It made a splash, a big splash, even a misunderstood splash (as is common with splashes in immigration law).  Last week, the Obama Administration delivered the news that it would be re-prioritizing its immigration enforcement efforts, starting with a review of 300,000 removal (deportation) cases pending on the immigration court docket and consideration of “administrative closure” for the cases of non-criminals.  Administrative closure effectively, and indefinitely, puts a halt to the deportation process.  Furthermore, an individual benefiting from administrative closure mercy will be eligible to obtain an Employment Authorization Document.

This announcement offers hope to many in the midst of fighting removal proceedings.  It also offers confusion to millions of undocumented individuals living in the U.S. hungry for a solution to their immigration problem, and who are vulnerable to misinformation, fantasy, despair or all of the above.

Here is what we know about the new program:

1)      A high level “working group” comprised of Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice officials will review all cases pending before the immigration courts, with cases deemed “low priority” being administratively closed, and those considered “high priority” to continue to be prosecuted.

2)      Although “low priority” and “high priority” have yet to be defined, there is reason to believe – based on previous Obama Administration memoranda and policy – that non-criminal cases, involving, among other factors, hardships to individuals and families residing in the U.S. for extended periods will qualify as “low priority”.  “High Priority” no doubt will be cases involving individuals with criminal backgrounds of some sort or another.

3)      New guidance will be issued to the various immigration related agencies within the Department of Homeland Security (including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection) regarding what constitutes “low priority” and “high priority” to assist in decision-making, before the fact, for the initiation – or non-initiation – of removal proceedings.

4)      Individuals with administratively closed cases will be eligible to apply for employment authorization, although details of how such an application process will work have yet to be revealed.  Further, individuals granted employment authorization in this context are not considered to be in “legal status” or even on the road toward legal status, but only the subjects of a temporary, perhaps indefinite, reprieve.

5)      It is NOT an amnesty.

6)      It is not an avenue that can be availed of by which individuals who are not in removal proceedings.

The wording of this announcement appears to indicate that consideration of cases for “low priority” status and administrative closure will take place regardless of whether the subject requests such review.  However, it makes good sense for non-criminals in the midst of fighting removal proceedings, and with compelling, or even semi-compelling humanitarian factors, to take the initiative to approach their prosecuting ICE attorney’s office and seek an exercise of prosecutorial discretion consistent with the spirit of this new program.

In no case should an individual, who is not in removal proceedings, pay an attorney or other purported professional to avail of benefits under this program – as no benefits exists outside the context of removal proceedings.  And again, even for those in removal proceedings, details regarding how the act of mercy (administrative closure), or employment authorization can be accessed are few and far between at this point.  As always, though, important developments in this area, and all areas of immigration law, will continue to be reported on here.

PUBLISHED August 22, 2011 – “IMMIGRATION LAW FORUM”
Copyright © 2011, By Law Offices of Richard Hanus, Chicago, Illinois

This past week the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) announced the merger of the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and Advance Parole Travel Document (AP) for certain applicants for adjustment of status applicants. Previously, CIS issued separate documents authorizing employment and international travel for eligible applicants for adjustment of status, and their issuance and renewal required two separate applications. Now, however, a single document will be issued to eligible, pending adjustment of status applicants to prove their ability to work lawfully in the U.S. as well as facilitate a return trip back into the U.S. following international travel. The document will be issued for a period of 1 or 2 years, depending on the how long the applicant’s adjustment of status application is expected to remain pending.

As a reminder, AP’s and EAD’s are available to foreign nationals undergoing permanent residence processing in the U.S. by way of the filing of Form I-485. To be eligible to file Form I-485, an applicant must be the beneficiary of a qualifying family-based, or employment-based visa petition, and where a visa is immediately available in the applicant’s particular visa category. However, applicants who are out of status for 180 days or more, at the time of the filing of their I-485 Adjustment of Status application are strongly advised NOT to travel internationally while awaiting their permanent residence processing – and even if they are issued an advance parole. For these types of out of status applicants, a 3 or 10 year bar to readmission will kick in upon their departure, leading to the likely denial of their I-485 application and non-issuance of their green card.

Lastly, as long as they are valid, EAD’s and AP’s that are not in a single document will continue to be honored for purposes of proving employment authorization or to facilitate reentry following international travel. Further, separate EAD’s and AP’s will continue to be issued to applicants under certain circumstances.

