Posts Tagged ‘immigrant’
ALERT: New Appointment System for Visa Applicants in Canada
Starting tomorrow, September 1, 2010, all visa applicants in Canada must use the new appointment service found at http://www.usvisa-info.com/en-CA/selfservice/ss_country_welcome to schedule their visa appointments. This new system will be free of charge, with no requirement that applicants pay for phone charges or PIN numbers to access such services. Appointments that are currently scheduled will remain scheduled as is.
Please contact our San Francisco immigration law office if you have any questions or concerns about this new system.
Tags: Canada, immigrant, nonimmigrant, NVARS, U.S. consulate, visa appointment
Posted in Alerts, Immigrant Visas, Nonimmigrant Visas | Read More »
VISA FEES TO INCREASE JULY 13, 2010
This is an update to a previous post on June 3, 2010, regarding passport and visa fee increases. The Department of State (DOS) is in the process of developing a final rule regarding its current passport and visa fee structure. The first proposed rule in March 2010 received over 1700 comments from individuals, businesses, advocates and attorneys. As a result, the DOS has developed an interim rule effective July 13, 2010, that will increase various passport and visa fees while they figure out the final rule’s parameters.
The interim rule changes the fees as follows:
1. The application fee for a U.S. passport book for an adult (age 16 and older) is increased from $55 to $70. The application fee for a passport book for a minor (under age 16) will remain at $40.
2. The passport book security surcharge is increased from $20 to $40
3. There will be an $82 fee for adding extra pages to an existing passport (this used to be a free service)
4. The adult passport card application fee is increased from $20 to $30 and the minor passport card application fee from $10 to $15
5. The fee for verifying U.S. citizenship when no evidence is presented is increased from $60 to $150
6. The fee for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (U.S. citizen birth in foreign country) is increased from $65 to $100
7. The application fee for a family-based visa (processed on the basis of an I-130, I-600 or I-800 petition) will be $330
8. The application fee for an employment-based visa (processed on the basis of an I-140 petition) will be $720
9. Other immigrant visa applications (including for diversity visa applicants, I-360 self- petitioners, special immigrant visa applicants, and all others) will have a processing fee of $305
10. The immigrant visa security surcharge will increase from $45 to $74
Please refer to our June 3, 2010 post for the nonimmigrant fee changes currently in effect. Please also stay-tuned for an update on the final rule to be implemented. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to contact our immigration law firm with any questions.
Tags: consulate, Department of State, embassy, immigrant, nonimmigrant, passport, visa fees
Posted in Alerts, Immigrant Visas, Nonimmigrant Visas | Read More »
Harvard Student At Risk of Deportation
Eric Balderas is an immigrant success story. Originally from Mexico, Eric grew up in the U.S., graduated as valedictorian from his high school in San Antonio, and now attends Harvard as an undergraduate on a full scholarship studying molecular biology. He aspires to be a cancer researcher one day.
And yet, under our immigration laws, Eric Balderas is deportable.
Eric is undocumented. He came here as a young child with his parents from Mexico, a country which he does not even remember. Recently caught by ICE, he is now in danger of being removed from the U.S.
See: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jnk7spK92rmzC439rdIValXaBvxQD9G9CJJ00 for the full story.
Eric is the poster child for the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, or the DREAM Act, as it is known. The bi-partisan DREAM Act, if enacted, would grant permanent resident status to undocumented immigrants who were brought to this country as minors if they enroll either in school or in the military.
Why the DREAM Act has not yet passed continues to defy logic. What possible good can come from deporting someone brought here as a child, who, by virtue of having been raised here, is essentially American? I have yet to hear opponents of the DREAM Act articulate anything other than mean-spirited and nonsensical rhetoric in response to this question.
Tags: deporation, DREAM Act, eric balderas, immigrant, immigration reform, undocumented
Posted in immigration reform | Read More »
May I have intent to immigrate in H-1B status?
The H-1B category allows for dual intent, which means both short-term nonimmigrant intent and long-term immigrant intent. H-1B status is a temporary status for an individual working in a specialty occupation (i.e. in a job that requires a degree or the equivalent). An individual who intends to hold H-1B status temporarily and then return to his/her home country has nonimmigrant intent. An individual who has the short-term intent to work in H-1B status and the long-term intent to live in the U.S. permanently has both nonimmigrant and immigrant intent (i.e. dual intent), which is permitted. Case law has held that the mere desire to obtain permanent residence in the future does not, by itself, automatically disqualify an alien from admission as a nonimmigrant. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recognizes dual intent not only for the H category, but for the L, O, P and E categories as well. Please don’t hesitate to contact our office if you have questions about dual intent or would like our assistance with your visa or green card petition.
Tags: dual intent, green card, H-1B, immigrant, immigrate
Posted in FAQ H-1B, H-1B, Immigrant Visas | Read More »
Don’t Treat Immigrants Like Criminals, Part II
I received an email from a former client today, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. She was coming back from the Bahamas with her U.S. citizen husband over the weekend, and was interrogated at secondary inspection at the airport. According to her, she was treated disrespectfully, so she told the inspector that she did not appreciate being treated like a criminal, to which he responded: “Most immigrants are criminals-that’s why we treat you that way.” Besides being appalling, this statement is plain wrong. Immigrants commit crimes at rates lower than the general population. This has been proven in study after study. Anti-immigrant nuts like Bill O’Reilly and Lou Dobbs and the idiots who listen to them continue to perpetuate the myth that immigrant crime is rampant in order to garner support for their scapegoating. However, the negative tone is established at the highest levels of government. As I mentioned in my last post, immigrant detainees are often treated in an identical manner to criminal detainees. This practice needs to change, or else this attitude will continue to trickle down to the lowest level officials in our government.
Tags: Bill O'Reilly, criminal, immigrant, immigrant detainees, lawful permanent resident, Lou Dobbs, U.S. citizen
Posted in Politics/Current Events | Read More »
