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Experiencing Green Card Delays? Waiting for Immigrant Visa Numbers? Opening a business or investing in the U.S.? Are you an Inventor or skilled worker in the U.S.? November 20, 2014 Executive Actions

Tiyalaw — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 22:13:37 +0000

Experiencing Green Card Delays? Waiting for Immigrant Visa Numbers? Opening a business or investing in the U.S.? Are you an Inventor or skilled worker in the U.S.? November 20, 2014 Executive Actions

The President announced various executive actions on November 20, 2014 relating to, among other things, green card and temporary visa matters. Some of them are outlined below.

The executive actions are calling for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to work with the U.S. Department of State (DOS) to make efficient use of authorized immigrant visa numbers, and better determination of immigrant visa number availability. Various types of green card cases are subject to visa number quota. [Hopefully, the changes may improve visa number availability such as immigrant visa numbers becoming current.]

Additionally, the executive actions are requesting the USCIS to relax job or adjustment portability for delayed or lengthy adjustment of status cases. I-485 Adjustment of Status is the final stage in a green card process. Many adjustment cases remain pending or are delayed because of immigrant visa number unavailability (immigrant visa number not current). Currently, a foreign national in an employment green card may change or port to a different employer before his/her green card is approved, when the adjustment case has been pending for a certain period of time. Presently, such job change or portability is restricted to the same or similar green card job classification, which is narrowly interpreted. Thus, a foreign national who has changed job under the adjustment-of-status portability but who does not have an H-1B or another temporary work visa for the new job may possibly face removal or deportation proceeding. [Hopefully, the changes may allow eligible adjustment applicants to transfer or port to a wider range of jobs.]

In improving the U.S. economy, the executive actions are asking the USCIS to:

Clarify the standard for green card national interest waiver cases for founders of start-up businesses, foreign investors or researchers. National interest waiver is a process for an eligible foreign national who has an advanced degree or exceptional ability to apply for green card without the PERM permanent labor certification process. His/her contributions or skills must be of U.S. national interests. [Hopefully, these changes may mean widening the range of evidence that would constitute exceptional ability or U.S. national interests.]
Parole, on a case-by-case basis, eligible founders of start-up businesses, foreign investors or researchers. This is for a foreign national who has not yet met the national interest waiver standard, and:

(a) Who has been awarded substantial U.S. investor financing; or

(b) Who has the potential for innovation and job creation through the development of new technologies or cutting-edge research.

Spouses of certain H-1B employees who are in certain green card process may apply for work permit (employment authorization document/EAD). H-1B visa is for job that requires at least a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a relevant field.

There may be further clarification and consistency on what constitutes specialized knowledge for employee transferring from company overseas into the U.S.

The above executive actions are not effective yet. The government will provide further clarifications and guidelines in the coming months. Please stay tune and sign up for our eNews for future updates.

For additional information on other types of recent executive actions, please visit: https://immigrationresource.net/in-the-u-s-illegally-need-to-fix-u-s-immigration-status-consider-applying-for-dapa-around-may-19-2015-expanded-daca-february-18-2015/

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

By Aik Wan Kok Fillali, Lawyer USA Immigration Services, at Tiya; Tel: 703-772-8224 & koka at tiyalaw dot com; Direct dial from abroad: 001-703-772-8224; https://www.tiyaimmigration.com ; http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com ; https://immigrationresource.net

Need help with green card, work visas, work permit, illegal status, sponsoring family, sponsoring employees, sponsoring relatives, hardship waivers, marriage waiver, and cases with USCIS, Department of Labor or immigration? We represent employers, companies, individuals and families in U.S. Immigration & Nationality Law.

We represent diverse immigration cases in naturalization/citizenship, green card, work visas, waiver and other immigration matters. For examples including, but are not limiting, extraordinary ability; national interest waiver; PERM with Department of Labor; I-130 for sponsoring relatives and families (child, spouse, brother, sister, stepchild); I-140 for employment; I-485 to adjust status; I-765 work permit/employment authorization; I-131 for international travel and returning to the U.S; I-601 extreme hardship waiver for spouse, parent, son and/or daughter of U.S. citizen or green card holder; I-751 joint filing or waiver; I-212 waiver for deportation or removal order; J waiver; H-1B professional worker; H-2B temporary worker; L executive, manager and specialized knowledge professional transferring from overseas; B-1 business visitor to the U.S.; B-2 tourist visiting the U.S.; F-1 student coming to study in the U.S.; consular processing with U.S. consulates; consular processing via National Visa Centers; filing cases with the USCIS; filing cases with the U.S. Department of Labor; PERM audit; RFE Request for Evidence by USCIS; NOID Notice of Intention to Deny from USCIS; and Immigration Courts.

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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 direct 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 (e.g. several months or weeks , or longer depending on each case) than an EB-3 case (many years) because immigrant visa numbers are often 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 (e.g. several months or weeks, or longer depending on each case) for native from many countries (not all).

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

a) The processing time for various employment-based green card categories can retrogress (e.g. taking 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 unavailable for May 2009. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) cannot adjudicate green card I-485 adjustment of status cases without the available immigrant visa numbers.

e) For more information on 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 a U.S. citizen.

By Aik Wan Kok, Attorney or Lawyer USA Immigration & Nationality Services, 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 https://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 ▪ https://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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New USCIS Policy in Adjudicating Extraordinary Ability, Exceptional Ability, National Interest Waiver, and Outstanding Professors or Researchers Green Card Cases

Tiyalaw — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 15:41:26 +0000

New USCIS Policy in Adjudicating Extraordinary Ability, Exceptional Ability, National Interest Waiver, and Outstanding Professors or Researchers Green Card Cases:

Recently, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Memorandum (PM or immigration Policy Memo) regarding the analysis that USCIS officers should use when evaluating evidence in adjudicating the I-140, Petition for Immigrant Worker (one of the steps for certain green card cases) for foreign nationals who are of extraordinary ability, exceptional ability or national interest waiver, and outstanding professors or researchers.

USCIS officers may no longer unilaterally impose novel substantive or evidentiary requirements beyond those stipulated in the regulations.

The USCIS immigration Policy Memo directs the USCIS officers to first objectively evaluate each type of evidence submitted to determine if it meets the parameters applicable to that type of evidence described in the regulations (known as the “regulatory criteria”). USCIS officers should then consider all of the evidence in totality in making the final merits determination.

Before this USCIS immigration Policy Memo becoming effective recently, the practice of USCIS officers in adjudicating these green card cases was to evaluate the evidence at the beginning stage of the adjudicative process, with each type of evidence being evaluated individually to determine whether the self-petitioner met the green card criteria (such as whether the foreign national qualifies for self-petition green card based on extraordinary ability).

This USCIS immigration Policy Memo is a mere guidance to USCIS officers in evaluating evidence in adjudicating the above types of green card cases, and cannot be relied upon to create any right or benefit in any other form or manner. This USCIS immigration Policy Memo does not confer a right to immigration benefits.

By Aik Wan Kok Fillali, Attorney at Law, at Tiya PLC; Tel: 703-772-8224 www.tiyaimmigration.com ; http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com ; www.immigrationresource.net We represent employers, and individuals and their families in green card, work visa and waiver matters in U.S. immigration law.