Archive for category Avoid Green Card Mistakes
You options to bring your foreign wife/husband to United States
Posted by Josun in Avoid Green Card Mistakes on March 3, 2010
What would be the best approach for you if you, as a U.S. citizen, want to live as husband and wife in the United States as soon as possible?
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS, formerly Immigration and Naturalization Service – INS) made changes in processing K-3 marriage-based visa petitions. If you make an application by filling out Form I-130 and form K-3 via National Visa Center (NVC) to speed up the process, then NVC will close your K-3 petition. This procedure went into effect as of February 1, 2010.
How will new procedure affect your status?
Here’s more clarification: as a U.S. citizen, you married a foreign national. You want your wife or husband to come to United States to live together. You have two options:
1) You apply to the USCIS by filing immigrant petition I-130 for your foreign spouse to bring him/her to United States. USCIS approves your petition and forwards it to NVC with your financial support affidavit. NVC forwards it to consular section of the U.S. embassy in the country of your spouse.
2) You choose to make an application for K-3 (not K-1 fiancé) visa. Because, processing time for K-3 visa is faster.
In the past, NVC was processing both petitions (I-130 and K-3) and you, as an American citizen, were able to bring your spouse while your immigrant visa application was in progress. So, your foreign spouse was able to come to United States as legal resident and stay with you while waiting for visa.
Your options under new USCIS rule
Now, if you make two applications (I-130 and K-3) to speed up the process, NVC will not process both of your applications as it did in the past. Instead, NVC will close your K-3 petition and process only your I-130 petition. The reason is simple: USCIS will reduce its workload by processing only one petition.
According to Paul Szeto, Esq., if you make an application for K-3 only, you may see your spouse faster than applying for I-130. Furthermore, as a result of reduction in workload, USCIS and NVC processing time will be shorter.
H-1B Visa Violations That You Should Avoid
Posted by Josun in Avoid Green Card Mistakes on February 17, 2010
USCIS memo created concerns for H-1B beneficiaries and employers
The January 8, 2010 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS, formerly Immigration and Naturalization Service – INS) issued a memo on the subject of H1b “employer-employee” relationships relating to H-1B visa application and process. This created uncertainty for many H1B beneficiaries and U.S. employers.
How does H-1B process work?
Immigration and Nationality Act has criteria for qualifications of H-1B nonimmigrant foreign national.
The U.S. Department of Labor must first determine that the petitioning U.S. employer qualifies to submit an application. The Secretary of Labor determines and certifies to the Attorney General that the U.S. employer has filed with the Secretary an application. Then, H-1B visa is issued if all conditions of the petitioner meet the requirements.
Who monitors H-1B violations?
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Document Fraud and National Security (DFNS) monitors violations of H-1B visa and other fraudulent activities by immigrants who want to stay and work in the United States.
What are the major H-1B visa violations that you and U.S. employer should avoid?
Here are some of the major violations of H-1B visa applications:
- Beneficiary non-U.S. national worked at a site other than those listed in H-1B petition.
- Beneficiary (foreign national) did not get paid for the work.
- Reporting fake working site address.
- Beneficiary worked for jobs that are not listed in H1B petition.
- Foreign national started working for U.S. employer before filing H-1B petition.
Companies that are subject to intensive scrutiny
DFNS puts more emphasis on U.S. employers that are more likely to violate H-1B visa requirements. These companies that:
- have been in business less than 10 years
- employ less than 25 employees
- earn less than $10 million
Source: Global Immigration Partners, Inc.