PUBLISHED February 15, 2011 – “IMMIGRATION LAW FORUM”
Copyright © 2011, By Law Offices of Richard Hanus, Chicago, Illinois

With the DREAM Act out of the picture for now, the 15 million undocumented/out of status immigrants living in the U.S. are left wondering, what options for living legally in the U.S. are left? Of course leaving the U.S. is not an option for the vast majority of these immigrants – contrary to what the anti-legalization camp see as their next logical step. These individuals have already decided that life in the U.S. in an undocumented status is better than life as a legal resident in their home country. The option most of this population will pursue is to simply wait. At some point, our nation and the U.S. Congress will come to realize that wide scale deportations are not going to happen, and that a path to legalization is the only solution. In the meantime, as stated, for most it’s a waiting game, although the following options at legalization or adjusting status for the undocumented or visa overstay continue to be viable:

1)  Visa Overstays May Be Able to Adjust Status if: they are the spouse of a U.S. Citizen, a parent of an adult (over 21) U.S. citizen, or child (under 21) of a U.S. Citizen. This class of immigrant may have the option to adjust status in the U.S. without having to return to their home country for any step in the process, notwithstanding unauthorized employment or overstaying their authorized period of stay in the U.S. (does not include those entering as “crewman”, or K-1 fiancés who did not marry their petitioner). Spouses of U.S. citizens, parents of adult U.S. citizens, and under 21 children of U.S. citizens are known as “Immediate Relatives” in immigration law talk and do not require additional legal qualification for eligibility to adjust status in the U.S. such as coverage under INA Section 245(i) – see below – to adjust status in the U.S.

Other types of non-“Immediate Relative” family based immigration applicants or employment based applicants who are visa overstays may be able to adjust their status in the U.S. but only if they were included in some sort of family or employment based immigration filing submitted prior to April 30, 2001, or January 14, 1998 - pursuant to Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act –see below.

2)  Entered Without Inspection (EWI): If you are the spouse of a U.S. Citizen, a parent of an adult (over 21) U.S. citizen, or child (under 21) of a U.S. Citizen who entered without being inspected by an immigration official (e.g. no visa), the option to adjust status in the U.S. only exists if you were previously included in some sort of family or employment based immigration filing submitted pursuant to Section 245(i) – see below.

Other types of non-“Immediate Relative” family-based or employment-based applicants who entered without visas (EWI) may be able to adjust their status in the U.S. but only if they were included in some sort of family or employment based immigration filing submitted prior to April 30, 2001, or January 14, 1998 – pursuant to Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

3) EWI’s or Visa Overstays with an employer willing to facilitate a green card process, and they are a professional and/or have some special skills that may be scarce in the U.S. labor market, an employment based immigration filing may be an option if they are grandfathered under Section 245(i). Word of warning though: most candidates for this option may very well be waiting 5 years – give or take – before any type of immigration benefit, such as an employment authorization is in sight.

What is Section 245(i) of the Immigration Nationality Act? Section 245(i) allows for certain otherwise ineligible visa overstay/undocumented immigrants to undergo all steps in the U.S. immigration process in the U.S. and without having to return to a U.S. consular post in their home country (aka “245(i)grandfathering”). To be “grandfathered” under Section 245(i), the applicant must have been:

a.  included in some sort of family or employment based immigration filing submitted prior to April 30, 2001, and they were physically present in the U.S. on December 21, 2000 OR

b.  included in some sort of family or employment based immigration filing submitted prior to January 14, 1998 (with no physical presence requirement)

Relief in Removal Proceedings: If the visa overstay or undocumented immigrant gets arrested by immigration authorities and placed in removal proceedings, options to remain in the U.S. and even be awarded permanent residence by the Immigration Court indeed are available. Most notably, relief known as “Cancellation of Removal” allows those without status to be considered for a green card by the Immigration Court if: 1) they have been present in the U.S. for more than 10 years or more prior to being placed in removal proceedings. 2) they are of good moral character and 3) their U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, parent or child will suffer “exceptional and extremely unusual hardship” if they were forced to return to their home country.

For those who fear return to their home country due to persecution they might face on account of their race religion, political belief or “social group”, asylum-related relief (and eventually green card issuance) may be available from the Immigration Court.

