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YOUR IMMIGRATION LAWYERS, MICHAEL PHULWANI, ESQ. AND DAVID NACHMAN, ESQ. AND LUDKA ZIMOVCAK, ESQ., PROVIDE U.S. IMMIGRATION LAW UPDATES ON ITV: VLOG & USCIS NEWS UPDATES ON THE WEB & ON TV.
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David Nachman, Esq., Ludka Zimovcak, Esq. and Michael Phulwani, Esq., your Immigration and Nationality Lawyers, continue to bring employment and family-based immigration and nationality news and updates to your TV screen each week on iTV. Watch "YOUR IMMIGRATION LAWYERS" each week on iTV. Please contact us at info@visaserve.com for additional U.S. immigration law information or about how to subscribe to iTV.
Will there be an E-1 visa and E-2 visa program possible under new Prime Minister Modi?
- Potential impact of new Pime Minister of India;
- Importance of E-1 and E-2 program between countries;
- E-1 and E-2 definition and what countries make these benefits available.
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Ombudsman | How to effectively process your L-1B and H-1B | Requests for Evidence (RFE). Dealing with CIS Templates. What is L-1B "specialized knowledge"?
- How to effectively process your L-1B and H-1B. Specialized knowledge.
- Definition on an RFE.
- Communicating with the Ombudsman, when it is helpful to get an immigration lawyer to help. Getting help from a Congressman, Lawyer or AILA Liaison.
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UPCOMING EVENT
NJICLE: Hiring, Retaining & Terminating Foreign Nationals - A Webinar
When:
Tuesday, September 30th, 2014
Time:
12:00 PM to 1:40 PM
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:: 201-670-0006 (X100)
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Dear Readers:
Last week the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) held its annual conference in Boston. The annual conference was attended by several members of the NPZ Law Group staff. The conference affords us an opportunity to hear about burgeoning immigration-related issues from U.S. administrative agencies like the DHS, USCIS, CBP, ICE, DOL, and DOS, EOIR, etc. The keynote address was delivered by Alejandro Mayorkas. Mr. Mayorkas stressed the importance of "consistency, customer service and transparency" with regard to the services of the USCIS. Mr. Mayorkas took questions from the over 3000 immigration lawyers that attended the conference. In an emotional reply to one of the questions, Mr. Mayorkas stressed the importance for dealing with unaccompanied minors crossing the Southern Border in a humanitarian manner. NPZ Lawyers and Immigration Specialists attended special meetings of AILA professional work groups such as the Law Professors Interest Group, the Canadian Bar, the National Business Law Committee and the Indian Subcontinent Interest Group. NPZ attendees also attended substantive immigration law sessions concerning updates about Consular Processing, CSPA, EB-5, RFEs and many others. One program was given by one of our colleagues from the West Coast who litigated the CSPA case to the Supreme Court. The conference allowed us to speak to the government officials directly and and in an informal manner and afforded us an opportunity to forge new relationships with them and to catch-up with our immigration colleagues both socially and professionally. Of course, immigration reform was a topic of interest both at the AILA conference as well as the ICLE Program at the New Jersey Law Center this past week. More important then what WE think is what Senator Robert Menendez recently said. He stated: "It's one of the most frustrating moments that I've had ... to find [immigration] in a dark hole in the House of Representatives is incredibly disappointing not only to me personally but to millions of people across the country." We feel that attention will soon turn to how Obama uses his executive authority to provide relief for undocumented immigrants. It will be the next test in the strained relationship between the President and his progressive allies, who are demanding another round of administrative actions. For more information about the AILA conference, CSPA, or any other U.S. or Canadian immigration issues, please feel free to contact the immigration attorneys or lawyers at the NPZ Law Group at info@visaserve.com or by calling our offices at 201-670-0006 (x107).
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THE SUPREMES SPEAK TO CSPA: THE U.S. SUPREME COURT DELIVERS BAD NEWS TO MANY FAMILIES IN CASE THAT LENGTHENS THE CUE FOR AGED-OUT CHILDREN.
