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April
was a disappointing month
for those looking towards
a concrete step towards
comprehensive immigration
reform. The Senate failed
to reach an agreement on
immigration reform legislation
before the Senators left
for a two-week spring recess,
stalling the comprehensive
immigration reform process.
However, Senate Judiciary
Committee Chairman Arlen
Specter (R-PA) reportedly
stated that his committee
would take the issue back
up shortly after the Senate's
return during the last week
of April.
Earlier this month someone’s
April Fools’ Day joke
took a serious turn when
a reputed website issued
a press release that the
USCIS reached the H-1B cap
for FY 2007 on the first
day of filing. We at VisaPro,
as always, immediately informed
our readers that the news
was false as there was no
official update from USCIS.
Later, the USCIS released
the first-day filing numbers
informing that they received
just over 1,600 H-1B petitions.
Our attorneys have also
been busy with H-1B filings
ever since the filings began.
Though most of our clients
had already planned early
and were ready with the
cases in advance, we are
still receiving a lot of
calls from clients asking
us the probable time when
the cap would be reached
this year. Although the
word amongst the immigration
circles is that the cap
will not be reached at least
in the next two months,
we have already advised
employers not to wait until
the last moment.
Did you notice any change
in VisaPro
Message Board? We re-organized
the forum and introduced
new sections to make it
more user-friendly. You
need to select the appropriate
section, classified by different
visa categories, to review
or post your messages. We
hope you enjoy the new format.
Feel free to let
us know your comments.
Stella
Avendano is the winner
of last month’s Immigration
Quiz. It seems
that the participants are
now doing a lot of research
before sending their responses.
Almost half of the participants
answered correctly, but
most of them lacked proper
explanation. Ms. Avendano
wins a FREE online
consultation with
a VisaPro attorney. Congratulations!
I will look forward to your
responses to this month’s
quiz.
You must have also read
on VisaPro Immigration News
that the DOS Visa Office
recently confirmed that
an employer who filed a
petition for initial blanket
L classification prior to
June 6, 2005 may continue
to bring in blanket qualified
workers with only 6 months
of qualifying employment.
The Visa Office indicated
that USCIS concurs with
this policy, which is subject
to continuing examination
by the agencies. Our In
Focus article explains
the details of the Blanket
L program and its advantages.
Have you ever been to the
U.S. and overstayed your
visa? Do you know the consequences
if one continues to remain
in the U.S. beyond the authorized
period of stay? In our Immigration
Article this month,
we discuss the consequences
of overstaying and how to
avoid overstay in the U.S.
While the Senate was busy
debating comprehensive immigration
reform, we found it best
to conduct a poll on what
our readers think about
the various measures to
control illegal immigration.
Over 63% of the readers
who participated in the
poll are of the view that
starting a guest worker
program is the best way
before the government to
control illegal immigration.
Approximately 20% of the
participants were of the
opinion that the government
should enforce measures
to control illegal employment
of workers by U.S. employers.
Don’t forget to cast
your vote in this month’s
Immigration Poll. Your
opinion does matter
and can influence the lawmakers.
Let
me know if you would
like us to write about anything
in particular. See you next
month with more from the
world of immigration. |
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Visa Bulletin for May 2006
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has
released visa bulletin for May 2006.
There is further retrogression under
certain Family visa categories for Mexico
and Philippines. Employment Based cut-off
dates under first and second preference
categories for India and China show
forward movement.
DOS
Visa Office Clarifies Policy on Blanket
L
In response to an inquiry from the DOS
Liaison Committee, the Visa Office confirms
that an employer who filed a petition
for initial blanket L classification
prior to June 6, 2005 may continue to
bring in blanket qualified workers with
only 6 months of qualifying employment.
Senate Immigration Reform debate stalled
for now
The Senate failed to reach
an agreement on immigration reform legislation
yesterday before the Senators left for
a two-week spring recess.
H-1B
Update – USCIS issues first day
filing numbers
As of April 3, 2006 USCIS
has approved 76 petitions that are subject
to H-1B cap and 1,555 petitions are
pending. Under the Advanced Degree Exemption
category USCIS has approved 9 petitions
and another 331 are pending.
USCIS
reaches H-2B Cap for second half of
FY 2006
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) announced that it has
received a sufficient number of petitions
to reach the congressionally mandated
H-2B cap for the final six months of
Fiscal Year 2006 (FY 2006).