PUBLISHED January 26, 2011 – “IMMIGRATION LAW FORUM”
Copyright © 2011, By Law Offices of Richard Hanus, Chicago, Illinois

Effective November 23, 2010, filing fees for most immigration applications and petitions are set to increase, on average, some 10-15%. On the other hand, filing fees for 6 categories of applications are actually set to be reduced, including for I-129F/Petition for Fiance, I-539/Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, N-565 Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document and I-131 – Application for Travel Document – but only when filed for Refugee Travel Document. Also, fee waivers based on an applicant’s economic hardship will be accepted in more types of application categories.

Approximately 90% of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ budget comes from the fees it collects for the various immigration related applications and petitions that get filed each year. For fiscal years 2008 and 2009, revenues collected – according to CIS – were significantly less than what was projected, thus prompting this new increase. For certain, the decrease in filings and revenues is not based on a decrease in demand for immigration benefits, such as for green cards, just that the population of eligible immigration benefit applicants is smaller and the options available for the tens of millions of interested applicants are fewer – especially for those in the U.S. without legal status.

It is important to note that the filing fee for standard N-400 Applications for Naturalization did NOT increase, although the required biometrics fee (which must accompany many types of commonly used applications) does increase from $80.00 to $85.00. Below is the new fee schedule (MAKE SURE TO ADD THE INCREASED $85.00 BIOMETRICS FEE TO APPLICATIONS SUCH AS I-485, I-90, N-400, I-751 and several others)

PUBLISHED November 17, 2010 – “IMMIGRATION LAW FORUM”
Copyright © 2010, By Law Offices of Richard Hanus, Chicago, Illinois

What is 2” x 3 ½ “, laminated, features a foreign national’s photo and is sought after by tens of millions in the U.S., and billions across the world? If it’s green, then it’s a Permanent Resident Card, or Green Card – allowing for, with a few exceptions, unrestricted and indefinite residence and employment in the U.S. If it’s white, then it’s an Employment Authorization Document (“EAD”) – a document that allows a foreign national to obtain lawful employment in the U.S. for a limited period, but mostly without restriction. Most Americans cannot imagine the value of these documents, since they do not realize how bad off economically or freedom-wise most of the rest of the world is compared to the U.S. Below is a discussion of the very limited circumstances under which a foreign national in the U.S. can obtain the much sought after Employment Authorization Document.

Firstly, the overwhelming majority of individuals in the U.S. without legal status do not qualify for either an Employment Authorization Document – or a Green Card for that matter, no matter how hard working or honest they are or how much an employer may value them. There is no document they forgot to file, and no line for them to wait in. Simply put, access to extended lawful status or employment authorization in the U.S. does not exist for the vast majority of willing foreign workers. That said, tens of thousands of EAD’s are issued each year, with a validity of 1 to 2 years, and with most qualifying under the following 4 circumstances:

– Pending Applicants for Adjustment of Status: a foreign national in the U.S. awaiting a decision on their pending I-485, Application to Adjust Status to Permanent Resident (including applicants who at some point legally entered the U.S. and married a U.S. citizen),
– Certain Pending Applicants for Asylum: foreign national with a long pending asylum application still awaiting either an initial decision, or review on appeal, with decision-making exceeding statutorily mandated processing windows,
– F-1 Student, Optional Practical Training: issued after foreign student completes studies pursuant to Form I-20, (also available for students pre-graduation for curricular practical training, and under other circumstances),
– Temporary Protected Status: issued to eligible applicants from certain designated countries deemed to be facing severe crises, such as Haiti – the most recent TPS designated country.

There are more than 30+ additional avenues to obtain an EAD, ranging from the obscure – for citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands or Palau, OR domestic servants of U.S. citizens residing abroad – to the less obscure, such as for pending applicants for “Cancellation of Removal” relief in removal proceedings (based on more than 10 years of residence and hardship to certain U.S. family members). But again, for the overwhelming majority of undocumented in the U.S. asking the simple question: Do I qualify to obtain a work permit? – The answer will be: No. And for those who get any easy “Yes” from a lawyer or immigration “consultant” looking to make some easy money, a second and third opinion is recommended.

It should be noted that an EAD should not be mistaken for a work visa, with the latter generally requiring an employer to facilitate visa issuance by way of a job offer (usually professional) and the filing of a visa petition, and with employment limited to the petitioning company.

In the meantime, the 15 million undocumented in the U.S. – who qualify for neither a Green Card or EAD – continue to wait out enactment of some sort of comprehensive immigration reform, or path toward legalization, with very few having an intention to leave the U.S. unless forced to.

