USCIS Outlines Procedures for New Employment Green Card Interviews

On September 28, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Ombudsman outlined procedures for new USCIS in-person interviews required for employment-based applicants effective October 1, 2017. 

Interviews will be scheduled by field offices for every applicant who has filed an green card application after March 6, 2017 and notices will be sent to both the applicant and the representing attorney. If additional evidence is needed, USCIS will request prior to the interview.

The REAL ID Act and passports

Your passport is valid for 10 years, and a child’s passport is valid for five. However, many countries require you to have validity through six months after your return date in order to travel. So, check your expiration date this month and mark down when you should renew your passport, especially if you travel overseas frequently. Passports can take anywhere from four to six weeks to renew, or three weeks via expedited service that’ll cost you an extra $60.

The REAL ID Act means that U.S. state IDs must have certain security features and data attached to them in order to be valid, and IDs are typically necessary to get on a plane. Not all states currently have standardized these enhanced security features, yet the REAL ID Act is set to take effect in early 2018 — so all states that are not compliant have been granted an extension. The full list of states with non-complying features can be found on the Department of Homeland Security’s website. If your state is one, you’ll need to make sure you’re flying with a REAL ID-compliant id by October 2020.

B2 Visitor Visa

When you apply for visitors visa extension, it can either be approved or denied. If your visitors visa extension is denied, there are several consequences depending upon various situations.

Prior to I-94 Date

If your visitors visa extension is denied prior to the expiration date of the CURRENT I-94 date, there are no consequences and you should leave normally before it expires.

Past the I-94 Date

As long as you filed the extension application before the expiration date of the current I-94 form, you are in legal status as long as the application is pending or 240 days, whichever comes first. However, if you are still in the U.S. when your extension application is denied, you immediately go out of status. You will have to leave immediately. It is understood that there are practical difficulties in leaving on the same day. It takes time to arrange the air tickets, pack the bags and so on, but legally, there is no grace period. 

Visa is Void

If you are in the U.S. past your I-94 date, and if your visitor visa extension is denied, then the visa is considered automatically cancelled. When the visa is cancelled, they don't have to stamp or strike off the actual visa stamp in the passport. They just make an entry in their computer. That means, if you try to enter the U.S. with that visa stamp again, you will not be allowed.

Even though some people have reported that they were allowed entry into the U.S. after such an incident, there are others who have been denied. Some people are not willing to accept the fact and continue to argue and take whatever position is convenient to them. However, the fact remains that your visa is void. You will have to apply all over again at the consulate when you want to visit next time.

My Law, LLC                                           

Immigration & Tax Law Firm

www.mylawllc.com

Phone: (630) 903-9625

1700 Park Street, Suite 203

Naperville, IL 60563

E-mail: attorney@mylawllc.com

Facebook Page:

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Trump Ends DACA, No New Applications Accepted

The Justice Department announced on Tuesday it is ending DACA, the Obama-era program that allowed undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children to remain in the country, while also giving Congress a six-month window to possibly save the policy.

For those whose permits are set to expire before March 5, 2018, though, the U.S. government will also allow them to renew their DACA status — provided their applications are received before Oct. 5, 2017. Currently, there are about 201,000 young adults whose authorizations are set to expire this year, officials at the Department of Homeland Security explained Tuesday.

Otherwise, beginning today, the U.S. government isn’t going to consider any new DACA applications, leaving still hundreds of thousands of its beneficiaries, known as Dreamers, in legal limbo.

On one hand, the delay on enforcement gives Congress some time to decide whether to preserve the program by writing a law. Absent that, though, these Dreamers would be at risk for deportation — even as government officials stressed Tuesday they are not going to target these young adults in the future.

My Law, LLC                                           

Immigration & Tax Law Firm

www.mylawllc.com

Phone: (630) 903-9625

1700 Park Street, Suite 203

Naperville, IL 60563

E-mail: attorney@mylawllc.com

Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/Immigration.MyLawLLC

Trump Likely to End DACA Immigrant Program

Begun in 2012 under the Obama administration, the DACA program allows young people who arrived by 2007 to remain in the country if they were illegally brought by their parents to the U.S. before they were 16, have lived here since then, and have not committed serious crimes. Some also came here legally with their parents but then overstayed their visas.

Those eligible must renew their DACA status every two years. More than 800,000 are now covered by the policy and can legally apply for work permits.

During Trump’s campaign, Trump said he would cancel DACA. But in late April he sent a different message, telling the Associated Press that young people covered by the program could "rest easy" because his priority was deporting criminals. "This is a case of heart," he said.

However, President Trump, as early as last Friday, is expected to announce plans to end the Obama administration program that gave a deportation reprieve to hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants. 

Democrats expressed opposition to the move, referencing the president’s past comments.

My Law, LLC                                           

Immigration & Tax Law Firm

www.mylawllc.com

Phone: (630) 903-9625

1700 Park Street, Suite 203

Naperville, IL 60563

E-mail: attorney@mylawllc.com

Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/Immigration.MyLawLLC

Employment Green Card Interview

Many individuals applying for employment-based green cards have their interview waived, especially if they have extraordinary abilities and if the employer petitioning on their behalf is the same one that sponsored their initial work visa.

The new policy, which will go into effect on October 1, people applying for green cards based on their employment or for refugee and asylee relatives will be subject to an interview.

The new requirement will apply to anyone moving from an employment-based visa to lawful permanent residency. Visa holders who are family members of refugees or people who receive asylum will also be required to undergo an in-person interview when they apply for provisional status, a stage that precedes receiving a green card, according to USCIS.

H4 Visa

The spouses of H-1B visa holders are issued the H4 visa, which does not allow the spouses to work. 

But from 26 May 2015, there was a provision that was added - H4 visa EAD - which would let dependent spouses of H-1B visa holders work in the US provided the H-1B spouse:

·         Have an approved I-140, which is the immigration petition for foreign citizens to get Green Card or Permanent Residency in USA.

·         Have H1B visa status extended beyond 6 years under AC21 Act, which allows H1B holders seeking Green Card to work and stay in USA beyond 6 years, if their Green Card or Permanent Residency Application is Pending.

Merit-Based Immigration System

The current U.S. immigration system favors uniting family members with relatives already in the country. It was built on the premise that any person, regardless of how much education or money they have, can come to the United States and create a productive life for themselves.  

However, President Trump is pushing forward with his promise of a harder line on legal immigration, endorsing a proposal to slash the number of immigrants admitted to the United States while favoring those with certain education levels and skills.

White House staff have been working closely with Cotton and Perdue for weeks on the legislation, which would restrict how the U.S. admits immigrants and move to what Trump has described as a "merit-based" system similar to that used in Australia and Canada.