DHS Secretary Testifies Before Homeland Security House Subcommittee On NEXUS And Visa Waivers
DHS secretary Napolitano testifies before Homeland Security House Subcommitt on NEXUS and Visa Waivers.
Please check the attached document.
DHS secretary Napolitano testifies before Homeland Security House Subcommitt on NEXUS and Visa Waivers.
Please check the attached document.
(Click on links under the second column to download the recordings)
Rajiv S. Khanna, US Immigration attorney provides free immigration help by hosting a free community conference call for US immigration related questions every other Thursday. You can post questions for the call if you are a member of our Immigration forums. Membership is immediate and free for life. (Click here to register ).
I have worked with Mr. Khanna' Law Firm for over 12 years now, in many ways, either through having my questions answered (when I was still a student), to getting my work visa done, or most recently, for visitor' visa inquiries / clarifications. Mr. Khanna and his team, have ALWAYS provided me with their valuable time and advice very graciously. Their 15 minutes of a conference call time to answer / address a question / issue, mean a lot to people who are on the receiving end. While there are many Lawyers / Attorneys who provide such services to their communities, I hardly know of ANY Law Firm who do so regularly, have done so for many, many years, and will continue to provide such services even in the future, including to those who are NOT their clients. There could be many instances when an individual is not able to pay the consultation fees. If it is not an abuse of his time and a genuine, sincere request has been made, Mr. Khanna and team WILL work out a way to provide those consultation services free of cost. Why so? Because, this is THEIR PASSION, ... to help people in the community. I personally admire this gesture and professionalism.
Very recently, I had specific and some general questions regarding B-2 visa RFE's for my Mother, who has been here under medical and humanitarian grounds, for quite a few years . This being the 2nd RFE that I have received, put me into some worries, questioning the Agency' motives as to why such RFE' after so long when all the required documents were handed to USCIS each time the application/petition was sent for a renewal. Clearly the Agency wants to get a clear picture about my Mother' health condition, and the costs associated with that and who is paying for her support so that she doesn't become a public burden. Her health condition doesn't allow for her to travel and the notion of her separation from me, due of the care that I give to her, makes her physical condition worse. Not to mention, that the most recent economic downturn has put me into some dire situations, conditions to provide for medical support. She did receive state' help for her medical expenses recently. I'm worried for this situation, which I wasn't earlier. It was for this reason, I contacted Mr. Khanna, and he provided me with his valuable answers, the best approach to answer such RFE, and what to do next.
I CANNOT thank Mr. Khanna and his whole team much. It was so nice to have talked with Rena W. after many years, and to know that some of the team members, like Ana B. with whom I had worked earlier, are still there, providing their excellent services.
I was first referred to Mr. Khanna by one of my friends, who also got his work visa and permanent residency done through Mr. Khanna. I can certainly refer anyone, to Mr. Khanna' Immigration Offices, to receive excellent and prompt services, anytime, without any hesitation.
Thank you for all that you do, for the community and its people. My very best wishes.
Department of State online resource where people can select a U.S. embassy or consulate by city or country for specific wait time information, which includes typical wait times for interview appointments and visa processing.
Please click here to view the link.
As of July 29, 2012, all non-immigrant visa applicants must fill in the DS 160 application form and pay the MRV fee through purchase of a mandat compte before scheduling an appointment. The reference numbers of both the DS 160 and the mandat compte must be provided at time of scheduling.
Important notice
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 146 (Monday, July 30, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44642-44647]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-18552]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DHS-2012-0045]
My application was strong but my interview was weak and I slipped on a question or two. Towards the end of the interview, the asylum officer was very quiet and cold and when I told him that I would send him the document he requested he seemed like he didn't care. Do you think that means he is going to deny my application? How many days did it take for you to get your decision by mail
Hi All,
Sorry for the delay in posting about my experience.
As some of you know, I filed in August 2007 and got stuck in the front-log, and was unable to do my finger prints until December 2007. However, luckily, my interview was scheduled right away for March 2008.