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In Scialabba v. Cuellar de Osorio, a heavily-divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled against thousands of aspiring young immigrants who were included on their parents' visa petitions as minors, but who turned 21-known as "aging-out" before visas became available. Aging-out is tantamount to someone losing his place in the visa line with his parents. In the case, the majority ruled despite having waited his turn in line, the mere fact that the child aged-out means that his time was lost and the case could not be converted into a more appropriate visa category.
TO READ MORE ON THE "SUPREME COURT RULING ON CSPA", PLEASE CLICK HERE . . .
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STUDENT VISA UPDATES: OPT CARD FILING TIPS FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS.
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With the graduation in summer, many students will be entering in the OPT phase of their career. Optional Practical Training (OPT) is a period during which undergraduate and graduate students with F-1 status who have completed or have been pursuing their degrees for more than nine months are permitted by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to work for at most one year on a student visa towards getting practical training to complement their field of studies. F-1 students are usually permitted a total of 12 months of practical training.
On April 4, 2008, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released an interim final rule extending the period of OPT from 12 to 29 months for qualified F-1 non-immigrant students. The extension will be available to students who are employed by businesses enrolled in the E-Verify program or that make use of valid work permits and social security.[1] To be eligible for the 12-month permit, any degree in any field of studies is valid. For the 17-month OPT extension, a student must have received a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) degree in one of the following approved majors listed on the USCIS website.
On June 24th, 2014, USCIS, California Service Center published an informative Power Point that can be helpful to international students.
FOR DETAILED INFORMATION, PLEASE CLICK HERE . . .
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DACA RENEWAL UPDATES: THE POWER OF DACA AFTER TWO YEARS.
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On June 15th, 2012 President Obama initiated a program called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program. Through
the DACA program individuals in the U.S. meeting certain parameters were provided to certain illegal individuals of good moral character who graduate from U.S. high schools, arrived in the United States as minors, and lived in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill's enactment.
On June 15th, 2014 DACA had its 2nd anniversary. Thousands of children benefited from this program. As of March 2014, 673,417 young people have applied for DACA and 553,197 have been approved. While DACA does not offer a pathway to legalization, it has the potential to move large numbers of eligible young adults into mainstream life, thereby improving their social and economic well-being.
TO READ MORE ON "THE SURVEY CONDUCTED BY NATIONAL UNDOCUMENTED RESEARCH PROJECT (NURP)", PLEASE CLICK HERE . . .
***This information is provided as a courtesy from the American Immigration Council (AIC)***
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CONSULATE PROCESSING UPDATES: OSAKA-KOBE, U.S CONSULATE TEMPORARILY STOPS E-1/E-2 VISA INTERVIEWS.
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Beginning June 1st 2014 through August 31st 2014, the Consulate in Osaka-Kobe will temporarily stop accepting E-1/E-2 non-immigrant visa appointments. During this time frame, all E visa applicants, including dependents over the age of 14, will have to interview at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo or Consulate in Fukuoka.
The Consulate in Osaka-Kobe will continue to process "drop-box"/mail-in renewal cases as normal. Individuals are also able to send minor dependents (under the age of 14) as per the normal mail-in (no-interview) procedures. Companies registering for the first time as an E visa company with Osaka are able to submit their paperwork per normal procedures.
FOR DETAILED INFORMATION, PLEASE CLICK HERE . . .
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE VISA BULLETIN UPDATES: CHECK YOUR PRIORITY DATE BECAUSE THE VISA BULLETIN FOR JULY 2014 IS OUT!
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The July 2014 Visa Bulletin brings some much awaited good news, particularly for those waiting in the employment-based (EB) categories who were born in India and the Philippines. Filipino EB-3 moves forward one year while India EB-3 moves forward only by 2 weeks. Unfortunately, Worldwide and China EB-3 both failed to advance.
India EB-2 moved forward almost 4 years. Further advances are expected in August and September. China EB-2 advanced 5 weeks while worldwide EB-2 remains CURRENT. China EB-5 remains CURRENT although retrogression could occur in August or September.
Most of the family-based categories moved forward in July. The worldwide FB-2A category (spouses and children of lawful permanent residents), after retrogressing 16 months in June, remains frozen in July. Do not expect any relief until October 2014 at the earliest. Most of the other worldwide categories as well as the family-based categories for Mexico and the Philippines advanced slowly,
from 1 to 4 weeks.
