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The mid-term elections
earlier this month saw
the Democrats taking
control of the Congress.
The Senators are meeting
for their lame duck
session; however, nothing
substantive is expected
to be taken up on comprehensive
immigration reform during
this session. Over 900
American companies,
schools, trade organizations
and hospitals submitted
a letter to the Congress
requesting the law makers
to address the crisis
facing American businesses
as a result of “H-1B
blackout” and employment-based
Green Cards. The letter
states that every day
passing without access
to “high-skilled workers”
is a lost opportunity
for growth, productivity
and innovation. Keep
watching the Immigration
News of our website
for the latest updates
on the Congress action,
as and when it happens.
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Did
you notice changes
to VisaPro website?
Let's
visit the homepage
at www.visapro.com
and review the
top right hand
corner of the
webpage. Do you
see a small pull-down
that says “Immigration
To”? |
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VisaPro launches Global Immigration Services. U.K. has become the first in the list of 120 countries for which we are developing immigration services. For information and queries related to U.K. immigration including Work Permits, Business and Investor visas, Highly Skilled Migrant Programme |
(HSMP), and Settlement
Permits you may now
visit U.K.
Immigration section
of VisaPro site.
I am sure the In Focus
section of this month's
newsletter, with our
attorney's travel experiences,
will make an interesting
reading. Click
here to view a few
videos from our events
in India.
We often receive queries
from our corporate clients
as well as individuals
who enter the U.S. on
a work visa regarding
the procedure of applying
for a Social Security
Number (SSN) and whether
the employees can start
working for the company
without waiting for
the actual allotment
of SSN. This month’s
Immigration
Article discusses
the procedure of obtaining
SSN and how it affects
the hiring or employment
of a foreign worker.
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Rudolf
Inamarga
deserves congratulations
for winning last
month's Immigration
Quiz.
Those who missed
giving correct
responses to the
question last
time can view
this month's article
on SSN for more
details.Now that
the mid- |
term elections in the
U.S. are over, we would
like to have our readers'opinion
on how important they
think immigration issues
influenced the voters'
decision. Don't forget
to share your opinion
in this month's immigration
poll.
See you next month with
all the updates from
the world of immigration.
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Premium
Processing available for EB-1 Extraordinary
Ability petitions
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) announced that
Premium Processing Service is now
available for EB-1 Aliens with Extraordinary
Ability petitions.
89 “leftover” H-1Bs available
USCIS has informed that 89 H-1B
numbers out of the 6,800 reserved
for Chile and Singapore nationals
are available for distribution among
those who missed out on the H-1B
Cap for FY 2007.
Form
I-129F (K-3-spouse of U.S. Citizens
only) transferred by USCIS
Effective October 23, 2006, USCIS
National Benefits Center has begun
transferring K-3 petitions to the
California Service Center (CSC)
and the Vermont Service Center (VSC),
depending on the location of the
related Form I-130, Petition for
Alien Relative.
A
Rendezvous with India: Immigration
Seminar in New Delhi
This is the first of the series
of articles on our recent seminars
and workshops in various cities
of India. This article contains
excerpts from our Attorney’s diaries
regarding his travel experiences
during his visit to New Delhi, the
capital of India.
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| DOWNLOAD |
| Download
this Newsletter in PDF Format. |
 |
| YOUR
OPINION |
| How
important do you
think 'immigration'
was in influencing
the voters in
the recent U.S.
national elections? |
 |
|
a. |
Extremely Important |
|
| b. |
Fairly Important |
|
| c. |
Not Important
at all |
|
|
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 December
2006. |
|
| I am Chinese citizen working with a Chinese
company as a Sales
Executive since
past three months.
I hold a 3-year
bachelor’s degree
in commerce from
a Chinese University.
My company wants
me to work as
Business Development
Executive for
the U.S. office.