PUBLISHED July 13, 2010 – “IMMIGRATION LAW FORUM”
Copyright © 2010, By Law Offices of Richard Hanus, Chicago, Illinois

A foreign national is in the U.S. visiting, studying or working, (possibly even overstaying their visa) and he meets the person of his dreams, or so it seems. That person is a U.S. citizen and following marriage, the couple files “adjustment of status” paperwork to facilitate the foreign national’s resident status. Within 90 days of the filing, an employment authorization is issued and shortly thereafter the couple is scheduled to appear before an immigration officer at a local Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) office for an in depth interview. The interview covers various topics and issues of eligibility, including the history and sincerity of the relationship. But what happens when the marriage sours while the case is pending and the U.S. citizen threatens to withdraw their petition?

Firstly, and theoretically, the foreign national can make the argument that the marriage was bona fide at its inception, and absent the U.S. citizen’s actual withdrawal of their petition, a basis for CIS to approve the filing exists. This approach, although legally sound, in practice is usually received with little or no enthusiasm by the CIS officer in question, with the officer usually going out of their way to contact the petitioning U.S. citizen and provide them an opportunity to withdraw their petition.

For foreign nationals who fall victim to their U.S. spouse’s physical abuse or extreme mental cruelty, another option would be the filing of an I-360, Battered Spouse Self Petition. With the Battered Spouse Self Petition, it does not matter that the U.S. citizen withdrew their petition, or that the couple even divorced. Instead, so as to protect and emancipate a foreign national from their U.S. citizen’s abuse and control, the governing law allows a foreign national to seek U.S. residence, regardless of the wishes of their U.S. citizen spouse. (It should be noted that battered spouses of U.S. lawful permanent residents are also eligible to file this petition). Battered spouse self petitioners must be of “good moral character”, and document their petitions with one or more of the following types evidence: 1) detailed affidavits from the abused spouse and any witnesses to the abuse, 2) hospital or police records, 3) order of protection, 4) records detailing any therapy or other mental health services sought by the abused spouse, 5) photographs of any physical injury, 6) affidavits from clergyman. With the approval of a Battered Spouse Self Petition, the foreign national has a direct path toward U.S. residence.

If the foreign national is placed in removal proceedings after the underlying marriage based adjustment of status application is denied, the foreign national also has the option of applying for Cancellation of Removal as a Battered Spouse before the Immigration Court. This application, if approved, also leads to the foreign national being accorded resident status. It involves many of the same requirements as the I-360 Battered Spouse Self Petition, although applicants for Cancellation of Removal also must document that their removal from the U.S. would cause them, their child, or their parent, “extreme hardship”.

Importantly, battered spouses awaiting a final court date for a hearing on their Battered Spouse Cancellation applications (sometimes up to 2 years), are eligible to receive an employment authorization document.

Obtaining approval of any of these types of immigration filings is never easy but making the most of the evidence available and formulating a thoughtful strategy is key to maximizing the chances of a case being approved.

PUBLISHED June 4, 2010 – “IMMIGRATION LAW FORUM”
Copyright © 2010, By Law Offices of Richard Hanus, Chicago, Illinois

Religious workers seeking to live and work in the U.S. have historically had generous visa options available for both temporary (nonimmigrant visa) and permanent (green card) stays in US. For temporary stays, the R-1 visa allows for entry for an initial term of three years, and is extendable for two additional years. For religious workers seeking permanent residence, the process is fairly straightforward, although the law governing the process for most workers (excluding ministers) has expired every three years, such that Congress and the President for more than the past decade have been forced to act to reenact the law – which is what took place just this week. So now, the law allowing for permanent status for religious workers, ministers and non-ministers alike, is effective through September 30, 2012.

Basic Requirements:

The petitioning institution seeking to facilitate the worker’s permanent resident status must be certifiable as a “501(c)(3)” not for profit religious institution, under the Internal Revenue Code. The organization must be able to document their ability to compensate the worker, and to establish that the position being offered is indeed bona fide. Further, the institution must be organized around a religious denomination or some established non-denominational religious tradition.

