Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification Archives - Page 2 of 4

8 08, 2016

Expansion of Stateside “Provisional” Waiver Program

By Richard Hanus|2016-08-08T05:35:45-05:00August 8th, 2016|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

Published August 8, 2016 Back in 2013, the US Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services first implemented a “stateside” I-601A Waiver program, an initiative allowing for the processing a “waiver of inadmissibility” for certain green card applicants who under current law, are not eligible to adjust their status and undergo final green card processing in the U.S. Under the system previously in place, such applicants were required to depart the U.S. to their home country for a period of many months and appear for their final immigrant visa (green card) interview before a consular officer outside the U.S. and await a decision on […]

19 06, 2016

When an Employer Petitions a Relative for Green Card

By Richard Hanus|2016-06-19T08:28:14-05:00June 19th, 2016|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S.|

Published June 19, 2016 In the vast majority of cases where an employer looks to facilitate permanent resident (green card) status for a foreign national, the employer, as a first step, will generally be required to document the unavailability of U.S. workers to fill the position at issue. Whether that foreign national is in the U.S. or still abroad, the employer will usually need to carry out a “good faith” test of the labor market – per Department of Labor regulations and via print ads and sometimes electronic media – and document that efforts to fill the position being offered […]

2 10, 2015

Major New Changes to the October Visa Bulletin

By Richard Hanus|2015-10-02T07:10:37-05:00October 2nd, 2015|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, General, Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

published October 2, 2015 The generous new provisions included in the most recent U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin, per President Obama’s previous Executive Order, have been rolled back a bit. The most recent visa bulletin – for October, 2015, which included new sections to allow for earlier filing opportunities to qualified permanent resident applicants living in the U.S., still includes the new sections, although they are just a bit less generous and with a smaller pool of applicants benefiting. This reversal of generosity has caused quite a stir among various immigrant communities in the U.S., particularly those living […]

7 09, 2015

Applying for a Green Card – The Top 5 Things That Matter

By Richard Hanus|2015-09-07T12:13:29-05:00September 7th, 2015|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, General, Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Immigration and Criminal Law / Detainees, Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

published September 7, 2015 There are dozens and dozens of factors that go into an individual’s eligibility for a U.S. lawful permanent residence, or green card. For individuals present in the U.S., the following are the top 5 issues impacting eligibility for “adjustment of status” and undergoing final processing in the U.S.: 1) Immigration Status: Ideally, an individual will have maintained lawful nonimmigrant, or temporary status in the U.S., and from a maintained immigration status, an individual is in an ideal position to pursue U.S. resident status, that is assuming they have the requisite family or employment relationship/sponsor. For those without […]

26 05, 2015

Certain H-4 Visa Holders Are Now Eligible to Obtain Employment Authorization

By Richard Hanus|2015-05-26T08:06:17-05:00May 26th, 2015|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., General, Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

Published May 26, 2015 Certain qualified spouses of H-1B visa holders, who themselves hold H-4 status, may now be able to apply for an Employment Authorization Document pursuant to an Executive Order announced last year, and put into effect this week. To start, we will define a couple important terms: Employment Authorization Document (EAD), is a general work permit issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services with a validity ranging from 1 to 2 years typically, and which authorizes the holder to work as much, or as little, as they like, and for any employer, or […]

30 04, 2015

Top Six Reasons to Hire an Immigration Lawyer

By Richard Hanus|2015-04-30T08:40:32-05:00April 30th, 2015|Categories: Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S., Asylum in the United States, Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, General, Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Immigration and Criminal Law / Detainees, Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, immigration reform, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Uncategorized, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

Published April 26, 2015 1. To Keep a Clean and Simple Case, Clean and Simple: A knowledgeable and experienced immigration lawyer will know how a filing, whether family based or employment based, should be prepared. The immigration lawyer will know exactly how to file the paperwork, how it should be documented, where the filing should be submitted, how to keep the filing on track and to make sure it does not fall through the cracks. If an interview is scheduled, the immigration lawyer will prepare the applicant for all questions and processes they will face, and accompany the applicant to […]

16 04, 2015

Retrogression Hits Hard for Professionals and Skilled Workers (EB-3) from the Philippines Seeking Immigrant Visas

By Richard Hanus|2015-04-16T11:43:15-05:00April 16th, 2015|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, General, Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B, United States Embassies Abroad|

Published April 16, 2015 According to the most recent visa bulletin released by the U.S. Department of State, effective May 1, 2015, the cut-off date setting forth the availability of Employment Based Immigrant Visas in the EB 3rd Preference – FOR THE PHILIPPINES – retrogressed to July 1, 2007 – a huge setback from the current October 1, 2014 cut-off date. The Employment Based 3rd Preference is the most common immigrant visa category for foreign workers, including Registered Nurses. It is not known how long this retrogression will last, but employers and immigrant visa applicants impacted, such as those with now […]

13 04, 2015

April 2015 H-1B Filing Season Sees Record Demand

By Richard Hanus|2015-04-13T11:50:31-05:00April 13th, 2015|Categories: Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S., DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Foreign Exchange Student Visas to the U.S., General, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, United States Embassies Abroad|

Published April 13, 2015 For the past few years, come April 1, tens of thousands of employers and prospective employees vie for one of 85,000 H-1B work visas made available for highly skilled or professional workers for the ensuing fiscal year, starting October 1. It used to be a 1 in 2 chance an H-1B petition will be picked for consideration, given that each year the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services (DHS/CIS) receives around 170,000 or so petitions, and with only 85,000 visas to distribute. Not surprisingly, given our relatively robust economy, and the global perspective that […]

5 03, 2015

Update: The Truth About U.S. Immigration and Registered Nurses

By Richard Hanus|2015-03-05T12:35:48-06:00March 5th, 2015|Categories: Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S., DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, General, Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Uncategorized, United States Embassies Abroad|

Published March 5, 2015 As of this writing the landscape for foreign national registered nurses (excluding nurses from China and India) to enter the U.S. to live and work can best be described as “improved” and “not too bad”. From start to finish, I would estimate the process at approximately 8 to 14 months, although it could take a little shorter or longer. This is in contrast to the state of affairs over the past 5+ years, where foreign national registered nurses and their petitioning facilities faced a many year waits between petition approval and visa issuance. And to be […]

5 01, 2015

Be on the Look-Out for Pseudo Attorneys, “Consultants”, Thieves and Other Charlatans

By Richard Hanus|2015-01-05T11:14:01-06:00January 5th, 2015|Categories: Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S., Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, General, Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, immigration reform, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, Uncategorized, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

Published: January 5, 2015 With the roll out of the new Obama Executive Action immigration initiative nearing, I share the following reflections and warnings with the goal of informing and empowering the unsuspecting prospective applicant. These are based on 20+ years practicing exclusively in the area of immigration law and having seen numerous new immigration laws and programs implemented during this time. The primary audience for news in the realm of immigration benefits for the undocumented is scared, vulnerable and desperate. Scared of being undocumented and its consequences. Vulnerable to deceit and ill intentioned predators purporting to provide reliable counsel. Desperate […]

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