Archive for the ‘Immigrant Visas’ Category
2011 Poverty Guidelines Published
The Department of Health and Human Services has published the 2011 Federal poverty guidelines, which the USCIS uses as the threshold income amounts that must be earned annually to sponsor someone for permanent residency. If a sponsor does not meet these amounts then he/she will need a joint sponsor who does. The following is a chart of the 2011 guidelines:
|
2011 HHS Poverty Guidelines |
|||
|
Persons |
48 Contiguous |
Alaska |
Hawaii |
|
1 |
$10,890 |
$13,600 |
$12,540 |
|
2 |
14,710 |
18,380 |
16,930 |
|
3 |
18,530 |
23,160 |
21,320 |
|
4 |
22,350 |
27,940 |
25,710 |
|
5 |
26,170 |
32,720 |
30,100 |
|
6 |
29,990 |
37,500 |
34,490 |
|
7 |
33,810 |
42,280 |
38,880 |
|
8 |
37,630 |
47,060 |
43,270 |
|
For each additional |
3,820 |
4,780 |
4,390 |
Tags: 2001 poverty guidelines, green card sponsor, I-864, joint sponsor
Posted in Immigrant Visas, USCIS | Read More »
Help HAITI Act of 2010 Now In Effect
The USCIS has announced the implementation of the Help HAITI Act of 2010, which grants permanent residence to certain orphaned Haitian children who were paroled into the U.S. after the January 2010 earthquake. To obtain more information about the eligibility requirements and the new law, please see www.uscis.gov/adoptions/haiti.
Tags: earthquake, Help Haiti Act of 2010, orphan
Posted in Immigrant Visas, Politics/Current Events | Read More »
Call Your Senators! They Will Vote on the Dream Act Saturday
Senators are expected to vote on the DREAM Act on Saturday, December 18, 2010. Senate Majority Leader Reid filed cloture for this Act, which is a process aimed at bringing debates to quick end. The Senate will need 60 votes for DREAM Act to move forward.
The DREAM Act would provide lawful permanent residence (i.e. green card status) to certain undocumented youth who, as children, were brought to the U.S. The criteria to qualify include: completing high school; demonstrating good moral character; and completing at least two years of higher education or serving for at least two years in the U.S. military.
We urge you to call your senators today in support of this important Act!
Tags: DREAM Act, Majority Leader Reid, Senate
Posted in Alerts, Immigrant Visas, immigration reform, Politics/Current Events | Read More »
Priority Dates Retrogress on January 2011 Visa Bulletin
Family-based visa categories have significantly retrogressed on the January 2011 visa bulletin. From early 2009 to September 2010, the level of demand for family-based immigration was very low, thus, the Department of State (the agency in charge of the visa bulletin), accelerated the numbers to utilize as many visa numbers as possible while there was time to do so. This generated demand, which led the DOS to retrogress the numbers (i.e. slow the demand). This is the ebb and flow of the visa bulletin method that frustrates many.
The DOS anticipates that the family-based categories will remain retrogressed for some time since the demand has not subsided. In contrast, employment-based categories have not retrogressed much, if at all. To view the January 2011 visa bulletin, please see this link: http://travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_5212.html.
Tags: Department of State, employment-based, family-based, January 2011, visa bulletin
Posted in Alerts, Immigrant Visas, USCIS | Read More »
Green Cards for Haitian Orphans
Last week the U.S. Congress passed the Help Haiti Act of 2010 (H.R. 5283), which grants legal permanent resident (LPR) status to up to 1400 Haitian minors orphaned by Haiti’s devastating earthquake in January 2010. To qualify, the individuals must be physically present in the U.S. and have been granted humanitarian parole by the Department of Homeland Security’s Secretary Janet Napolitano between January 18, 2010 and April 15, 2010.
Tags: green card, Haiti, Help Haiti Act, lawful permanent residence, orphan
Posted in Alerts, Immigrant Visas | Read More »
Deployed U.S. Troops Become Citizens on Veteran’s Day
On November 11, 2010, 50 service members currently located at Camp Victory in Iraq became U.S. citizens in a special Veteran’s Day ceremony. The Department of Homeland Security has naturalized 11,146 service members in fiscal year 2010, which is the highest number since 1955 and a 6% increase from fiscal year 2009.
Several of the participants in yesterday’s ceremony are part of the Enhanced Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, which is an Army aviation unit from Fort Riley, Kansas. The new citizens originally came to the U.S. from various countries, including China, American Samoa, Romania, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and the Philippines.
Tags: citizenship, Iraq, naturalization, Veteran's Day
Posted in Immigrant Visas, USCIS | Read More »
REMINDER: USCIS Fees to Increase November 23, 2010
The USCIS will be increasing its filing fees for many form-types on November 23, 2010. If you have an immigration matter you’d like filed before that date, please contact our San Francisco law office as soon as possible. We handle all types of employment and family-based immigration matters. For more details, please visit http://www.galigordon.com/us-visas-permanent-residence.
Tags: immigrant, nonimmigrant, November 23, USCIS fees, visa
Posted in Alerts, Immigrant Visas, Nonimmigrant Visas, USCIS | Read More »
EB-5 Regional Center Processing Update
The USCIS recently held a stakeholder meeting pertaining to the EB-5 regional center program. The EB-5 category allows for individuals to invest in the U.S., either actively by operating an investment enterprise, or passively as part of a group of individuals investing in an EB-5 regional center. Please see our other EB-5 blog posts for detailed information about the requirements. In light of its recent stakeholder meeting, the USCIS had the following updates to provide:
1. There are currently 114 approved regional centers
2. There are 83 regional center proposals pending
3. In FY2010, the USCIS received 1727 investor petitions, 90% of which were for regional center investments
4. The current published processing time for regional center proposals is 5 months
5. The California Service Center, the location where EB-5 regional center proposals are reviewed, will soon substantially increase its EB-5 staffing
6. The new Form I-924, Application for Regional Center, and fee of $6230 will go into effect November 23, 2010 (currently there is no form or fee)
7. There will be a Form I-924 Supplement A that can be used for the yearly reporting requirements for regional centers
8. There is no premium processing for EB-5 regional centers at the present time
Please contact our San Francisco Immigration Law Office if you need assistance with an EB-5 regional center.
Tags: EB-5, Form I-924, Immigrant Investor Program, Regional Center, USCIS
Posted in Alerts, Immigrant Visas, USCIS | Read More »
USCIS Filing Fees Increase November 23, 2010
The USCIS will increase the filing fees on almost all immigration applications and petitions (except naturalization) beginning November 23, 2010. The final rule containing the USCIS’ new fee schedule was published in the Federal Register last Friday, September 24, 2010, and will go into effect Tuesday, November 23, 2010. Any applications or petitions filed on or after November 23, 2010 must include the new fees.
The following is a list of some of the fee changes:
1. Fees will be increased by a weighted average of 10 percent
2. There is a new fee for Regional Center Designation under the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program
3. There is a new fee to obtain Civil Surgeon Designation
4. There is a new fee for the Department of Homeland Security’s processing of immigrant visa requests
Please contact our San Francisco immigration law office if you have any questions about the new USCIS fee schedule.
Tags: Department of Homeland Security, Regional Center, USCIS filing fees
Posted in Alerts, Immigrant Visas, Nonimmigrant Visas, USCIS | Read More »
