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OUR OFFICES:
NEW JERSEY OFFICE:
VISASERVE Plaza
487 Goffle Road
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Phone: 201-670-0006 (x107)
NEW YORK OFFICE:
108 West 39th Street
8th Floor, Suite 800
New York, NY 10018
Phone: 1-866-599-3625
INDIANA OFFICE:
Indianapolis City Center 201 North Illinois Street
16th Floor, South Tower
Indianapolis, IN 46204
INDIA AFFILIATED OFFICES:
22 Vasant Kunj
New Sharda Mandir Road, Paldi, Ahmedabad 380007, India ATT: Kaival
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54/2515 Ashtavinayak CHS, Gandhinagar, Bandra (E)
Mumbai 400 051, India ATT: Sangeeta
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Dear Readers:
In the last e-zine we sent we told our readers about how several members of the Nachman Phulwani Zimovcak (NPZ) Law Group, P.C. were going to be attending the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Annual Conference in Washington D.C. The conference was held at the Gaylord Convention Center from the 17th of June to the 21st of June (the "Conference"). At the Conference several lawyers on the NPZ staff had a chance to speak to USCIS, ICE, CBP, DOS, EOIR and DOL officials and to find out about recent developments and to speak about some of the issues confronting our clients with the hope that special attention can be given to certain nuances that present themselves in our daily practice that may not have been contemplated when the regulations and/or operating instructions were promulgated. The event was hugely successful for our Law Firm attendees and we all came away with cutting-edge information about a variety of immigration practice areas.
Following the AILA National Conference, several NPZ Immigration Lawyers (and their colleagues from other Immigration Law Firms in NJ) taught an "Immigration Basics" Program in New Brunswick for about 75 Lawyers as part of the N.J. Institute For Continuing Legal Education ('NJICLE"). This annual NJICLE Immigration Law Program affords seasoned practitioners an opportunity to receive updates about various immigration practice areas and it allows individuals who are new to the field of U.S. immigration law to obtain a survey of the wide variety of legal issues that impinge upon the immigration law practice. Mr. John Thompson, the District Director of the N.J. District Office of the USCIS was the Keynote Speaker. Mr. Thompson told the attendees about various burgeoning issues in immigration law and he emphasized the importance of "placing a face" on the operations at the N.J. District Office.
We trust that all of our loyal readers had a safe and happy 4th of July holiday. As the long weekend draws to a close, we note how there is now intense media focus on the "road to the Whitehouse." This also means that the media is going to continue to highlight the issue of "immigration" and the role that this very important issue is likely to play in the next election. As Donald Trump and Chris Christie throw their hats in the ring, we can already begin to see how the "political pundits" are "wetting their whistles". Hillary Clinton has already made her position clear. Additionally, and on the judicial front, we await the argument on the merits in the 5th Circuit about President Obama's Executive Actions. Stay tuned!
The immigration attorneys and lawyers and immigration specialist staff at VISASERVE take great pride in our high level of service and are proud of the excellent results that we continue to obtain for our clients. For additional information about U.S. or Canadian immigration law or how the immigration and nationality lawyers and attorneys at the Nachman Phulwani Zimovcak (NPZ) Law Group., P.C. can assist you, your friends, you fasmily-members or your colleagues, please feel free to e-mail to us at [email protected] or you can always call our office at 201-670-0006. You can feel free to ask for Joy at (x107) or you can ask for Christina at (x104) or you can ask for Karen at (x109).
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H-1B AMENDMENTS POST-SIMEIO SOLUTIONS: WHY CIS SHOULD CONSIDER TAKING OFF THE RETROACTIVITY ASPECT FROM THE "DRAFT" GUIDANCE? By: Michael Phulwani, Esq., David H. Nachman, Esq. and Rabindra K. Singh, Esq.
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As many are aware, putting an end to the confusion that prevailed among Immigration Practitioners for almost two decades, the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), through a Precedent decision, Matter of Simeio Solutions, LLC, 26 I&N Dec. 542 (AAO 2015), clarified that an amended H-1B Petition, with the corresponding LCA, is required to be submitted to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) when there is a material change in the terms and conditions of employment.
In Simeio Solutions, the AAO specifically stated that when H-1B employees change their place of employment to a worksite location that requires employers to certify a new Labor Condition Application (LCA) for Nonimmigrant Workers to the Department of Homeland Security, this change may affect the employee's eligibility for H-1B status; it is therefore a material change for purposes.
TO READ MORE, PLEASE CLICK HERE . . .
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LONG-AWAITED FOR NEPAL: DHS ANNOUNCES TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS (TPS) DESIGNATION FOR THE NATION OF NEPAL.
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Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson announced his decision to designate Nepal for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months based on the conditions resulting from the devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25th, 2015, and the subsequent aftershocks.
As a result, eligible nationals of Nepal residing in the United States may apply for TPS with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The Federal Register notice published on June 24th provides details and procedures for applying for TPS. The TPS designation for Nepal is effective as of June 24th, 2015, and will be in effect through December 24th, 2016.
The designation means that, during the designated period, eligible nationals of Nepal (and people without nationality who last habitually resided in Nepal) will not be removed from the United States and may receive an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). The 180-day TPS registration period begins June 24th, 2015 and runs through December 21st, 2015.
TO READ MORE, PLEASE CLICK HERE . . .
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DACA RENEWAL TIPS: PREVENT YOUR WORK PERMIT FROM EXPIRING.
