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19 03, 2023

Immigrants Have One Less Reason To Visit a CIS Office

By |2023-03-19T16:49:48-05:00March 19th, 2023|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)|

By:  Richard Hanus, Esq. March 19, 2023 Ask any user of the U.S. immigration system and they will tell you that there are not many things more frustrating than trying to obtain case status or general information by way of a call to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s (CIS) 1-800 Customer Service line. The challenging user experience is made even worse when you seek to arrange an in-person appointment at a local US CIS Field Office - also known as INFOPASS appointment. This week, CIS announced implementation of a new policy to make life easier for U.S. permanent residents seeking proof [...]

5 02, 2023

Recent Immigration Policy: A Painful Acknowledgement of How Bad the Delays Have Gotten

By |2023-02-06T07:24:28-06:00February 5th, 2023|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)|

By:  Richard Hanus, Esq. Published – February 5, 2023 If you are a foreign national living in the U.S. trying to renew your Permanent Resident Card (aka “Green Card”) or Employment Authorization Document (EAD), chances are you are all too familiar with the extreme processing delays now plaguing our nation’s immigration system.  Even sadder is that in so many ways, these delays were avoidable given that the rules governing eligibility and the processes at issue are not that complicated.  The 1-2 year delays that have built up are the outgrowth of the COVID pandemic as well as the previous administration’s neglect of [...]

30 10, 2022

Citizenship Filings Processed at Lightning Speed and Other Immigration Law News

By |2022-10-30T16:33:36-05:00October 30th, 2022|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)|

By:  Richard Hanus, Esq. Published October 30, 2022 Processing times for N-400 applications Lawful permanent residents living in the Chicago area and across the U.S. are seeing their applications for U.S. citizenship processed at record pace.  For my clients across Illinois and Northwest Indiana filing N-400 Applications for Naturalization, we are seeing a total processing time of just 4-5 months – with applicants waiting 90 -120 days for interview scheduling and another 30 days or so for the scheduling of citizenship oath ceremonies. It is anyone’s guess as to why U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) is making citizenship processing a priority, [...]

20 03, 2022

Where to Find an Immigration Lawyer in Chicago

By |2022-03-20T09:35:32-05:00March 20th, 2022|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)|

Despite the pandemic, the number of immigrants looking to make the U.S. their home has reached a 21-year high. Have you recently traveled to America? Are you hoping to apply for citizenship or remain in the country on a student or work visa? If so, it's in your best interests to consult with an immigration lawyer. After all, anti-immigrant rhetoric has been on the rise over the past several years. The last thing you want to do is end up on the wrong side of the law due to not understanding it. Read on to learn exactly where to find an [...]

17 05, 2021

Reversal of Bad Immigration Policy Just Quietly Happened and the Consequences for Immigrants and Their Employers are Huge

By |2021-05-17T13:26:29-05:00May 17th, 2021|Categories: General, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)|

By:  Richard Hanus, Esq. Published May 17, 2021 Attaining lawful permanent resident (Green Card) status by way of a job offer and one’s advanced education and/or experience is among the most obstacle ridden processes on our nation’s immigration benefits menu.  There are countless ways the process can fail, whether the worker is abroad waiting to obtain an immigrant visa from a U.S. consular post or even more so, when the applicant is in the U.S. on a temporary visa and looking to “adjust” their status to permanent resident. The latter category of applicants and their employers received extraordinarily good news in recent [...]

24 04, 2021

When to Hire an Immigration Law Firm

By |2021-04-26T20:31:42-05:00April 24th, 2021|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)|

Published April 24, 2021 By Richard Hanus, Esq. Immigration is a hot-button topic in the United States, the topic of many a political debate. The laws regarding immigration in the U.S. have continued to shift and change in the wake of all this discussion. If you're attempting to navigate a tricky immigration situation, it's a difficult time. Not all legal immigration situations will require the assistance of an immigration attorney. Simple situations, such as visiting the country for a brief spell, can probably be sorted without with the need of a professional. However, there are many situations where the help of [...]

20 04, 2021

The New Director of Homeland Security’s Immigration Agency Has Her Work Cut Out for Her

By |2021-04-20T15:38:05-05:00April 20th, 2021|Categories: General, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)|

Published April 20, 2021 By Richard Hanus, Esq. U.S. immigration law is many things to many people.  To the vast majority of the American public, it is what makes the loudest news in the general media.  These days it’s all about what goes on at the U.S. southern border, and how things are, or are not, under control.  But that story is just a tiny sliver of our nation’s overall immigration law picture. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (US CIS) – the arm of U.S. Department of Homeland Security that processes important immigration benefits such as employment authorization documents, advance parole [...]

7 03, 2021

It’s the Time of the Season, When Love of the H-1B Runs High

By |2021-03-07T16:08:28-06:00March 7th, 2021|Categories: General, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment-Based Immigration Law, Foreign Exchange Student Visas to the U.S., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B|

Published March 7, 2021 By Richard Hanus, Esq. It’s H-1B work visa registration season, and by the end of this month, US Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services (US CIS) will have completed its selection of 85,000 lucky registrants for the H-1B visa lottery.  Starting Noon EST on March 9, 2021, the online H-1B visa registration period will open for the fiscal year 2022 - which itself starts October 1, 2021.  The registration period will last a little over two weeks, and close at Noon, EST on March 25. During this period, petitioning employers and their representatives will complete petitioner and prospective foreign worker information and submit [...]

8 01, 2021

Facebook Live Event: Save the Date – Post Inauguration Immigration Law Update and Q & A

By |2021-01-08T16:58:50-06:00January 8th, 2021|Categories: General, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, immigration reform, Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B, Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

Published January 8, 2021 By Richard Hanus, Esq. Join us on Thursday, January 28, 2021 @ 7:00 pm CST when we will be getting the first glimpse of any new immigration policies Joe Biden has in mind for the start of his presidency as well as his possible agenda for major immigration legislation.  Richard Hanus will discuss the immediate and near future impact a Biden presidency will have on our immigration system and how it might affect your immigration filing.  He will also provide feedback on your specific immigration law questions.  To register for the Facebook event, visit: https://fb.me/e/1WWc6eNG3 Please forward [...]

30 12, 2020

How to Get a Green Card For Your Parent

By |2021-01-04T09:47:57-06:00December 30th, 2020|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Family-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., United States Embassies Abroad|

Published December 27, 2020 By Richard Hanus, Esq. There are a couple dozen ways a foreign national can come live in the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident (aka as a “green card” holder) with most involving either a family or employer/employee relationship.  When it comes to family relationships, an adult U.S. citizen’s petition for their foreign national parent is among the most popular and efficient processes available. The basic requirements: 1) the child filing on behalf of their parent must be 21 years of age or older, and 2) the petitioning child must be a U.S. citizen.  The adult child [...]

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