Archive for July, 2010
Portions of Arizona’s Controversial Senate Bill 1070 Blocked
Today, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona issued a partial injunction preventing certain portions of SB1070 from taking effect. SB1070, also known as the “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act,” was signed into law April 23, 2010 by Arizona’s Governor, Janice K. Brewer. It is scheduled to go into effect tomorrow, July 29, 2010. The U.S. Department of Justice has sued the State of Arizona and Governor Brewer, arguing that SB1070 interferes with the Federal government’s ability to set and enforce national immigration policies.
SB1070 has created widespread controversy and outrage due to its harsh immigration provisions that many believe violate civil and constitutional rights. Today, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton blocked key provisions from taking effect tomorrow. Among the provisions include the reasonable suspicion section allowing police to arrest and detain suspected illegal immigrants without a warrant. In addition, Judge Bolton enjoined the provisions making it illegal for undocumented day laborers to solicit or perform work and the provision requiring immigrants to carry federal immigration documents.
Many SB1070 provisions will go into effect as planned. For example, starting tomorrow, it will become a crime for Arizona state officials to interfere with or refrain from enforcement of federal immigration laws. It will also be a crime to pick up and transport day laborers across Arizona or to give rides to or harbor illegal immigrants. Also, if a vehicle is used to transport an illegal immigrant, it can be impounded.
Please contact our office if you have any questions about SB1070.
Tags: Arizona, Department of Justice, Governor Janice Brewer, SB1070, Susan Bolton
Posted in Alerts, Crimes and Immigration, Politics/Current Events | Read More »
H-1B’s Still in a Slow Crawl
On July 20, 2010, the USCIS updated the H-1B cap count for fiscal year 2011. To date, the USCIS has received 25,300 regular petitions and 11,000 U.S. Master’s cap petitions. The regular cap is available to those with a Bachelor’s degree (U.S. or foreign) or equivalent experience or foreign Master’s or higher degree. The U.S. Master’s cap is available to individuals with a Master’s or higher degree from a U.S. academic institution. Please note that all H-1B positions must have job duties so complex that they cannot be performed without a Bachelor’s or higher degree.
The regular cap has 65,000 slots available and the U.S. Master’s cap has 20,000. As you can see, there are still many slots left for this fiscal year. Please contact our San Francisco immigration law office if you’d like to pursue H-1B status.
Tags: FY2011, H-1B, Master's cap, quota, regular cap
Posted in Uncategorized | Read More »
USCIS Proposes Fee Waiver Form
For the first time ever, the USCIS has proposed a standardized fee waiver form, Form I-912 (Request for Individual Fee Waiver), that will provide relief to financially disadvantaged visa and green card applicants.
Highlights of the form include: standardizing the fee waiver request process and setting forth clear criteria for eligibility; providing clear evidentiary requirements and guidance on the application types for which a fee waiver can be requested; and allowing applicants to request a fee waiver for both the underlying visa/green card application and the fingerprint fee with just one form.
The USCIS is currently accepting comments on the form, so the form is not available yet. We will keep you posted on the availability of the form at a later date.
Tags: fee waiver, Form I-912, USCIS
Posted in Immigrant Visas, Nonimmigrant Visas, USCIS | Read More »
How do I set up an EB-5 Regional Center?
EB-5 regional centers are designated by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”). A regional center is defined as an economic unit, public or private, involved in the promotion of economic growth, improved regional productivity, job creation, and increased domestic capital investment. The number of EB-5 regional centers has more than doubled in the last two years, likely due to the struggling U.S. economy and the resulting investment opportunities for foreign nationals.
Each enterprise wishing to receive regional center designation must submit a proposal to the USCIS which:
1. Clearly describes how the regional center focuses on a specific geographic region of the U.S., and how it will promote economic growth through increased export sales, improved regional productivity, job creation, and increased domestic capital investment;
2. Provides in verifiable detail how ten jobs per investor will be created directly or indirectly;
3. Provides a detailed statement regarding the amount and source of capital which has been committed to the regional center, as well as a description of the promotional efforts taken and planned by the sponsors of the regional center;
4. Contains a detailed prediction regarding the manner in which the regional center will have a positive impact on the regional or national economy in general; and
5. Is supported by economically or statistically valid forecasting tools, including, but not limited to, feasibility studies, analyses of foreign and domestic markets for the goods or services to be exported, and/or multiplier tables.
A regional center proposal will typically include copies of the enterprise’s organizational documents, capital investment offering memoranda, and transfer of capital mechanisms for the transfer of the foreign national investor’s capital into the job creating enterprise.
