WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) marked a significant milestone in its efforts to provide relief to victims of crimes by approving the statutory maximum 10,000 petitions for U nonimmigrant status, also referred to as the U-visa. This is the third straight year USCIS has reached the statutory maximum since it began issuing U-visas in 2008.
What is a widget?
A widget is a small, online application that can be embedded on social media sites, blogs, or other web pages.
As part of the Citizenship Public Education and Awareness Initiative, USCIS has developed dynamic and static widgets to highlight specific sections of the Citizenship Resource Center. The widgets are designed to help permanent residents:
The U.S. Consulate General in Dubai will begin a new appointment system for residents of Iran to schedule appointments to apply for a U.S. non-immigrant visa on Wednesday, August 22.
Please check the attachment for details.
Wages for the July 2012 - June 2013 program year are now available and are effective July 1, 2012.
The Foreign Labor Certification Data Center is the location of the Online Wage Library for prevailing wage determinations.
Online Wage Library
Nonimmigrant visa interview waiver checklist provided by Mission India to determine if an applicant is eligible for nonimmigrant visa renewal without appearing for an interview.
Please check the attachment to see the checklist.
The Honors Program in the Office of the Solicitor (SOL) at the U.S. Department of Labor provides challenging professional opportunities for outstanding law school graduates. Honors Program attorneys work with the ten divisions of the Solicitor’s Office, gaining exposure to a broad range of substantive legal work in one of the government’s preeminent legal offices. Upon completion of the two-year program, Honors Program attorneys continue their careers in public service in one of the Solicitor’s national or regional offices.
This report provides an update on trends in I-94 non-immigrant admissions and the estimated number of individual nonimmigrants admitted to the United States. In 2005, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began an effort to record all land admissions of an I-94 nonimmigrant; previously, only the initial admission was typically recorded. This process was completed at nearly all pedestrian crossings and vehicular lanes along the Southwest and Northern borders by March 2010. Increases in admissions after 2005 as reported by OIS are partly due to the counting changes.
In recognition of Labor Day, the Office of Citizenship has developed a page on the Citizenship Resource Center that highlights USCIS educational resources related to this important holiday. The English and civics portions of the naturalization test include questions on several federal holidays, including Labor Day. |
Filing your request for consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals involves several steps. You need to submit multiple forms, evidence and fees. Small mistakes in preparing your request could lead to it being rejected. Please read these tips to avoid having your request rejected or delayed because of common filing errors.
According to DOL updates as of 8/14/2012, they are working on PERM application filed in the following months:
Analyst Reviews: June 15, 2012
Audits: December 2011
Reconsideration Requests to the CO: September 2011
According to DOL updates as of 8/14/2012, they are working on PERM application filed in the following months:
Analyst Reviews: June 15, 2012
Audits: December 2011
Reconsideration Requests to the CO: September 2011
Gov’t Error Reconsiderations: Current
This report provides the total number of receipts and approvals, by quarter,
for all applications and petition form types submitted to USCIS for adjudication.
June 2012
All Form Types Performance Data (Fiscal Year 2012, 3rd Qtr)
Data as of June 30, 2012
Published August 21, 2012
March 2012
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 168 (Wednesday, August 29, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52379-52380]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-21326]
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Delegation of Authority No. 344]
Delegation by the Secretary of State to the Assistant Secretary
of State for Consular Affairs the Authority to Determine That it is
Necessary To Waive a Visa Interview as a Result of Unusual or Emergent
Circumstances
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow is pleased to announce that the historic U.S.-Russia visa agreement will enter into effect September 9, 2012. The agreement will facilitate travel and establish stronger ties between Russia and the United States, as it will benefit the largest segment of travelers in both our countries: business travelers and tourists. Starting September 9, Russian and American travelers for business or tourism will be eligible to receive visas valid for multiple entries during a period of 36 months.
On Yoga of Action -- Karmayoga
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) started implementing the automated version of Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, at air and sea ports of entry and will by week’s end include Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, Orlando International Airport in Florida, McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Miami International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. Implementation will continue across the nation through May 21, to include air and sea ports of entry that support international arrivals.