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| DOWNLOAD |
| Download
this Newsletter in PDF Format. |
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| YOUR
OPINION |
| The
H-1B cap for FY 2006
was reached in August
2005. Considering
that USCIS received
over 1,600 petitions
for FY 2007 on the
first day of filing,
do you think the cap
will be reached sooner
than August? |
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a. |
Yes, in June 2006 |
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| b. |
Yes,
in July 2006 |
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| c. |
No,
in August 2006 |
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Cast
Your Vote |
| View
Results |
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| IMMIGRATION
QUIZ |
Win
a FREE Online Consultation!
Submit
your answer to the
query below. The best
response will be published
in the next Immigration
Monitor and
the winner will receive
a FREE
Online Consultation
from an Experienced
VisaPro Immigration
Attorney during the
month of May 2006. |
|
| I
was born in Australia
but my family migrated
to the U.K. when I
was 3 years old and
I have a British citizenship.
I am 35 now and have
received an offer
from a U.S. company.
Can I use E-3 visa
rather than the H-1B? |
| Submit
Your Answer |
|
| Winner
of the Immigration
Quiz - March 2006:
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| Stella
Avendano |
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| The
Question: |
| I
am a French citizen.
I entered the U.S.
two months ago under
visa waiver to visit
my US citizen friend.
I got married to him
last week. What are
my options of filing
for Green Card? Will
I have to leave the
U.S. to get green
card? |
|
| The
Winning Response: |
| No,
you can adjust the
status without leaving
the country. Just
file I-130, I485,G325,
I765 and supporting
documents, and you
will get your documents
within the country.
But, if you want you
can also leave the
country and file for
a K-3 visa. and come
back to do the adjustment
in USA, but I rather
do the first choice. |
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| Stella
Avendano
receives a FREE
Online Consultation
from an Experienced
VisaPro Immigration
Attorney during the
month of April 2006. |
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Cover
me - The Blanket L program
The Blanket L program is designed to
allow large multinational corporations
to transfer their executives, managers,
and specialized knowledge professionals
to the U.S. without undergoing the often
lengthy processing periods for regular
L petitions.
Oops! I overstayed my Visa
Overstaying
your time in the U.S. is no longer overlooked.
The issue of overstaying while on a
nonimmigrant visa has been getting serious
attention in recent years.
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| QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS |
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| 1. |
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"I
am to attend k1 visa
interview at my home
country. My fiancée
was earning $25,000
till last year November
2005. Presently she
is no more working.
Can she still stand
in as my sponsor for
the affidavit of support/
Or can her mother
who earns $90,000
with one dependant
stand in for co-sponsorship?
Can my fiancée
use her last year
and two previous year
tax returns as the
supporting documents
for the affidavit
of support?
Since your fiancée
is the petitioner
she will have to file
an affidavit of support.
The US consular officer
or immigration officer
reviewing your case
will look at the last
3 years of tax returns
only as history to
see if your fiancée
has the ability to
meet the necessary
income level. They
will look at her current
employment to see
if she actually meets
the required income
levels. If she is
not currently working
the reviewing officer
will require a co-sponsor.
Her mother can act
as the co-sponsor,
and if she is making
$90,000 she will easily
meet the income requirements.
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| GOT
A QUESTION? |
If
you have
a short,
simple
query
on immigration
to the
U.S.,
send your
questions
to us.
We will
select
and answer
a few
of the
queries
in every
issue.
Note:
Responses
posted
in this
section
provide
only general
information.
Since
immigration
law is
a complex
matter,
please
consult
an immigration
attorney
before
acting
upon any
responses
provided. |
| Ask
Your Question |
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You
should have an affidavit
of support from both your
fiancée and her mother
for the interview. Submit
the one from your fiancée
first. If it is accepted
you will not need to give
them the one from her mother.
Give it to them only if
they ask for it. |
| 2. |
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I
am working for a reputed
American Company located
in India, was invited to
attend a business meeting
by my parent company in
US twice (once in Nov-05
and again in Jan-06). But
unfortunately both the times
I was denied a by Mumbai
Consulate under sec. 214
(b), in spite of producing
all the required documents
along with my 2 year agreement
signed with my Indian company.
This amounts to a loss of
$1 Million to my company
for myself not able to attend
the meeting. Need your Valid
Suggestion on this as I
am again invited to attend
a meeting in the month of
June. |
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As
you probably know section
214(b) states that all visa
applicants are considered
to be intending immigrants
until they prove otherwise.