In Buffalo, we do not have same day oath, so I knew going in that I would not be sworn in the same day. I did know however, that I would get the oath notice right away (on the spot) if I passed, because they hold ceremonies every 2 weeks.
I am reporting here comments from and my responses to a member of our community, "Julissa," regarding whether or how she could apply for a green card herself if she has a Master's degree. Do note, if a set of new immigration laws gets passed, all this could change.
WASHINGTON—Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Treasury Jacob J. Lew, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas will help USCIS celebrate our nation’s 237th birthday as the agency welcomes more than 7,800 new citizens during more than 100 naturalization ceremonies across the country and overseas from July 1 to July 5.
Statement from Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano:
Immigration Reform 2013 Status
I wanted to give you quick overview of where we are as of today in the immigration reform effort. As you know the comprehensive immigration bill labeled S.744 was passed by Senate, and the voting in the Senate reflected what kind of support there is generally amongst the two parties (Senate and House of Republicans (House)) for this reform effort.
The composition of the Senate is currently 54 Democrats, one Independent and 45 Republicans. A total of 100 Senators. When the bill was voted upon, it was passed 68 to32. All Democrats voted for it, one Independent voted for it, but only 13 Republicans in the Senate voted for the bill. So less than one third (of Republicans voted for passage). This means that Democrats overwhelmingly support the reform, the immigration bill S. 744. But Republicans are not by any means, or in any way shape or form overwhelmingly or even in a majority in favor of the reform as it was proposed.
So, now bill has been passed the Senate. 68 to 32. It’s a good margin, but the problem situation in the House is totally different. The politics of the situation is that the Latino, Hispanic vote is becoming in proportion much larger. It is exponentially expanding. The Republicans leaders rightly believe that they must curry favor or must be considered a friend to the Hispanic industry of immigration. A lot of Republicans also believe that they have no incentive to pass an amnesty bill. One thing I would say that as far as reform of the legal immigration is concerned I don't think we have too much controversy about that. Both parties agreed that certain things need to be done, like we need skilled immigration professional. Special provisions for PhDs, physicians, people who have Master’s degrees, people with STEM degrees. We need all that and some way to remove the backlog, which is horrendous for many countries. For instance, India has nine to ten years of backlog waiting for a Green Card. So there is consensus among both parties on legal immigration. It is the amnesty part, the enforcement and border protection, which are the key areas of disagreement.
If you look on the Republicans composition, only 24 out of 234 House Republicans represent districts that have any appreciable numbers of Hispanic voters, more than 25 percent. So, only 24 out of 234. Where is the incentive for them to pass an immigration bill with amnesty? In fact, many of the Republicans come from districts that actually oppose amnesty. Republican Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) was speaking in Lynchburg, Virginia yesterday and passions were really running high against the amnesty.
So in the House even if Democrats all get together, the problem is how do we move the reform forward. House is controlled by Republicans, 234 to 201. House Speaker, John Boehner (R-OH) has said that he won't bring the Senate bill up for a vote if he does not have the support of a majority of the House Republicans (known as Hastert Rule). He says, I will not even allow this Senate bill to be voted on in the House unless a majority of House Republicans support the bill. And if we look at the cross-section of the voting that occurred in Senate, less than one third of Republicans support. It’s not good sign to get that kind of support.
So, it appears at least at this stage that the Senate bill will have very tough time going through the House as today’s politics stand.
What are the options?
Four obvious options, the fourth option is very unlikely, which is House leadership brings up the the Senate bill up for vote.
There are four options, but again it’s important to understand what happens if there are two separate bills addressing some of the same areas or all of the same areas, and there are controversies among those bills, then it goes into something called “conference”. When we get into conference, the idea is representatives from Senate and the representative from House will meet together and they will iron out their differences. A lot of times if you want to effect the Senate bill, all you have to do is pass something in the House and then it goes into the conference where you can work on one bill or the other, agree, negotiate and then take the negotiated version back to both chambers for voting Senate and House. So, option number one is House passes its own bill or bills. Actually, here we are talking about comprehensive, some kind of comprehensive set of bills, then it goes for conference. Option two, the House passes any bill, it does not have to be comprehensive bill, something that effects or contradicts the Senate version again we go into conference.
