Immigration Law Facts and Issues - Articles by Richard Hanus - USA Visa Counsel.com » Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S.

The New Arizona Law Prompts Big Picture Discussion on U.S. Immigration

Admin — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 21:12:12 +0000

The question has been lingering for years: what is our nation going to do about the 15 million or so undocumented living in the U.S.? Commence removal proceedings against them? Grant legal status to most or all of them who are otherwise law abiding? Do nothing and essentially allow for a [...]

CIR ASAP

Admin — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:02:26 +0000

For about the tenth time in the past decade, I am writing about a new legislative initiative presented to allow for the legalization of the vast majority of those present in the U.S. in violation of our immigration laws. This time, the initiative is called Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s [...]

An Alternative to the H-1B Visa for Canadian and Mexican Citizens: TN status now available for 3-year approval

Admin — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:00:37 +0000

For citizens of North American countries such as Canada and Mexico, the path toward obtaining a nonimmigrant visa or permission to work in the United States is often much simpler than applying for the H-1B. Since the enactment of NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) in 1994, workers in [...]

Extending Visitor/Tourist Visa Status: It’s Gotten Complicated

Admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:14:00 +0000

While the laws governing the extension of visitor/tourist visa status for foreign nationals visiting the U.S. have not changed, the manner in which the Department of Homeland Security’s Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS) is applying the law certainly has. This change in approach is definitely reason for prospective applicants to [...]

Can the Green Card Renewal Process Lead to Removal Proceedings?

Richard Hanus — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 21:00:36 +0000

This is a question that has arisen with increasing frequency in the past year with hundreds of thousands of long time permanent residents facing the need to renew expiring permanent resident cards (aka “green cards”). The simple answers – for those without criminal issues: No. For those with criminal issues: [...]

Renewing Green Cards With No Expiration Date

Richard Hanus — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 21:00:36 +0000

On August 22, 2007, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) issued a proposed regulation that would require approximately 750,000 lawful permanent residents (LPRs) with permanent resident cards (aka “green cards” or Form I-551) that do not have an expiration date on them, to replace them for modern cards with [...]

Harsh State Laws; Might Congress Now Be Prompted to Enact Comprehensive Immigration Reform?

Richard Hanus — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 21:00:36 +0000

Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry signed a bill in May that invokes tough measures enabling the state of Oklahoma to combat illegal immigration. The law, which is entitled the “Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007″ takes effect November 1, 2007. The Act states that “illegal immigration is causing economic [...]

Comprehensive Immigration Reform: If? When? What?

Richard Hanus — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 21:00:36 +0000

In just a few hours, I will be flying to Orlando, Florida for the annual conference of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Even after practicing exclusively U.S. immigration law for almost two decades, I am confident I will learn something new and, in one way or another, improve my lawyering [...]

The Latest Comprehensive Immigration Law Proposal

Richard Hanus — Thu, 17 May 2007 21:00:36 +0000

Senate leaders from both parties have revived their discussion of immigration reform, this time around seeking a true compromise. A new bill is under construction, which the full Senate plans to begin debating and revising next week.

The senators have created a 380 page document which includes seven titles. This bill [...]

The New Bi-Partisan Immigration Proposal: The Strive Act

Richard Hanus — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 21:00:36 +0000

Our President, along with many U.S. politicians – including a few of our presidential candidates, think we should enact comprehensive immigration reform and find a way to legalize the undocumented population of the U.S. Other presidential candidates and politicians are vehemently opposed to any measure that would reward our undocumented [...]