Unfortunately it is the
easiest provision for a
consular officer to use
to deny a case, and one
of the hardest provisions
to overcome. Even if you
go to the interview with
all the documentation that
the consular officers normally
ask for you can get denied.
Consular officers have consistently
told us that the decision
comes down to the interview.
If the applicant is confident
in the interview, (i.e.,
he or she knows when and
where they are traveling,
how long they will be on
the trip, who is paying
for the trip, the nature
of the business, who they
will be seeing, etc.) he
or she is more likely to
be issued the visa. If they
don't know the details,
and/or hesitate in their
answers, if they can't talk
intelligently about the
work they are doing it is
likely that they will not
be issued the visa.
At this point you have a
couple of options. First,
you could try again for
a visitor visa, presenting
the information you did
before plus any new evidence
you can produce regarding
your intentions to return
to India after your travels
(immediate and extended
family in India, property
ownership, employment or
business in India, etc.)
plus a well drafted invitation
letter from the employer.
Your second option, and
the one we would recommend,
would be for the US parent
company to file an L-1
petition for you as an employee
who is a manager or executive,
or a person with specialized
knowledge of the products
and/or procedures of the
company (if your absence
from the previous meeting
cost the company $1 million
you should easily meet one
of the categories). If the
company uses the premium
processing procedure at
the USCIS service center
the petition would have
to be adjudicated within
15 days of receipt. This
would still leave you with
plenty of time to get your
visa at the consulate. The
L-1 visa will do two things
for you: first you do not
have to prove that you will
be returning to India at
the end of your authorized
stay (the consular officer
cannot deny the visa under
214(b)), and second it will
facilitate your travel to
the US in the future (the
L-1 visa is valid for up
to 3 years initially, so
you will not have to worry
about travel for those three
years). |
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What do you
do when you are stuck
outside the US and
your husband is severely
injured in an accident?
Sarah and Steve met
while Sarah was vacationing
in Hawaii. They fell
in love and were married
in Paradise. Since
Sarah is from Canada
they called immigration
to see what they had
to do for her to stay
here. They were told
that Sarah has to
file for adjustment
of status and what
she would need to
do that. Before filing
anything with immigration
Sarah made a couple
of trips back to Canada.
The first couple of
trips were without
incident, but on her
third trip she was
stopped by immigration
at the airport and
told that since she
was married to a US
citizen she could
not enter the U.S.,
that she would have
to get an immigrant
visa or K-3
visa before she
could return.
When Sarah and
Steve initially contacted
US immigration in
Hawaii they were told
that they needed to
file for adjustment
of status and the
documentation that
would be needed, but
they were not told
that if Sarah went
back to Canada she
might be barred from
re-entry as an intending
immigrant.
To say the least Sarah
and Steve were very
frustrated and disappointed
at the forced separation.
They came to us and
we began preparing
the Petition for Alien
(Form
I-130) and the
K-3 petition. Before
we were able to file
the Form I-130 package
Steve was involved
in a serious motorcycle
accident and admitted
to the Intensive Care
Unit at the hospital.
Steve has no family
in Hawaii and Sarah
was stuck in Canada;
he had no one to help
him and care for him
during his recovery.
As soon as Sarah was
told about the accident
she tried to talk
to the U.S. immigration
officers in Canada
to see if they would
let her come to Hawaii
as a visitor to see
her husband. We had
her take a letter
from the hospital
confirming that Steve
was in ICU and with
a request that Sarah
be allowed to enter
the U.S. but she was
flatly refused and
told to wait.
At this point we decided
that the only way
that Sarah would be
able to enter the
U.S. to see Steve
and help care for
him would be through
“Humanitarian
Parole”. Since
her ultimate destination
was in Hawaii, we
contacted the Honolulu
District Office to
discuss her case with
them. They were more
than helpful and advised
as to what documents
they would like to
see in support of
the application. We
got the application
completed and filed
over the weekend so
the officer would
have it Monday morning.
As it turns out the
Acting District Director
was going to leaving
that position at the
end of the week so
the clerk that we
had been talking to
watched for the package
to come in and took
it directly to the
Acting DD so she could
review it before leaving,
saving us several
days in the process.
The Acting District
Director approved
the application (one
of the last acts before
she departed) and
had the approval faxed
to the immigration
office at the airport
in Vancouver BC. Sarah
was able to pick up
her copy there and
was admitted into
the US. She is now
in Hawaii caring for
her husband and waiting
for her K-3 visa interview.
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best news story of the month.
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