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May 22nd, 2013%
By Bernard P. Wolfsdorf, Esq. & Minjie Xu, Esq.
Background
Processing an EB-5 green card petition can take a very long time. The California Service Center currently reports that they are adjudicating cases filed in March 2012. Anecdotal reports suggest that these lengthy processing times also apply to I-924s (Application for a Regional Center) and I-829s (Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove . . . → Read More: Leahy’s EB-5 Amendment to Immigration Reform Bill + Efforts of new EB-5 office = New streamlined EB-5 processing?
May 8th, 2013%
By: Bernard P. Wolfsdorf, Esq.
On May 6, 2013 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) opened its new Washington, D.C. EB-5 Program Office, staffed by new GS-14 high-level economists. These economists will adjudicate all EB-5 filings, starting with new I-924 applications to register Regional Centers. The current Director of the Vermont Service Center, Mr. Daniel Renaud, has . . . → Read More: EB-5 Program Updates: USCIS Opens New EB-5 Program Office in Washington; New EB-5 Guidance Memo Expected
March 15th, 2013%
By K. Lara Baharlo, Esq.
In 1990 Congress created the employment-based fifth preference visa category (EB-5) category for foreigners seeking to invest in a business that will benefit the US economy and create or preserve at least 10 full-time jobs for qualified US workers. The amount required to invest is $1 million or $500,000 if the . . . → Read More: Much More than a Green Card for Sale, the EB-5 Program is Good for America!
March 11th, 2013%
By Richard Yemm, Esq.
Just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about filling out an I-9, the eagerly anticipated (at least in our office) two-page Form I-9 was finally released on Friday (March 8, 2013) amid much fanfare and excitement (in our office).. Although the old (02/02/09 and 08/07/09) versions of the form can . . . → Read More: Are Your I-9s in Order? Five Improvements to the New Form I-9 to Help Employers!
March 4th, 2013%
By Richard Yemm, Esq.
Beginning today, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has implemented a new process allowing certain immigrant visa applicants who are spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens to apply for provisional unlawful presence waivers based on extreme hardship before they leave the United States to attend their visa interviews abroad.
Please note, as . . . → Read More: Boiling the Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver Down to Basics
February 26th, 2013%
By: Joseph J. Shepherd, Esq.
As the deadline for Congressional action to avoid sequestration approaches, U.S. immigration authorities outline the consequences of the automatic budget cuts to our already overloaded immigration infrastructure, and take action to prepare for the worst.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano stated yesterday that as a result of sequestration, Customs and Border . . . → Read More: Automatic Budget Cuts To Inundate Already Overloaded U.S. Immigration System
February 14th, 2013%
By Bernard Wolfsdorf, Esq.
In our November 2012 blog, we discussed the consequences if a wait line developed for Chinese-born immigrants in the EB-5 Investor category. Our blog was based on a prediction in the official December 2012 U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin, which contained an alert that a China . . . → Read More: Update on Wait Lines for Chinese EB-5 Investors-Is it Really Good News?
January 30th, 2013%
By Adam Francoeur, Esq.
Much has been made in the past two days (and following the 2012 election, really) about the “push” for comprehensive immigration reform promised by President Obama during his reelection campaign. The current immigration system has been labeled obsolete, out-of-date, and broken. All true—but what are the proposals, and the politics, behind the pillars . . . → Read More: The Pillars of Comprehensive Immigration Reform – How Many Will Remain Standing After the Dust Settles?
January 3rd, 2013%
By Jessica L. Marks, Esq.
After many anxious months, Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced yesterday that a final rule had been posted in the Federal Register to implement the provisional unlawful presence waiver for spouses, children, and parents of U.S. citizens who are present in the United States. Effective March 4, this process . . . → Read More: Provisional Unlawful Presence Waivers — After Years of No Reform and Too Many Deportations, DHS Starts the New Year Off Right
October 18th, 2012%
By Joseph J. Shepherd, Esq.
H-1B employers received 15,648 unannounced workplace site-visits from the USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (“FDNS”) in Fiscal Year 2011. Here are ten tips for human resources (“HR”) personnel to help prepare for, manage, and follow up after a FDNS workplace site-visit. With a $500 Fraud Investigation fee . . . → Read More: How to Prepare For a USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) Workplace Site-Visit: Ten Tips for H-1B and L-1 Employers
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