There is currently no form or filing fee for submitting a regional center proposal, although a filing fee and specific form has recently been proposed. The USCIS shall notify the regional center of its decision typically within six months. Once approved, the regional center must continue to promote economic growth as described in #1 above or it will receive from USCIS a notice of intent to terminate the regional center designation.
Please contact our immigration law firm if you are interested in establishing an EB-5 Regional Center.
Tags: EB-5 regional center, investor green card, investor visa, Targeted Employment Area, TEA
Posted in Uncategorized | Read More »
Guest Post: A K-1 Interview Story from One of Our Clients
Felipe da Silva (not his real name) is a Brazilian client of our firm who recently was approved for a K-1 fiance visa. With Felipe’s consent, we are publishing his email to us describing the interview process. We are very happy for Felipe and his American bride, and wish them all the best!
I left home at 5:30, it was still dark! I got to the US consulate at 6:45 and there were 5 girls waiting in line with their Americans fiancés. At 7:15 other 4 girls got in line and I felt awkward… 9 girls that apparently knew each other from a website, talking, and talking, and talking… I was the only guy.
We went to the second floor and a woman made the first check on my documents… Everything was nice and easy, because my lawyer ROCKS!!! She gave me a password, and I got to be the second one, thanks for our organization. They made me wait at a room with the others, and I started to imagine if they keep an eye on that room… I tried to make a conversation with some them, but it was too early, and it is impossible for a man to follow the conversation of 6 or 7 worried girls at that time of the day.
Almost an hour later, they call me in a private room, and I gave him all my documents. He asked me if it was me who fill in all the forms… I said no, “it was my lawyer!”… “Have you double checked all the information?”… Yes sir, 5 times only in the last hour!”… He laughed, gave me a few documents back, that he said was unnecessary and I was dismissed…
Back to the waiting room… I had to wait for all the girls to do the same thing… Another hour has passed when the first password was called to the Consul’s room. The funny part is that Americans are not allowed in that room, only the Brazilians. I got called to the Consul’s office, and he nicely asked me to sit down. He was about 32 years old. An older skinny woman was sitting behind, but she never looked at me, and stayed the whole time taking notes… He spoke something to her, but the microphone was turned off… Finally he said good morning and made me swear that I would only speak the truth.
The whole interview was in Portuguese and felt like he was trying to see if I was really me… Almost all the questions were about me. Where I studied, where I lived, where I worked… questions about my family and older visas. He knew that my father used to be a lieutenant, and asked me if I had any army training. He knew that my brother went to U.S. before me, and asked me if he was still living there. I tried to answer everything objectively and with conviction. The only question that he asked was “how you met you fiancé”. I told him the story… he laughed and said “Jack in the Box??? Your kids will love fast food”… “Ok, your visa is approved”… The whole thing took less than 10 minutes.
THANK YOU ALL for you hard work… I am really happy! And I’ll personally Brazilian handshake you when I move to SF…
Tags: Brazil, fiance, immigration, K-1 interview, K-1 visa, U.S. consulate, visa interview
Posted in Guest Posts | Read More »
What happens if my H-1B petition is approved, but my extension of stay is denied?
The petitioner of an H-1B change of employer petition or extension petition may request, as part of the petition, that the beneficiary’s stay be extended in the U.S. If the USCIS finds that the beneficiary has not maintained his/her H-1B employment/status during the prior H-1B validity period, the USCIS may approve the underlying H-1B petition but deny the request for beneficiary’s stay to be extended. In these cases, a denial notice strictly for the extension piece will be issued.
In order to work in H-1B status once the extension piece is denied, the beneficiary must go to a U.S. Consulate abroad and obtain an H-1B visa. Once he/she re-enters the U.S., he/she can resume H-1B employment.
The timing for the beneficiary’s departure from the U.S. to visit the Consulate is dependent upon the denial notice for the extension. Once it is issued, the beneficiary must depart the U.S. immediately. If the beneficiary remains in the U.S., he/she will start accruing what’s known as “unlawful presence” each day he/she stays beyond the denial date. This could complicate the beneficiary’s chances of obtaining the H-1B visa abroad and being allowed to continue working in the U.S.
Please contact our immigration law firm if you are facing this issue or would like to discuss the requirements for extending your stay in the U.S.
Tags: extension of stay, H-1B change of employer, h-1b extension, H-1B transfer, H-1B visa
Posted in FAQ H-1B | Read More »
