Green Cards Archives - Page 6 of 21

3 10, 2017

New Policy: All Employment Based Green Card Applicants In The U.S. Will Be Interviewed

By Richard Hanus|2020-05-01T17:38:35-05:00October 3rd, 2017|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., 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., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B|

Published October 3, 2017 Foreign nationals residing in the U.S. who are applying to adjust their status to lawful permanent resident (green card via Form I-485) based on an offer of employment will now, without exception, be required to attend an interview at their local Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services (DHS/CIS) office. This is a new Trump administration policy aimed at, according to government officials, heightening the scrutiny of these types of filings, combatting fraud and to ensure only legally qualified applicants are approved. Employment based green card applicants undergoing the consular processing of their immigrant visas overseas […]

20 09, 2017

Premium Processing Continues for More Categories of H-1B Filings

By Richard Hanus|2020-05-01T17:42:22-05:00September 20th, 2017|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment-Based Immigration Law, General, Green Cards, Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Visa Lottery and Diversity Visas to the U.S.|

Published September 20, 2017 Premium Processing Continues for More Categories of H-1B Filings In an abrupt about face earlier in the year, U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services (US DHS/CIS) announced it would put a halt to the availability of the fee-based, expedited, 15 day premium processing service for all H-1B work visa petitions. Slowly but surely though, US DHS/CIS has been reinstituting availability of this service for various types of H-1B petitions, which includes this week’s announcement it would accept premium processing requests for H-1B visa petitions which are now being considered under the fiscal year 2018 […]

6 06, 2017

When Will CIS Expedite Processing of your Petition or Application? AND New Vetting Procedures in Place for Visa Applicants

By Richard Hanus|2020-05-01T18:05:12-05:00June 6th, 2017|Categories: 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, 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 June 6, 2017 These days, with processing times for various petitions and applications getting longer, it is important to be aware that U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) will entertain and grant expedite requests under a variety of circumstances. Firstly, there are a line of employment based petitions where CIS, for an additional “premium processing” fee, will review the filing and issue a decision in as little as 7-14 days. The additional fee is $1,225.00, and that amount is on top of base filing fee at issue. CIS offers this option for the processing of the vast […]

25 04, 2017

A New Look for Green Cards and Employment Authorization Documents

By Richard Hanus|2020-05-01T18:12:05-05:00April 25th, 2017|Categories: Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S., Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Green Cards, Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Uncategorized|

Published April 25, 2017 Toward enhancing security and combatting document fraud, U.S. Department of Homeland Security will begin issuing a newly redesigned Permanent Resident Card (“Green Card”) and Employment Authorization Document (“EAD”) starting May 1, 2017. Green Cards and EADs issued prior to the release of the new versions will continue to be honored throughout their validity period. The new documents will feature the individual’s photos on both sides along with unique graphics, color schemes and embedded holographic images. Green Cards will feature the image of the Statue of Liberty and a mainly green color scheme. EADs will include […]

21 03, 2017

Applying for U.S. Citizenship: The Top 4 Things That Matter

By Richard Hanus|2020-05-01T18:20:10-05:00March 21st, 2017|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Family-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Immigration and Criminal Law / Detainees, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings|

Published March 21, 2017 To be sure, a foreign national residing in the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident (aka “green card” holder) is not required to apply for U.S. citizenship. That is, for whatever reasons or no reason, a green card holder has the option of living the rest of their life in the U.S. without seeking U.S. citizenship. Of course there are downsides to such a decision, such as having to renew a green card every 10 years, not having the right to vote, and having limits on the type of immigration petitions you can file on […]

31 01, 2017

This Past Weekend’s Executive Action, Shock and Awe

By Richard Hanus|2017-01-31T09:58:04-06:00January 31st, 2017|Categories: Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S., DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Foreign Exchange Student Visas to the U.S., General, Green Cards, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B, Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

Published January 31, 2017 Lightning struck, in a bad way, for U.S. based or U.S. bound nationals of seven countries this past weekend. Citizens and nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen and who are: a) current or prospective U.S. lawful permanent residents or refugees or b) current or prospective temporary U.S. visa holders, find themselves in the most toxic of immigration scenarios they could have ever imagined, at least for the next 90 days. For prospective Syrian refugees, the door to the U.S. has been shut indefinitely. With the stroke of a pen, President Trump immediately interrupted […]

2 01, 2017

After Much Confusion, CIS Will Accept Older Versions of Certain Forms Until February 21, 2017

By Richard Hanus|2017-01-02T10:06:57-06:00January 2nd, 2017|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, General, Green Cards|

Published January 2, 2017 Two weeks ago, and without any prior notice, U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) abruptly announced that as of December 23, 2016 only the newest versions of various specified forms would be accepted, and filings received featuring the older versions of the forms would be rejected. But as of last week, realizing the unfairness of the sudden change in policy, CIS reversed course and advised it would establish a transitional grace period and accept the older versions of the following forms through February 21, 2017: I-90, I-102, I-129, I-129CW, I-129F, I-130, I-131, I-131A, […]

23 11, 2016

FILE BEFORE DECEMBER 23, 2016 TO AVOID IMMIGRATION FILING FEE INCREASES

By Richard Hanus|2016-11-23T08:52:15-06:00November 23rd, 2016|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., 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, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B|

Published November 23, 2016 As of December 23, 2016, and for the first time in six years, a filing fee increase for certain immigration applications or petitions is set to take effect. The operations of Citizenship and Immigration Services is almost entirely funded by the filing fees it receives to process applications for the various immigration benefits offered. This filing fee increase has nothing to do with the recent election and the plan to implement this increase has been in the works for many months. The chart below is the list of old and new filing fees. Applications and […]

9 11, 2016

Do Not Panic

By Richard Hanus|2016-11-09T16:22:17-06:00November 9th, 2016|Categories: Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S., Asylum in the United States, Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S., Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), General, Green Cards, Immigration and Criminal Law / Detainees, immigration reform, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

Published November 9, 2016 Panic is rarely a useful response to a stressful situation. In the U.S. immigration arena in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s election to the U.S. presidency, panic is neither useful nor necessary. Yes, he spoke about a wall. Yes, he spoke about rounding up all undocumented immigrants. But did he mean it? If he said it, why wouldn’t he mean it? If he did mean it, what laws and political realities should the undocumented be aware of? Will our nation’s undocumented be rounded up for deportation? Very, very, very unlikely. While Trump made such an initiative a hallmark of his primary campaign, […]

4 10, 2016

Registration for 2018 Green Card Lottery Ends November 7, 2016

By Richard Hanus|2016-10-04T09:30:28-05:00October 4th, 2016|Categories: General, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Green Cards, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Uncategorized, Visa Lottery and Diversity Visas to the U.S.|

Published October 4, 2016 The Green Card Lottery (DV-2018) As in years past, millions of people from all over the world will submit entries to have a chance at one of 50,000 diversity immigrant visas and obtain “green card” status in the U.S. Excluded from eligibility are natives of Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and Vietnam. These specified, excluded countries are considered to be “high admission” nations, and Congress’ purpose in establishing the visa lottery program was to provide […]

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