The worker must be either a minister (or an official similarly ordained and authorized to conduct worship in their religion) or engaged in a religious occupation or vocation, such as religious teacher or counselor, liturgical worker, nun or monk. Further, documentation must be presented to confirm that the worker a) has been a member of the institution’s denomination for at least two years preceding the filing of the petition, b) has engaged in their religious occupation, profession or vocation for at least a continuous 2-year period AND c) that the worker will continue in such a role prospectively. The qualifying membership and employment period can take place either in or outside the U.S.

With relatively straightforward requirements governing these types of petitions, immigration authorities have discovered rampant fraud in this area of immigration filings over the past two decades. Fabricated religious certifications and work experience letters along with fictional institutions have led Department of Homeland Security to closely scrutinize most every application and supporting documents, and investigate the bona fides of most every petitioning organization.

Further, a worker seeking a benefit either by way of a nonimmigrant or permanent visa will have to be ready to document that their qualifications for the position at issue were established by way of formal education and/or training.

In sum, religious worker petitions must be well documented, and the petitioning organizations must be prepared to be visited by immigration officials to confirm that the institution and job offer are legitimate.

PUBLISHED October 29, 2009 – “IMMIGRATION LAW FORUM”
Copyright © 2009, By Law Offices of Richard Hanus, Chicago, Illinois

Published: August 15, 2009

With the federal government’s new fiscal year starting on October 1, many in our business and foreign worker communities will be surprised to learn that 20,000 H-1B, temporary work visas continue to be available. In recent years, by the end of the first week of April (when petitions for the coming fiscal year are first accepted), enough filings were received by Citizenship and Immigration Services to exhaust the reduced supply of 65,000 visas (excluding the 20,000 available to those receiving advanced degrees in the US). Now, we are more than four months into the acceptance period for H-1B filings for the upcoming fiscal year, and one third of the supply remains. Clearly the economy is the biggest factor in the reduced demand, but the extent of the diminished demand is surprising to everyone.

So, for those companies and foreign workers who might be interested in starting a relatively straight forward process of facilitating the issuance of an H-1B visa, here are the essentials:

Employer as Petitioner: We start with a job offer. It can be full-time or part-time, and the wage offered has to be at least as high as the “prevailing wage” for the occupation in the geographical location at issue. The company can be big or small, old or new, but the level of scrutiny over the petition will increase the smaller or newer the company. CIS (Citizenship and Immigration Services) likes to have answers to the following: does this company truly have the cash flow to meet the prospective financial obligation to hire this new worker? Does this company truly have a position open in the subject occupation, or is this petition just a way to facilitate the entry of a worker who will join the company in a clerical or ANY role?

Type of Job: In general, it must be a position that typically requires the worker to have completed a university education. So no matter the qualifications of the prospective worker, the employer will have to document that the position at issue is for a “specialty” or “professional” occupation, and not one that merely can be filled by someone with less than a university degree.

H-1B occupations that have been the subject of recently approved petitions filed by my office include: Accountant, IT Manager, Systems Analyst/Software Engineer/Programmer, Engineer – various subspecialties, Physician, Teacher, Scientific Researcher, Physical Therapist, Medical Technologist, Occupational Therapist, , Rehabilitation Coordinator, Director of Nursing, Quality Assurance Manager, Operations Manager, Financial Analyst, Marketing Manager, Forensic Consultant, Lawyer, Media Manager, Marketing Manager, Graphic Designer, Architect.

The initial period of admission is usually for three years, and extendable for an additional three years, for a total of six years. The 6-year period will be more than sufficient for the permanent resident (Green Card) process to be completed, if the parties are interested.

The Employee’s Qualifications: In most cases the prospective worker must present evidence that he/she received a university degree and that the degree is the equivalent of a 4-year university degree in the U.S., as reflected in an equivalency report issued by a respected evaluation company. The worker usually is required to document that their degree’s concentration or major relates to the position being offered, although sometimes the lack of formal coursework can be supplemented with documentation confirming extensive experience in the field at issue.

In some cases a prospective worker who has not completed their degree at all may be able to demonstrate that they have attained the equivalence of a university degree by supplementing their lack of formal education with documentation confirming extensive progressive experience in the profession at issue.

Other Requirements: Petitioning employers are subject to a variety of other simple obligations such as posting notices at the work site location that an H-1B petition was filed, maintaining a special H-1B personnel file in compliance with straightforward immigration and labor regulations and promising to pay the employee’s travel costs to return home if the job does not work out. Some of the positions that are subject to state licensure requirements (e.g. Physical Therapist, Physicians, Architect) may be subject to additional hurdles in the process, but by no means are such hurdles insurmountable for purposes of facilitating issuance of the H-1B.

