Mexico, D.F., June 20, 2012 - U.S. consular operations in Mexico rank number four worldwide in issuance of Investor and Treaty Trader visas. This is a critical program to stimulate foreign direct investment in the United States. To more efficiently process visas for investors and traders, the U.S. Mission in Mexico announces two changes in the procedures for applying for and renewing Treaty Trader (E-1) and Treaty Investor (E-2) visas.
State Department official, best-selling author recognized as ‘Outstanding Americans by Choice’
I had my interview at 1:30 at Fairfax VA. Had printed my family picture at 12:50 on the way to interview it was heavy rain and reached there nick of time. We were called by an African American lady after 5 minutes after giving our oath she asked our ID and then got sign the waiver as our attorney was not with us. she asked question from my I-485 and she was very polite and calm everything was going smooth then she turn to my husband and ask about my date of birth which he forgot for few second and the then told her.
We had our interview yesterday and got appproved. I filed in Mar'12 (5Y - 85d) and my wife filed in Apr'12 (5Y - 60d) and we both had the interview yesterday. They went over all the N400 questions again and civic questions. The IO was looking at my file for 10-15 minutes without any major questions.
I had successful interview at Park Lake Drive, Atlanta, GA. I arrived 15 minutes earlier. The security at gate asked me to show Driver's ID. After that, he asked me to screen the bag through X-Ray Machine. Because I was carrying lot of documents, I put them into my laptop bag (without laptop). He also, asked me to empty pockets, take the Wrist Watch out, Belt and Shoes. This is very similar to airport security. After going though metal detector, I was asked to go to the Reception on First Floor (Walk-in Level) on left hand side.
Most Green Cards are obtained through employment, investment, a family member’s petition, the Diversity Visa program, and a refugee/political asylum application. However, there are other ways to get a Green Card. These Green Cards are limited to individuals meeting particular qualifications and/or applying during certain time frames.
Individuals in the following categories can apply for Green Cards:
Hey guys,
I just got back from my naturalization interview downtown Los Angeles and wanted to share my experience:
I arrived 10 mins before my appointment and was called about an hour later;
A male officer greeted me and took me to his room, did not even close the door.
Asked me to raise my hand and swear to tell the truth, state my age, name and address. Then he asked me to see my driver’s license and green card.
The guidance for issuing B-1 visas in lieu of H is currently under review bur remains in effect until further notice. In order to avoid delays at the port of entry, consular officers are to annotate the B-1 visa with “B in lieu of H, 9 FAM 41.31 N11.”
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
June 26, 2012
Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Anne C. Richard will travel from June 26-29, 2012, to Cleveland, Ohio and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to meet with resettled refugees, local and state government officials, resettlement agencies and other community members involved in the resettlement of refugees.
According to DOL updates as of 6/11/2012, they are working on PERM application filed in the following months:
Analyst Reviews: April 2012
Audits: December 2011
Reconsideration Requests to the CO: June 2011
US Department of State, which is responsible for monitoring and controlling the priority date movement, has made the following comments regarding the Fiscal Year 2012-2013 (October 1, 2012 through September 30, 2013):
EB-2 China and India
Legislation to Eliminate Annual Per-Country H-1B Limits Passes One Hurdle
The U.S. State Department is launching a pilot program to pre-screen E-1/E-2 visa applicants at consular posts in Canada. Kentucky Consular Center officials will contact the E-1/E-2 applicant's U.S. employer to verify information about the application, including the legitimacy of the company and the investment. This prescreening aims to assist consular officers to focus on the individual applicant's qualifications. The State Department hopes to implement the pilot around the world at consular posts that process E visa applications.
The U.S. Department of Labor has released PERM statistics for the first eight months of the fiscal year that began last October. Of the 43,100 applications it processed, 27,600 (64%) were certified, 83% were for H-1B and H-1B1 visas, 44% were for IT-related fields, and 55% were for applicants from India. The minimum education requirement was an advanced degree for 51% of those certified, and a bachelor degree for 39%. The Department certified more applications in the last two months than in either of the prior three-month periods.
Israeli investors will soon be able to apply for the E-2 visa, which allows holders to live and work in the U.S. for an extended period of time while overseeing a major investment in the United States. Legislation to allow Israelis to apply for these visas was approved in Congress in May 31 and signed by the President this month. The legislation requires that similarly situated United States nationals must be eligible for similar nonimmigrant status in Israel. Therefore, visa applications will be accepted once Israel confirms that it will issue similar visas to U.S. citizens.
Each month, the Visa Office subdivides the annual preference and foreign state limitations specified by the INA into monthly allotments based on totals of documentarily qualified immigrant visa applicants reported at consular posts and CIS Offices, grouped by foreign state chargeability, preference category, and priority date.
When should my H-1B petition for an extension be filed?
An H-1B petition for extension may be submitted to USCIS no more than 6 months prior to the expiration of the current H-1B status.
I do not have an I-94 from my last entry to the US in June, but I need it for my H-1B renewal. What should I do?
Please refer to the following link for information on printing your I-94: http://www.immigration.com/news/general-nonimmigrant-visa/i-94-web-appl…
Finally the day has come for which I have been waiting for a long. I sincerely thanks to Rajiv and his entire team for providing me high level professional services during the entire process. I especially thanks to Amrita and Prernaji for help me so much with all required processes and answering all my queries promptly. Both of them impressed me with their thorough knowledge of process. I would recommend Rajiv and his team to all my friends without any hesitation.
All USCIS offices worldwide are open. Activities continue despite Government Shutdown.
On the other hand The State Department had this announcement to make
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are jointly issuing this Investor Alert to warn individual investors about fraudulent investment scams that exploit the Immigrant Investor Program, also known as “EB-5.”
A big Thank you to the Law Office of Rajiv S. Khanna for all the valuable advice and help they provided with our Green Card processing! We just got the CPO emails yesterday and are waiting for the cards to arrive now. We highly recommend them for any kind of immigration work. Rajiv and his team are great to work with. For specific case informations, we have scheduled direct calls with Rajiv and he has always provided valuable advice at appropriate times.
1. Our employees are deployed at government sites. Are we still obliged to pay the H-1 wage?
2. Can we ask such employees to use their paid leave?
A1. Yes. In my view, that obligation continues unabated.
I talked with Rajiv about a possible EB1 application and found him to be exceedingly helpful. I appreciate the fact that he took the time to explain to me what more is needed to be done for my application to have a better chance of going through. Thanks!