Question 1:
The husband has a company. Wife and husband are both U.S. citizens, and they want to get her brother over to the United States on some kind of a work related visa. Assuming the husband’s company is small and the brother is professionally qualified can they get him through the husband’s company.
Answer will depend on qualifications of the brother, and what sort of a company that her spouse has. For example: Is the company large or small? How many employees? How long has the company been in business? What kind of work do they do? Does the company have any branches outside of the U.S.?
Answer: If the company's business and the brother’s qualifications are both professionally oriented we could seriously think about an H-1 Visa. If there is a branch outside the U.S., then we could get the brother employed outside the U.S. and think about an L-1 Visa in a year. Also under the new laws, as they are being considered, we should be able to have more options than what I have just discussed. So I am right now I am examining the matter only under the current scheme of laws, and H-1 and L-1 are two obvious options. Of course I am assuming that everybody here is an India born citizen of India because if you are citizen of another country you might have other options like E visa, etc. So bearing this in mind, there are some assumptions I am making and I am also clarifying that I am looking at the current schemes of the laws. Future schemes of the laws might be different and might be much more beneficial for us.
Question 2:
What is the chance of an L-1A Visa holder with nine years of experience qualifying for EB1 category. Can I apply for a Green Card for myself in the EB1 category?
There are three kinds of EB-1's. Let’s start with the EB1 category that is the easiest to understand.
1. Outstanding researchers or professors - given the designation of EB-1-2 or EB-1B.
Under EB-1, the second category is outstanding researchers or professors. Basically we are looking for people who are highly qualified in their own field and there are certain criteria. Look at our website for more information.
http://www.immigration.com/greencard/employment-based-green-cards/emplo…
So one category is for outstanding researchers or professors, for which you need a research or professorial position.
Then there is another category EB-1C or EB-1-3 category for international executives and/or managers. People who are on L-1A can pretty much qualify for EB-1C category. This is another great category.
Then there is the first category, extraordinary ability aliens. This is not for everyone. Here we are looking for sustained national or international recognition. Somebody who is hailed as a leader in their business For example, Bill Gates would qualify, but Rajiv S. Khanna would almost certainly not qualify. So we are looking for people who are nationally and internationally recognized.
So the question asked was can I do it on my own out of these three categories. The only one in which you can apply on your own is the first category EB-1A, which is extraordinary ability aliens. You are nationally or internationally recognized, and you have articles written about you and have international awards. Again there is a list of criteria and you have to meet three out of the ten listed criteria or similar. All this information is on our website as well.
http://www.immigration.com/greencard/eb1-green-card/eb-1-extraordinary-…-
In your situation the best option is to apply for EB-1C if you can get your employer to apply for you since you are already on L-1A getting a EBC green card is absolutely perfect choice and you got your Green Card within a year. EB1 is the fastest way of getting our Green Card.
USCIS is moving the existing online payment for the USCIS Immigrant Fee to its Electronic Immigration System (USCIS ELIS). Customers will soon pay the $165 USCIS Immigrant Fee using USCIS ELIS after they receive their immigrant visa package from the Department of State and before they depart for the United States. USCIS ELIS is easy to use and provides direct access to case status updates. New immigrants will also use USCIS ELIS to file future applications and petitions when they become available in the system.
DV 2013 Program: Entrants from DV 2013 (those who submitted entries during the registration period between October 4, 2011 and November 5, 2011) are requested to check the status of their entry now using their confirmation number through Entrant Status Check (ESC) on the E-DV website, if they have not already. Checking ESC promptly is important for selectees, to provide ample time for next steps in the Diversity Visa application process. ESC continues to be available to entrants through September 30, 2013.
So I just got back from my interview. I passed!! I know I know but one gets so nervous for no reason, even fully prepared. And it does not help when you see someone coming back from the interview indicating they have not passed (even if others who come out did).
Step 1
I had my Citizenship Interview today at 1450 Coleman Ave Santa Clara CA -95050
Got through the civic & english tests
But the officer gave me a N-14 and N-652 Naturalization/Interview Results forms
I have been interacting Mr. Khanna and his office for my Green Card processing. They have my taken case as though this is one single case that they are handling and giving all the attention it needs. I am confident with this team, I will eventually get my Green Card and am thankful for the team.