Processing time: If “Premium Processing” can be afforded for an extra $1,000, CIS may issue a decision on the petition in less than two weeks. Otherwise, processing time is usually 60 to 90 days.

What is not required: The H-1B petition is not viewed as a contract, with the employment at issue being “at will”. Employers are not required to document the unavailability of U.S. workers, such as by having to advertise the position or otherwise extend recruitment efforts to find U.S. workers.

How quickly the 20,000 allotment will be consumed is anyone’s guess. What is certain though, is that the process allows interested employers and qualified foreign workers to facilitate work visa issuance in a fairly uncomplicated, straight-forward manner.

PUBLISHED August 15, 2009 – “IMMIGRATION LAW FORUM”
Copyright © 2009, By Law Offices of Richard Hanus, Chicago, Illinois

Published: June 26, 2009

Expedited processing, or “Premium Processing,” allows for processing of certain immigration petitions in 15 calendar days or less with the payment of an additional filing fee of $1000. In the past, Premium Processing had been available for most types of I-140 immigrant worker petitions, but eventually Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) discontinued the program for I-140′s for a variety of logistical reasons. Effective June 29, 2009, however, Premium Processing for most I-140 petitions is back on again.

Who files an I-140 petition?
In most cases, it is a petition filed by an employer on behalf of a foreign worker, whether in the U.S. or abroad, to facilitate the worker’s U.S. permanent residence. Usually the I-140 petition must be supported by an approved labor certification application (commonly known as a “PERM application” these days) wherein the employer has documented the unavailability of U.S. workers and the U.S. Department of Labor has “certified” the results. Most PERM applications are filed on behalf of workers in the Employment-Based Third Preference, (EB-3), including certain professionals, skilled workers, and unskilled workers.

I-140 petitions that do not require approved labor certifications include petitions:

• on behalf of Registered Nurses and Physical Therapists (EB-3, “Schedule A”),
• on behalf of aliens of “extraordinary ability” (EB-1, with “self-petitions” accepted), and
• on behalf of “outstanding researchers and professors” (EB-1).

Premium Processing for I-140 petitions in all of the above categories has been reinstated. Premium Processing has NOT been reinstated for I-140 petitions for:

a) certain advanced degreed or “exceptional ability” foreign nationals performing work in the “national interest,” as well as
b) managers and executives of multinational companies are being transferred to the U.S.

Practically speaking, Premium Processing will only be beneficial to employers and employees qualifying under employment-based visa categories with visa availability, such as EB-1 or EB-2 classifications (which include advanced-degree professionals, aliens of “extraordinary ability,” “outstanding” researchers/professors, with the exception of EB-2 workers from China and India). That is because no matter how quickly the I-140 petition is processed, it becomes a “hurry up and wait” scenario for workers in the EB-3 category (including RN’s and PT’s), where the employment visa line has become prohibitive. As a  result, no matter how fast the I-140 is approved, the worker still ends up waiting three, four or even five-plus years for immigrant visa availability and the issuance of the permanent resident card.

However, with each new month comes a new Visa Bulletin from the U.S. Department of State, and visa availability in all employment and family based preferences is updated. So, at the start of any given month, particularly October 1 – when the federal government’s fiscal year begins – significant progress in visa availability for any of the preference categories is possible.

PUBLISHED June 26, 2009 – “IMMIGRATION LAW FORUM”
Copyright © 2009, By Law Offices of Richard Hanus, Chicago, Illinois

US lawful permanent residents renewing their Permanent Resident Cards by way of direct mailing of Form I-90 (as opposed to online filing) should pay attention to two important changes.

Firstly, I-90 applicants are now instructed to file their supporting documentation when submitting their application, as opposed to only presenting it when appearing for their post-filing biometrics appointment – as was the procedure previously in place.

Second, all I-90 applications are now to be filed with the following US CIS lockbox:

USCIS
P.O. Box 21262
Phoenix , AZ 85036

or if by courier/express mail:

USCIS
ATTN: I-90
1820 Skyharbor Circle S , Floor 1
Phoenix , AZ 85034

PUBLISHED April 29, 2009 – “IMMIGRATION LAW FORUM”
Copyright © 2009, By Law Offices of Richard Hanus, Chicago, Illinois