Immigration News & Updates
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eNewsletter POSTING DATE: JANUARY 11, 2016
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Immigration
Questions & Answers
Question: Hi, I'm from Jamaica and I met my fiancé in 2014 while I was in the U.S. on vacation. I overstayed my visa by a couple of days in order to stay longer with him on a trip to Disney World, then I came home. I returned to visit the U.S. last month for the holidays and the immigration officers at the airport sent me back on the plane because they said I overstayed the last time. I applied for the B visa recently and was told at the U.S. Consulate that I can't be issued one because of overstaying visa. Now my fiancé is going to fly to Jamaica to marry me and we were wanting to know what we have to do so that I can travel back to the U.S. with him after we are married as this is where we plan to live. Your help would be so greatly appreciated!
Answer: Yes, unfortunately, under Immigration regulations, once you overstay your period of authorized stay in the U.S. - by even one day, when you leave the U.S., you are not allowed to re-enter on your current Visa and are instead required to apply for a new B1/B2 Tourist visa at the U.S. Consulate in your home country. And unfortunately, once an individual overstays in the U.S. and then applies for a visa at the U.S. Consulate abroad, the Consular officers are very unlikely to issue a B1/B2 tourist or any other type of Non-immigrant visa, effectively closing all possibilities for legally travelling to the U.S. again.
The exceptions are immigrant visas, such as a Fiancée Visa and Spousal Visa (for foreign Fiancées & Spouses of U.S. Citizens). However, foreign Fiancées and Spouses are not immediately issued a Visa which allows them to travel to the U.S. until all the technical processing is complete, which takes 8+ months or more.
In your cases, since your U.S. Citizen Fiancée is going to fly to Jamaica to marry you, once he returns, a Spousal Immigrant petition can be filed to initiate the process of bringing you to the U.S. as a U.S. Resident (Green Card holder). However, you won’t be allowed to return to the U.S. along with your new husband, instead you have to wait in Jamaica for consular processing.
There is an option for an additional step which may result in you being able to come to the U.S. a little earlier, but it may still take up to 6-8 months, called the K-3 visa, which can be approved once the spousal petition is filed.
We can assist you and your soon-to-be husband by taking care of either your Spousal case to ensure that it is properly, professionally prepared and filed, so that you are able to immigrate to the U.S. as quickly as possible under USCIS and Consular processing procedures.
This Week's Immigration News
The USCIS Begins Accepting Applications
For H-1B Work Visas On April 1st
It’s that time of year again and the USCIS will begin accepting new H-1B work visa applications on April 1st which allow foreign nationals to begin working for U.S. employers in certain professional occupations. However, at present, there are only 65,000 of these highly prized visas available, which are expected to be exhausted in the 1st week of April alone and as a result, the USCIS may select applications by a random lottery, if the volume of requests for the visa exceeds the visas available.
Because of the anticipated shortage of visas, those hoping to obtain an H-1B Visa this year, particularly students on OPT, should line up a U.S. Employer willing to support the H-1B Visa request quickly, in order to begin processing the case for filing by April 1st.
As background, the H-1B work visa allows qualifying foreign nationals to work for a U.S. employer for up to six years and even longer when an employer sponsors the H-1B worker for a Green Card. To qualify, the H-1B visa requires the foreign national to possess a Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent and be offered a professional position in a U.S. company.
After obtaining an H-1B visa, Immigrants (and their families) often obtain a Green Card through their H-1B employer in a process called Labor Certification.
You can find out more about H-1B and other Work Visas by visiting our website at: www.Immigratetoday.com or calling our office at: 954-382-5378.
Obama Administration Begins Roundup of Undocumented
Central American Immigrants
The Department of Homeland Security recently began a national initiative aimed at deporting Central American Immigrants who have previous Orders of Removal from an immigration court, but failed to leave the U.S. as ordered. The new enforcement effort is meant to stem the tide of thousands of Central American Immigrants entering the Southern U.S. border illegally each year, including young children crossing without parents.