Another interesting option and normally this would not be a really good option but here may be worth considering. I doubt it, but I am not a political pundit just a lawyer. House can actually vote on the Senate bill without the House Speaker’s support. If 218 house members vote for a discharge petition, which means we don’t care what the Speaker says, we are going to vote on this bill anyway. That means House Democrats need 17 votes from Republicans to get a discharge petition and vote on the Senate bill.
So, what are the four options again:
1. Comprehensive bill by House;
2. Any bill by House;
3. Discharge petition; and
4. House leadership brings up the Senate bill to vote which is unlikely.
Let us talk about a comprehensive bill. House had its own “Gang of Eight” people working on a comprehensive immigration bill. Their focus was a lot more on enforcement, on border security, etc. But then one of the Congressman, Raul Labrador (R-ID), quit. The now “Gang of Seven” still might produce a comprehensive House bill. If such a bill is produced, we will get into conference, negotiate and then finally vote on the negotiated bill. So number one is Comprehensive bill.
Number two is any bill. As I mentioned Rep. Goodlatte from Virginia, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has produced a series of immigration related bills. House Democrats do not like it because it’s a piecemeal approach and there are all kinds of very extreme positions taken by Bob Goodlatte that House Democrats feel are inimical or enemies of immigration reform. But one of the ways, this series of bills, could be just a device to force matters into conference. If any of these bills pass in the Republican controlled House, then we will all get into conference anyway, where we can negotiate based upon the Senate version of the bill and make changes to it and then go back with the compromise. So the passage of a series of extreme bills could be a way to force matter into conference.
Option three is a discharge petition. Discharge petition normally its considered to be very bad form. If a Republican votes for a discharge petition it’s disloyal, it’s considered to be bad form. But here, Speaker Boehner himself and many other leaders, who are perhaps more in tune with the needs of the time, have said that they want immigration reform. But it looks like there is very strong opposition from certain elements within the Republican Party, which is basically muting some of these more moderate or more aware. I would not call them moderate but more aware members of the Republican Party. So normally a Republican will not vote for a discharge petition, but here who knows. Maybe this is the choice.
The key date to watch is 10th July. On 10th July there will be conference, the House Republican conference, and they meet in the basement of the Capitol to decide how they want to move forward. So that's when we will hear about the final strategy. Once again, right now we don’t know which way House is going to go, but on 10th July we should have better idea of the direction.
I live in Bulgaria and I have a Master's Degree in Veterinary Medicine. My question is can I get a EB-2 visa if I work as a veterinary assistant in the USA ?
You can qualify for EB2 only if two conditions are met:
1. Your degree is equivalent to a U.S. advanced degree (a credentials evaluation service needs to assess that under proper standards); and
2. The job requires an advanced degree or equivalent experience.
1. Certification of Decisions to the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO)
Purpose
This policy memorandum (PM) and accompanying revisions to the Adjudicator’s Field Manual (AFM) guide officers on the proper use of the decision
certification mechanism described in 8CFR 103.4. This PM revises Subchapters 3.5, 10.7, 10.8, 10.14 and 10.18 of the AFM ;AFM Update AD13 -08.
Scope
Unless specifically exempted herein, this PM applies to and binds all U.S.Citizenship and Immigration Services(USCIS)employees
Rajiv was great to work with, he analyzed my case in detail and gave relevant advice on the next steps and possibilities regarding my green card. I would recommend him to my friends. Ravi
Under Phase II, DHS and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will expand the exchange of biographic entry data collected on third-country nationals (those who are neither citizens of Canada nor of the United States), permanent residents of Canada who are not U.S. citizens, and lawful permanent residents of the United States who are not Canadian citizens, to all automated land ports of entry at the common border, including all major land border crossings.
I have stamped visa from Company A and I entered into USA from that company itself. Now my visa has been transferred to Company B. I am going back to India to bring my family. Will I have to go for stamping again? Will it make any difference at POE if Company A revoked/cancelled my H1B?
If you came in and actually worked for company A for a while, and you have never been out of status, you should not require a new visa stamp.
Status of Immigration Reform, S. 744
Today is a very big day for immigration reform because today the House of Republicans are supposed to meet and decide which way they want to go. The Senate has done their job. Senate has sent out a passed bill. But as I pointed out last time, House Speaker John Boehner has said that he is not going to bring any bill for voting, until and unless a majority of Conservatives has agreed about the major outlines of the bill.
In other words, if Boehner does not want to bring the bill to the floor of the House for voting, it wont come. Today they are going to meet, and the options they have I pointed out last time. They can come with their own comprehensive bill , which is unlikely. They can vote on the Senate Bill, which is unlikely. The most likely outcome of today’s meeting is that the House will start passing small bits of legislation one at a time. One of the conservatives noted that one hour of meeting is not enough because the issues are so complex. But I think that at least what they can do is come with a strategy that they want to follow. So today will be a very decisive day for all of us who are waiting to see what happens and as I pointed out last time there is a little disagreement about the fact that they want to reform legal immigration, which is very badly scattered all over the place. There are a lot of problems with legal immigration as you know. It takes about eight to ten years of waiting times even for people with Master’s degrees. There is no disagreement that it needs to be done. The disagreement is about amnesty. The Republicans are worried if there are 11 million people who are going to vote. First of all, most Republicans come from Conservative white districts where they are not going to gain any favor with their voters if they vote for amnesty. Second problem is that historically 75 percent, or maybe at least 66 percent, of the newly legalized Hispanics will probably vote for the Democrats so why should the Conservatives create more Democratic votes. This is the main thing that is swaying the Republican uncertainty.
So we’ll see how it goes. Today is a very important day. We will keep you informed on this.
Questions regarding H-1 remainder option and H-4 application
Question: I possess a U.S. Master’s Degree in Computer Science and worked for seven years in the U.S. I was on H-1 for five years and have been outside the U.S. after those five years. That is 12 months of physical presence outside the U.S. I do have an employer now willing to petition on my behalf. Will I be subject to the cap of 65,000 or 20,000?
Answer: There are two options. One option is to get all six years of your H-1 back and then be subject to the cap. I don’t know all the facts, but you can possibly exercise the remainder option. The remainder option works like this. A person in your situation can choose to just take back the one year left out of the six in the United States. You can get an H-1 for one year and that H-1 is not subject to the quota. So if you choose to take one year you are not going to be subject to the quota. One of the strategies you could follow is to start the Green Card as well as the H-1 and time it properly so that based upon the green card you can keep getting H-1 extensions beyond six years. In other words, take the reminder option, but have a sufficiently mature Green Card that they will have no interruption in your work.
Question: My Company is processing my H-1B application. Is there any information regarding dependents that will be accompanying the H-1B applicant to the U.S. at the time of filing the petition?
Answer: H-4’s are given on a walk in basis, based upon the approval of the H-1 if you are outside the USA. So If your family is outside U.S. the moment your H-1 gets approved, you can send the paper work to them and then they can go to the consulate for H-4 stamping. There is no processing necessary for H-4 at the USCIS level. On the other hand, if they are in the United States then all their details are needed to apply for H-4. So the answer depends on if they are inside or outside the U.S.
USCIS is announcing its latest customer service enhancement to E-Verify that will allow direct notification to employees. Currently, if there is a record mismatch that needs to be resolved before the employee can be confirmed as work authorized, a Tentative Nonconfirmation (TNC) is issued to the employer, who must then contact the affected employee. Now, with this new enhancement, if an employee voluntarily provides his or her email address on the Form I-9, E-Verify will notify the employee of a TNC at the same time it notifies the employer.
Mr Khanna, Once again, your humble nature along with your intellegence / vast knowledge and experience sets you apart from other immigration lawyers! Thank You!