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DACA renewal is a very important process and must be carried out at an appropriate time with the right procedure. Some people wait too long to request their DACA renewal or do not correctly submit all the required forms and fees. As a result, their Employment Authorization Documents may expire before USCIS can finish processing their requests for DACA renewal.
Many simple things such as filing the extension case on-time, correctly submitting all required forms and fees, or timely responding to requests for evidence, can help a DACA applicant to avoid having their work permit renewal get delayed or rejected.
TO CHECK "USCIS TIPS ON THE DACA RENEWAL", PLEASE CLICK HERE . . .
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USICS DISCONTINUES ITS ELECTRONIC FORM I-539, FORM I-526 AND REGIONAL CENTER DOCUMENT LIBRARY.
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On June 15th, 2015, USCIS stopped accepting electronically filed Forms I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, and Forms I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur. USCIS also discontinued the Regional Center Document Library.
This change will not adversely affect customers who have pending or draft cases that were created before June 15th. USCIS will adjudicate those cases to completion and allow the standard 30 days for customers to complete and submit their draft cases.
Recently, USCIS updated the Form I-539 and Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative. To ensure that the paper and electronic versions of these forms are consistent with each other, USCIS decided to temporarily remove the current electronic versions until these newly-developed updated forms are available on new USCIS online filing system, which launched in March 2015.
FOR DETAILED INFORMATION, PLEASE CLICK HERE . . .
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TPS EXTENSIONS ANNOUNCED: TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS (TPS) REGISTRATION PERIOD EXTENDED FOR LIBERIA, GUINEA, AND SIERRA LEONE.
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Recently, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it was extending the initial registration deadline for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from May 20th, 2015, to August 18th, 2015, for eligible nationals of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone (and people without nationality who last habitually resided in one of those three countries). DHS is strongly encouraging eligible TPS applicants from these three countries to apply as soon as possible because applications will only be accepted through August 18th 2015.
USCIS began accepting TPS applications on November 21st, 2014, from applicants of these three countries when DHS announced the 18-month TPS designations for Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, from November 21st, 2014, through May 21st, 2016. If you submitted an application for one of these three countries and DHS previously returned the application based on the May 20th, 2015 deadline, you may now resubmit the complete application by August 18th, 2015.
FOR DETAILED INFORMATION, PLEASE CLICK HERE . . .
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DEJA VU - ALL OVER AGAIN: REOPENING H-2B CAP SAYS USCIS.
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Starting on June 5th, 2015, USCIS has started accepting Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, requesting new H-2B workers with an employment start date between April 1st and September 30th, 2015. Although on April 2nd, 2015, USCIS announced that it has accepted and approved a sufficient number of H-2B petitions to meet the congressionally mandated annual cap of 66,000 H-2B visas but later on USCIS found that it can be difficult to estimate in advance how many beneficiaries of an H-2B petition approved by USCIS will actually seek H-2B status or eventually be issued an H-2B visa by the Department of State (DOS) which eventually made the USCIS to reopen the H-2B cap.
TO READ MORE, PLEASE CLICK HERE . . .
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DOS VISA BULLETIN UPDATE: THE VISA BULLETIN FOR JULY 2015 IS OUT! IS YOUR PRIORITY DATE CURRENT? IF SO, PLEASE LET US KNOW.
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The July visa bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant visa numbers. Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security reports applicants for adjustment of status. Allocations were made, to the extent possible, in chronological order of reported priority dates, for demand received by June 9th.
If not all demand could be satisfied, the category or foreign state in which demand was excessive was deemed oversubscribed. The cut-off date for an oversubscribed category is the priority date of the first applicant who could not be reached within the numerical limits. Only applicants who have a priority date earlier than the cut-off date may be allotted a number.
FOR DETAILED INFORMATION, 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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WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSING FOR H-1B APPLICANTS AT THE CONSULATE OFFICES ABROAD?
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* Administrative Processing:
1. Working at different addresses that are not listed on LCA.
2. Different regulations that are of additional scrutiny.
3. Putting more than one location on LCA to avoid amended H-1B applications.
4. Short term placement for 30-60 days.
5. Transferring workers from low income areas to high Income areas.
6. Site visits.
* Detention and Removal and EOIR:
1. Huge backlogs in Immigration court.
2. for the government.
3. Causes of extreme hardship for long detention processes.
4. Working at different addresses that are not listed on LCA.
7. Different regulations that are of additional scrutiny.
8. Putting more than one location on LCA to avoid amended H-1B applications.
9. Short term placement for 30-60 days.
10. Business Transferring workers from low income areas to high Income areas.
11. Site visits.
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OBTAINING IDENTIFICATION FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS (GETTING AN INDIAN PASSPORT) | E-VISAS FOR INDIA ON THE HORIZON?
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* Obtaining Identification for Illegal Immigrants (Indian passport):1. Indian Consulate not issuing visas for individuals in illegal status.2. Holding a passport in illegal status is not illegal.3. Guideline from U.S. government to not to issue passports in order to curtail illegal immigration into the U.S.4. Changes in policy may happen.* E-Visa for Tfreaty Traders or Treaty Investors. 1. South East Asian Countries such as Bangladesh, Sri-Lanka, Pakistan have E-Visa Treaties. India does not.2. E-Visa is based on mutual treaty between the U.S. and India. 3. Previous Indian governments were not open to treaty's with the U.S.4. Current government under president Modi may be successful in obtaining an E-treaty Visa with India. 5. Requirements for obtaining an E-Visa, and Investment requirements. 6. Obtaining Identification for Illegal Immigrants (Indian passport):
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