I am confused
whether I can
use an L-1 or
H-1B visa. Do
I qualify for
both? Which one
is the better
option? |
| Submit
Your Answer |
|
| Winner of the
Immigration Quiz
- October 2006:
|
| Rudolf Inamarga |
|
| The
Question: |
| I entered the U.S. on an
H-1B visa yesterday
and have applied
for Social Security
Number (SSN).
It seems getting
a SSN will take
at least a month.
Do I need to wait
for SSN to start
working with my
employer? |
|
| The
Winning Response: |
| No, you need not. You can start working without
the SSN. Your
employer will
deduct all necessary
deductions from
your salary/wage,
and temporarily
put them aside
(using a dummy
number for you).
Once your SSN
is issued, all
these deductions
will be forwarded/credited
via your newly-issued
SSN. |
|
| Rudolf Inamarga
receives a FREE
Online Consultation
from an Experienced
VisaPro Immigration
Attorney during
the month of November
2006. |
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Obtaining
a Social Security Number
A Social
Security Number (SSN) issued by
Social Security Administration,
is a number issued to citizens,
permanent residents, temporary (working)
residents and foreign citizens in
the United States. It is generally
needed for employment purposes.
| QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS |
| |
| 1. |
|
|
I am a musician and heard about O-1 visa from a friend.
What is O-1
visa and what
kind of advisory
opinion is required
to file for O-1
visa?
The O-1 visa is
a nonimmigrant
visa which allows
foreign nationals
with extraordinary
ability in one
of the following
three categories
to enter into
the U.S. and engage
in official activity:
- Sciences,
education,
business,
and athletics
- Arts
- Motion picture
or TV industries
Prior to filing
the O-1 petition
with the USCIS,
you should obtain
an advisory opinion
from an appropriate
consulting entity,
such as a peer
group, labor organization,
or management
organization.
The advisory opinion
is to state whether
you qualify as
an alien |
|
| 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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|
|
of extraordinary ability and whether
such extraordinary abilities
are required for the
activities to be undertaken
by you. |
| 2. |
|
|
Who is eligible to apply for EB-1
visa as an ‘outstanding
professor or researcher’?
|
|
To qualify for an EB-1 visa as an ‘outstanding
professor or researcher’
you must be a foreign
national who:
-
Is recognized internationally
as ‘outstanding’
in a specific academic
area
- Possesses at least
three years of experience
in teaching or research
in the academic
area, and
- Seeks to enter
the U.S. for a:
- Tenured position
(or tenure-track
position) within
a university
or institution
of higher education
to teach in
the academic
area; or
- Comparable
position with
a university
or institution
of higher education
to conduct research
in the area;
or
- Comparable
position to
conduct research
in the area
with a department,
division, or
institute of
a private employer,
if the department,
division, or
institute employs
at least three
persons full
time in research
activities and
has achieved
documented accomplishments
in an academic
field
|
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"I'd like to express
sincere and heartfelt
thanks to both
of you and the
Visa Pro team
for successfully
preparing the
case that led
to my wife getting
the greenlight
on her [K-3
visa]
to the USA. This
is the best news
I have received
this year, and
without a doubt
the most positive
news I have received
since I got married
to Irina last
year.
Thank you so
much for helping
me and Irina
to navegate
through the
maelstrom of
legal paperwork
required for
processing an
immigration
visa. I am certain
that your help
was critical
to the success
of our case
and we are so
happy that we
followed your
advice.
May God bless
you all mightily
for the outstanding
work you do
to bring lives
together. I
will happily
refer you to
anyone that
comes into my
path requiring
immigration
visa services."
Yours most thankfully
and respectfully,
Steve
& Irina Latham,
United States
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interesting immigration-related
news to report? We will give a
FREE Online Consultation
to whoever provides us with the
best news story of the month.
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your story. |
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| "Immigration
Monitor" is published
monthly for users and clients of VisaPro.com.
Our goal is to help keep you informed
of the trends and events related to
US Immigration. |
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