Immigration benefits for same-sex married couples

Green cards, visas, and other immigration benefits have been a reality for same-sex marriage couples since the Supreme Court’s landmark gay rights decision in United States v. Windsor, which invalidated DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act”). 

Today, thankfully, legal discrimination against LGBT immigrants is no more. Now, same-sex married couples are afforded precisely the same rights and benefits under U.S. immigration laws as are opposite-sex married couples.

With the ruling of DOMA as unconstitutional, bi-national same-sex couples can finally seek immigration benefits based on their marriage. Thus, U.S. citizens and green card holders can now petition for immigration benefits for their same-sex spouses.

Diversity Immigrant (DV-2016) Visa Program Announced

The Congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is administered annually by the Department of State. Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides for a class of “diversity immigrants,” from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. For fiscal year 2016, 50,000 diversity visas (DVs) will be available.

Applicants who are selected in the lottery (“selectees”) must meet simple, but strict, eligibility requirements in order to qualify for a diversity visa. Selectees are chosen through a randomized computer drawing. Diversity visas are distributed among six geographic regions and no single country may receive more than seven percent of the available DVs in any one year.

For DV-2016, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply, because more than 50,000 natives of these countries immigrated to the United States in the previous five years:

Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.

Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan are eligible.

There are no changes in eligibility this year. 

Entry period:

October 2014 Visa Bulletin

October 2014 Visa Bulletin has been released (valid from October 1 to October 31 only). Please see below for more details. 

Family Based:

Family-Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	22MAY07	22MAY07	22MAY07	22JUN94	01SEP04
F2A	01FEB13	01FEB13	01FEB13	22JUL12	01FEB13
F2B	01NOV07	01NOV07	01NOV07	01AUG94	15DEC03
F3	01DEC03	01DEC03	01DEC03	22OCT93	01JUN93
F4	22JAN02	22JAN02	22JAN02	01FEB97	08APR91

Employment Based:

Employment- Based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA - mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	15NOV09	01MAY09	C	C
3rd	01OCT11	01APR09	15NOV03	01OCT11	01OCT11
Other Workers	01OCT11	22JUL05	15NOV03	01OCT11	01OCT11
4th	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
5th Targeted Employment Areas/ Regional Centers and Pilot Programs	C	C	C	C	C

My Law, LLC                                            
Immigration & Tax Law Firm

www.mylawllc.com

Phone: (630) 903-9625

1230 E. Diehl Rd. Suite 106

Naperville, IL 60563

E-mail: attorney@mylawllc.com

Facebook Page:

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

Not Picked in H1B 2015 Lottery – Options?

Depending on your situation, you might be wondering what are the options.  Some of you might be Students on F1 Visa, some of you might be spouses on H4 visa, Some of you might be applying from your Home country, Some of you might be in L1 Visa applying.

F1 Student in USA – OPT ending in 2014 – Second Masters ? PhD ? STEM ?

§  If your degree falls under STEM category, you should talk to your employer, DSO and apply for 17 month OPT extension.  The big catch for this is that your employer has to be e-Verified. Most of the good employers are e-Verified, if not you will not be eligible for this offer.  This buys you another 17 month time and you can apply for H1B Visa 2016 quota.

§  You can consider applying to jobs in research institutes, Universities, Community colleges, and non-profit organizations…As these institutions do NOT fall under annual H1B Cap, it is a great option. This can be a little bit of work, but you will still be able to work in USA, if you find one.

§  You may consider PhD or Second Masters to keep yourself in status. You will Not get OPT for second master degree as it is of same level.

September 2014 Visa Bulletin

September 2014 Visa Bulletin has been released (valid from September 1 to September 30 only). Please see below for more details. 

Family Based:

Family-Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	01MAY07	01MAY07	01MAY07	01JUN94	01AUG04
F2A	01JAN13	01JAN13	01JAN13	22APR12	01JAN13
F2B	01SEP07	01SEP07	01SEP07	15MAY94	01DEC03
F3	15NOV03	15NOV03	15NOV03	15OCT93	22MAY93
F4	01JAN02	01JAN02	01JAN02	22JAN97	15MAR91

Employment Based:

Employment- Based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	China - mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	08OCT09	01MAY09	C	C
3rd	01APR11	01NOV08	08NOV03	01APR11	01APR11
Other Workers	01APR11	22JUL05	08NOV03	01APR11	01APR11
4th	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
5th Targeted Employment Areas/ Regional Centers and Pilot Programs	C	C	C	C	C

My Law, LLC                                            
Immigration & Tax Law Firm

www.mylawllc.com

Phone: (630) 903-9625

1230 E. Diehl Rd. Suite 106

Naperville, IL 60563

E-mail: attorney@mylawllc.com

Facebook Page:

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

Child Crisis at US Border

Since last October, more than 57,000 unaccompanied minors have been detained while crossing the US-Mexico border, about three-quarters of them fleeing violence in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

The Department of Health and Human Services gives each child a health screening and immunizations, and assigns a short-term shelter. Children stay in a shelter an average of 35 days. Most are then placed with a family member or sponsor in the United States, where they remain during the deportation process.

H-2B Nonimmigrants

The H-2B Program

The H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs.

What is the H-2B Cap? 

There is a statutory numerical limit, or "cap," on the total number aliens who may be issued a visa or otherwise provided H-2B status (including through a change of status) during a fiscal year.

Currently, the H-2B cap set by Congress is 66,000 per fiscal year, with 33,000 to be allocated for employment beginning in the 1st half of the fiscal year (October 1 - March 31) and 33,000 to be allocated for employment beginning in the 2nd half of the fiscal year (April 1 - September 30).

DACA Renewal

Since the launch of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, more than 560,000 individuals have received DACA.

DACA is a discretionary determination to defer removal action against an individual. Individuals in DACA will be able to remain in the United States and apply for employment authorization for a period of two years.

It is important to note that individuals who have not continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, are ineligible for DACA.

The first DACA approvals will begin to expire in September 2014. To avoid a lapse in the period of deferral and employment authorization, individuals must file renewal requests before the expiration of their current period of DACA. USCIS encourages requestors to submit their renewal request approximately 120 days (four months) before their current period of deferred action expires. Individuals who have not requested DACA previously, but meet the criteria established, may also request deferral for the first time.

Individuals may request DACA renewal if they continue to meet the initial criteria and these additional guidelines: