NPZ Law Group, P.C.

Changes in the Processing of Waiver Applications ?Part II

Mon, 6 Feb 2012 13:04:36 -0800

This is a second and concluding part of the article on changes in the processing of waiver applications under which an applicant who has incurred unlawful presence in the US and subject to 3/10 years bar and wished to travel abroad to apply for Immigrant Visa, would be able to apply for wavier application before departing from US.

CHANGE IN THE PROCESSING OF WAIVER APPLICATIONS - Part I

Mon, 6 Feb 2012 13:02:39 -0800

On Jan. 6, 2012, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted a notice of intent in the Federal Register outlining its plan to reduce the time that U.S. citizens are separated from their spouses and children under certain circumstances while those family members go through the process of becoming legal immigrants to the United States. Currently, spouses and sons and daughters of U.S. citizens who have accrued a certain period of unlawful presence in the United States, and have to leave the country as part of the legal immigration process, are barred from returning to their families for as long as 3 or 10 years. They can receive a waiver to allow them to return to their families by showing that their U.S. citizen family member would face extreme hardship as a result of the separation. This proposal would streamline the processing of these individuals' waiver applications based on unlawful presence; USCIS proposes to process their waiver applications in the United States before any American family faces separation. The process would only apply to immigrants who are eligible for a visa.

EB-2 PERM AND EB-2 IN GENERAL - NAVIGATING PERM IMMIGRATION COMPLEXITIES:

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 10:59:43 -0800

An EB-2 petition is an employment-based 2nd preference petition for a foreign professional with an advanced degree or its equivalent (masters degree or higher), or a foreign national who has exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business. In some instances, a professional with a Bachelor's degree (or its U.S. equivalent) and five years of progressively responsible experience in the job being offered may be considered to possess the equivalent of a Master's degree in the field. Very special considerations must be given to the Indian three year Bachelor of Commerce Degree. We continue to encounter issues with processing cases where an EB-2 case uses the Bachelor's of Commerce Degree plus five years of progressive experience in the field to equate to a Master's Degree. It is critical that you consider the use of a qualified legal professional before moving forward with a case of this type.

Highly skilled may wait less for visas By: David H. Nachman and Michael Phulwani

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:29:27 -0800

In a rare show of bipartisan comity on the angrily contested issue of immigration, the House of Representatives on November 29, 2011 passed a bill that tweaks the visa system to allow more highly skilled immigrants from India and China to become legal permanent residents.

The bill, originally offered by Representatives Jason Chaffetz, a conservative Re-publican from Utah, and Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican and chairman of the House Judiciary Commit-tee, sailed through by a vote of 389 to 15. Joining as sponsors were several Democrats, who are outspoken liberals on immigration, including Re-presentatives Luis V. Gutierrez of Illinois and Zoe Lofgren of California.

Guidance on pending deportation cases - By: David H. Nachman and Michael Phulwani

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:41:34 -0800

The following guidance was provided by the Department of Homeland Security to ICE Attorneys reviewing the CBP, USCIS, and ICE cases before the Executive Office for Immigration Review.