There is some good news here: (1) Philippines 1st (unmarried adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens) which advanced 4 months in June, moved ahead another 7 months in July while Philippines FB-4th (brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens) advanced 6 weeks; and (2) Mexico FB-2B (unmarried adult sons and daughters of permanent residents) which advanced 10 weeks in June moved ahead another 11 weeks in July while Mexico FB-1st advanced 6 weeks in July.
FOR DETAILED INFORMATION, PLEASE CLICK HERE . . .
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CANADIAN IMMIGRATION LAW UPDATES: NPZ NEWS FROM NORTH OF BORDER.
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CANADA BUSINESS TRANSFER UPDATES: NEW GUIDELINES FOR INTRA-COMPANY TRANSFEREES.
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On June 9th, 2014, the government of Canada (CIC) published a new guide for officers assessing work permit applications for Intra-Company Transferees (ICTs) under the Specialized Knowledge
category, with a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) Exemption.
The new criteria will now include a more stringent definition of "specialized knowledge" and a mandatory wage requirement. Individuals covered under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or under any future or current Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) appear to be exempt from these changes.
FOR DETAILED INFORMATION, PLEASE CLICK HERE . . .
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"IMMIGRATION NEWS AND VIEWS" - NPZ'S NEW PRACTICAL SERIES ON YOUTUBE ABOUT VARIOUS U.S. AND CANADIAN IMMIGRATION LAW ISSUES.
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HOW TO NOT ABANDON AND MAINTAIN LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENCE STATUS IN THE U.S.
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You may lose your permanent resident status (green card) if you commit an act that makes you removable from the United States under the law, as described in Section 237 or 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). If you commit such an act, you may be brought before an immigration court to determine your right to remain a permanent resident.
Abandoning Permanent Resident Status- You may be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status if you: Move to another country intending to live there permanently; Remain outside of the United States for more than 1 year without obtaining a reentry permit or returning resident visa. However, in determining whether your status has been abandoned, any length of absence from the United States may be considered, even if less than 1 year
Remain outside of the United States for more than 2 years after issuance of a reentry permit without obtaining a returning resident visa. However, in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the United States may be considered, even if less than 1 year; Fail to file income tax returns while living outside of the United States for any period Declare yourself a "nonimmigrant" on your tax returns
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SUPREME COURT CASE SPEAKS TO CHILDREN LEFT BEHIND (Child Status Protection Act - CSPA).
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INA � 203(h)(3) provides alternate benefits - specifically, retention of the original priority date and automatic conversion of the petition - for beneficiaries who are found to have "aged out" under the age preservation formula of the CSPA. In amicus curiae briefs filed first in cases within the Third, Fifth and Ninth Circuits, and subsequently before the U.S. Supreme Court, the American Immigration Council argues that INA � 203(h)(3) must be interpreted to allow a derivative beneficiary of any family-based, employment-based, or diversity visa petition to retain the priority date of that petition when he or she is found to have "aged-out" under the CSPA's age-preservation formula. We and our colleague organizations argue that the BIA, in Matter of Wang, 25 I&N Dec. 28 (BIA 2009), was mistaken in limiting INA � 203(h)(3) to only beneficiaries of family second preference visa petitions. On June 9, 2014, a divided Supreme Court upheld Matter of Wang. De Osorio v. Mayorkas, No. 12-930 (S.Ct. amicus brief filed Nov.4, 2013). The Supreme Court accepted certiorari on June 24, 2013 in response to the government's petition (Mayorkas v. De Osorio, No. 12-930) from a favorable en banc decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. 677 F.3d 921 (9th Cir. 2012) (amicus briefs filed October 24, 2011 and May 11, 2012).
On June 9, 2014, a plurality of five Justices of the Supreme Court agreed that � 203(h)(3) was ambiguous and that the Board's interpretation of it in Matter of Wang was reasonable. Thus, the Court upheld this interpretation. Four Justices dissented and would have found that the statute should be interpreted as amici and the plaintiffs argued.
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