In fact, according to statistics, over 69,000 young children crossed the border in the Summer of 2014, unaccompanied by an adult. The largest number of Central American Immigrants crossing the southern border in recent waves, include those from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico.
The target of the raids are those who were apprehended by U.S. Immigration officers crossing the southern border illegally after May 1, 2014, who were processed through the immigration courts and ordered removed. The Obama Administration has not, however, changed its enforcement policy for other Immigrants in the U.S. who have been order deported or are otherwise not in legal immigration status, and generally continues to limit enforcement and deportations to those with criminal backgrounds or who otherwise present a security risk to the U.S..
Immigration How To:
How Do I Find Out When I Can Immigrate To The United States?
Question: I filed an application to extend my visit here in the U.S. for another 6 months and it just got denied because I could not show I had financial support to stay in the U.S.. My question is how do I get my filing fees back?
Answer: Unfortunately, the USCIS rarely, if ever returns Filing fees. That’s why it is so important to make sure that you qualify for an Immigration benefit before you file the application and prepare the petition properly for the best chance of approval. When filing applications to change or extend your status in the U.S., it is very important for applicants to clearly document eligibility, for instance by making sure that the required documentation is provided to prove eligibility, including bank statements and a letter of explanation or evidence which proves that the visitor intends to return to their home country once the extended time expires.. Now that your request has been denied, be sure not to remain in the U.S. past your I-94 authorized stay and if you’re I-94 has already expired, it’s a good idea to consult with an immigration attorney about your options and what your next steps should be.
Question: Dear Caroly. I am a US business owner. I have a great foreign employee who I successfully worked with to get a H-1B US Employment Visa a number of years ago, with a final eye on US Residency. I'm very happy with him. Two years ago, this employee successfully received his Residency Greencard. With difficult economic times upon us, I may have this employee get part time work elsewhere on a temporary basis. I love this employee, and in no way do i want to harm his US Residency or have him deported back to his home country, especially when it took me so long to obtain his residency in the first place. I know his H-1B Employment Visa precluded him from working for working for another US company, but now that he has his Residency Greencard, does his Greencard preclude him from working anywhere else? Meaning that, now that he has his Green card, does the Greencard "trump" the H-1B Visa and can he work anywhere with no fear of Immigration related issues and possible deportation? Thank you
Answer: Once an Immigrant receives a work permit during Residency processing, he or she is authorized to accept employment from any company. If the Immigrant is maintaining status on a valid employment visa like an H-1B during the residency process, they should continue to maintain status by continuing to be employed by the sponsoring H-1B organization, in case the residency process is delayed or denied for some reason.
Once an Immigrant receives Residency, he or she should also continue working with the sponsoring company in good faith as long as possible, which makes the eventual Citizenship process go more smoothly. Immigrants who obtain Residency then leave the sponsoring company immediately could theoretically jeopardize their Residency and face issues during the naturalization process. However, leaving employment or being terminated in itself does not represent a violation of immigration regulations or result in deportation.
In your case, since your obviously talented and valued employee received his Residency several years ago, it would not be a violation of the terms of his Residency to accept employment elsewhere, since both you (the company) and your employee have fulfilled the terms of the employment-sponsored immigration process, in that your company sponsored him with the intent to employ him after he received his Residency and he intended to continue working for your company, which he did. I hope this is helpful to you!
USCIS Webpage Helps Immigrants Locate Authorized Physicians And Understanding Requirements For The Medical Examination
The USCIS has an enhanced resource webpage to assist Immigrants in locating local doctors authorized to perform medical examinations required for Green Card applicants.
The improved resources provide Immigrants with information including:
1) What to expect during the medial exam
2) Checklist of documents to bring to the examination and
3) Tools to easily locate authorized doctors by zip code, driving directions and local transportation.
Visit the new USCIS webpage: USCIS Medical Examination
Immigration Tips You Can Use...
Read The State Department’s Visa Bulletin - For February 2016
The Visa Bulletin released by the State Department each month details the current waiting times for Immigrant Visas in Family and Employment Immigrant Petition cases.
You can view the current Visa Bulletin by clicking on the link below:
