c) An EB-1 extraordinary ability green card case is a self-petition immigration case, and does not require the sponsorship by an employer. Certain EB-1 green card cases require the sponsorship by an employer.

2. The wait time for green card cases for the various employment-based preference categories or cases can vary widely, ranging from several weeks or several months, to almost 9 years, because their wait time are tied to the employment-based preference category and the foreign national beneficiary’s country of birth (not nationality).

a) For example, the wait time to receive a green card based on an EB-1 case is tremendously shorter (several months or weeks) than an EB-3 case (many years) because immigrant visa numbers are more readily available for an EB-1 than an EB-3 case. Also, the wait time for an EB-2 national interest waiver case is tremendously shorter (several months or weeks) for, not all, but many countries.

b) For example, under an EB-2 case based on PERM, it takes substantially longer for a foreign national who was born in India or China to receive his/her green card (several years) than a foreign national who was born in other countries.

c) However, if a foreign national who was born in India or China is eligible and is applying for an EB-1 green card case, the wait time will be tremendously shortened.

d) Other than a bona fide marriage to a U.S. citizen, having relatives to provide immigration sponsorships to foreign nationals are by no means good solutions. Certain family-based green card sponsorships could take decades to come through.

For more information on the current immigrant visa number availability, please visit the immigrant visa bulletin at the website of the U.S. Department of States at

http://travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html

3. Moreover, the green card processing time at the various government agencies changes from time to time, depending on diverse factors such as their immigration case load, number of green card applicants in a given period, new law and/or policies.

a) The processing time for the various employment-based green card categories can retrogress (take much longer than the government’s previously estimated processing time).

b) For example, the processing time for many EB-3 green card cases retrogressed from a processing time of about 8.5 years in April 2009, to a sudden halt (no processing) for the month of May 2009 when immigrant visa numbers became unavailablefor May 2009 because the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) cannot adjudicate green card adjustment of status cases without the available immigrant visa numbers.

e) For more information on the immigrant visa number availability (especially for April and May 2009), please visit the immigrant visa bulletin at the website of U.S. Department of States at

http://travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html

4. Some foreign nationals are deterred and discouraged by the dampening economy from, or their dim view in securing U.S. employment, and/or immigration or green card sponsorships.

a) For foreign nationals who do not have or wish to secure immigration sponsorships by U.S. employers, being able to apply for employment-based green card by themselves without any specific employers (i.e. self petitions or self sponsorships) can make a huge difference in their lives.

For example, the differences of either falling into illegal immigration status in the U.S.; not coming or immigrating to the U.S. or having to leave the U.S. (most often, after years of being in the U.S. with established social circles and families here); or the privileges and opportunities to live anywhere in the U.S. with U.S. permanent residency status, and eventually, the opportunity to apply for U.S. citizenships.

In summary, choosing the most effective category of green card cases means the difference of waiting decades for your green card, to several months or weeks. Having a green card much sooner also means having the opportunities to choose to live and work anywhere in the U.S., and eventually, to apply to be U.S. citizens.

By Aik Wan Kok, Attorney at Law, at Tiya; Tel: 703-772-8224

www.tiyaimmigration.com ; http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com ; www.immigrationresource.net

We represent companies, and individuals and their families in U.S. immigration law such as green card, work visa and waiver matters. We represent clients within the U.S. and abroad.

This article is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be relied on as a legal advice or an attorney-client relationship.

PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITES AT http://www.tiyaimmigration.com AND http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com , THANK YOU.

Sincerely,
Aik Wan Kok *
Attorney at Law (Immigration Law)
E-Mail: koka@tiyalaw.com ▪ aikwan.kok@gmail.com ▪ http://www.tiyaimmigration.com ▪ http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com

Direct: 703-772-8224 ▪ Office: 202-642-4902

+ Aik Wan Kok Fillali at Tiya USA Immigration Services: 1629 K Street, Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20006

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Visas to the United States, and Obama Administration Continuing its Efforts to Increase Travel and Tourism in the United States

Tiyalaw — Thu, 10 May 2012 17:35:54 +0000

Visas to the United States, and Obama Administration Continuing its Efforts to Increase Travel and Tourism in the United States

President Obama and the White House have taken important initiatives to make the United States of America as the top tourist destination in the world as a way to create jobs and strengthen the U.S. economy, given that the U.S. travel and tourism industry is a substantial component of U.S. GDP, exports, and employment. On January 19th, 2012, President Obama signed an Executive Order and announced new administrative initiatives to significantly increase travel and tourism in and to USA.

Travel and tourism in and to USA promotion efforts have already begun in Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom, and are planned for South Korea and Brazil later this year.

As an effort to promote and facilitate traveling to USA, considerations are underway to improve various immigration options such as:

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP): strengthening and expanding VWP eligibility to nations with low visa refusal rates and rapidly growing economies, as consistent with national security requirements.
Shortening Visa Interview Wait Times: Internationally, wait times for visa interviews are generally short, and have dropped dramatically even for travel markets where demand for visas is highest. For example, the wait time for an appointment at U.S. consulates in China; and Brazilian cities of Brasilia, Recife, and Rio de Janeiro, is currently less than a week; and 30 days or less for São Paulo, Brazil. The U.S. Department of State is adding staff and streamlining its operations to continue keeping a low wait time for visa interview.
Streamlining the Visa Process: In an effort to streamline visa processing to free up more interview slots for first-time applicants and allow consular officers to more effectively spend their time evaluating higher-risk visa applicants, a new pilot program is now underway at the U.S. Department of State for Consular offices. In this pilot program, Consular officers may waive in-person interviews for certain low-risk, qualified individuals, such as those renewing their visas within 48 months of the expiration of their previous visas, and Brazilian applicants below the age of 16 and age 66 and older. Waiver of in-person interview is at the consular officers’ discretion, and consular officers retain the authority to interview any applicant in any category if security or other concerns are present.
Increasing Consular Staffing and Implementing Innovative Hiring Programs: In its efforts to offer visa services in a timely manner and with low wait time, the U.S. Department of State is doubling the number of diplomats performing consular work in China and Brazil over the next year; and the first group of newly hired consular adjudicators, who already speak Portuguese or Mandarin, have already recently arrived at U.S. consulates in Brazil and China.

By Aik Wan Kok Fillali, Attorney at Law, at Tiya; Tel: 703-772-8224 & koka at tiyalaw dot com

www.tiyaimmigration.com ; http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com ; www.immigrationresource.net

This article is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be relied on as a legal advice or an attorney-client relationship.

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32,500 H-1B Regular Cap Work Visas, and 13,700 H-1B Master’s Degree Exemption Visas Received for FY2013 (May 4, 2012)

Tiyalaw — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:50:56 +0000

32,500 H-1B Regular Cap Work Visas, and 13,700 H-1B Master’s Degree Exemption Visas Received for FY2013 (May 4, 2012)

What is H-1B?

H-1B Annual Work Visa Cap

As of May 4, 2012, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received 32,500 H-1B Regular Cap, and 13,700 H-1B Master’s Degree Exemption.

Some H-1Bs Are Not Subject to H-1B Annual Work Visa Cap

Duration of H-1B

H-1Bs Not Selected or Filed When All H-1B Annual Work Visas Are Used Up

By Aik Wan Kok Fillali, Attorney at Law, at Tiya; Tel: 703-772-8224 & koka at tiyalaw dot com

www.tiyaimmigration.com ; http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com ; www.immigrationresource.net

This article is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be relied on as a legal advice or an attorney-client relationship.