Immigration News & Updates
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eNewsletter POSTING DATE: OCTOBER 24, 2016
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Immigration
Questions & Answers
Question: I am a U.S. Citizen, born in Florida. My boyfriend is Venezuelan and we met about a year ago while he was here on vacation in Fort Lauderdale. Our relationship is getting serious, but we are not ready to get married yet and really just want to try to live together for about a year first, until I finish my college. My question is there a special visa that would allow my boyfriend to come and live in the U.S. and work for about a year before we get married?
This Week's Immigration News
Major Immigration Issues At Stake In This Year’s
Presidential Election
Answer: Unfortunately, there are no special Immigration visas which would allow your boyfriend to come to the U.S. and stay for a year and work while you are living together before marriage. The K-1 fiancée visa would allow him to come live and work here, but it requires that you get married in 90 days after his arrival, which does not work out with your plans. If he has a valid B1/B2 Tourist Visa, he can come and stay for 6 months and if it works out, apply to extend his stay for another 6 months, but that is about it. He might also consider applying for an F-1 student visa to study here, or if he qualifies, finding a U.S. company to sponsor him for an H-1B work visa as other options next year when the visas become available again in April 2017.
You Can Now Follow USCIS On Instagram
The USCIS recently updated the Application for Naturalization (Form N-400). Beginning December 1, 2016, the USCIS will no longer accept the 09/13/13 edition of the form, however the most recent 09/29/16 and 03/26/16 editions will continue to be accepted.
View the new Naturalization:
New Naturalization Form Available For Citizenship Applications
Question: Hi, I am a Venezuelan with Colombian citizenship, but I currently live in Venezuela. I want to move to Miami and open a small shop to sell gourmet ice cream. The investment would be about $60,000 initially in the shop, equipment, fixtures and inventory, then about $20,000 set aside to operate the shop in the first few months until I make some profits. I heard that there is a visa called e2 for this kind of investment. I would like some more information about it, like how long it will take for me to get it. I have a wife and my kids are 8 & 10, can they go to school there if I get the visa? I also want to know if I qualify as a Colombian, even though I currently live in Venezuela? Thanks.
Answer: Yes, the E-2 Investor visa is a great way for citizens of Colombia and other qualifying countries to come to the U.S. and start a new business. The visa allows E-2 investors to live and work here in the U.S. and for spouses to obtain work permits as well. E-2 Visas issued abroad at U.S. Consulates can be for up to a period of five years for both the Investor, spouse and children under age 21. Children under age 21 can also legally attend public school in the U.S.. The E-2 process itself is fairly fast - it generally takes only a few weeks for the E-2 visa to be issued once the application is made with the U.S. Consulate. Since you have Colombian nationality, you are still eligible for the E-2 visa, even though you live in Venezuela. I will email you an information package about the E-2 visa and eligibility requirements before your meeting next week. See you then.
Hillary Clinton
Citizenship “Birthright” for children born in the U.S.: Favors the current long held constitutional right of children born in the U.S. to automatically receive U.S. Citizenship upon birth, regardless of the Immigration status of a child’s parents.
Deportation of Undocumented Immigrants: Opposes the deportation of any Immigrants in the U.S., except those who have been convicted of committing a serious crime.
The Wall: Opposes construction of a wall between the U.S. and Mexican border, but favors strengthening border security with more high-tech surveillance measures.
Immigration Reform: Promises to have new immigration legislation introduced in Congress within her first several months in office, to legalize millions of Immigrants in the U.S. and provide a path to citizenship.
Donald Trump
Citizenship “Birthright” for children born in the U.S.: Opposes the current constitutional right of children born in the U.S. to automatically receive U.S. Citizenship. Promises to eliminate birthright citizenship for children born to Immigrants in the U.S..
Deportation of Undocumented Immigrants: Favors deportation of all undocumented immigrant in the U.S., regardless of their circumstances.
The Wall: Proposes construction of a wall between the U.S. and Mexican border and promises to make Mexico pay for it.
Immigration Reform: Opposes immigration reform and any legislation which would legalize millions of Immigrants in the U.S.. Opposes a path to citizenship.
The USCIS is now on Instagram. You can sign up for Instagram messages in English & Spanish. Visit its Social Media websites to signup for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Helpful Immigration Hints You Can Use
Family Immigration – Why Does It Take So Long?
Many Americans and Immigrants alike believe that once a U.S. Citizen or U.S. Resident sponsors a family member to immigrate to the U.S., the only delay in their relative actually immigrating is the time it takes the USCIS to process the case.
This often causes quite a bit of confusion and frustration for sponsors and family members who are unsure about how long the immigration process will actually take and how to determine how much more time they will need to wait.
Category/Family Relationship
F1 Single, Adult Children of U.S. Citizens
(and their minor children under 21)
F2A Spouses & Minor Children of U.S. Residents
F2B Single, Adult Children of U.S. Residents
(and their minor children under 21)
F3 Married, Adult Children of U.S. Citizens
(their Spouses & minor children under 21)
F4 Siblings (Brother/Sisters) of U.S. Citizens
(their Spouses & minor children under 21)
7 -8 years
1 1/2 years
6 -7 years
10 - 12 years
12 - 14 years
Approx Wait Time
Simply put, Immigration waiting lines are based not upon processing time, but instead upon supply and demand. This means that since there are only a certain number of Immigrant Visas available each year to family members in immigration categories, if too many visa applications are filed, the long and longer the line gets. So in a way, when a family petition is filed to sponsor a relative, even though there are no immigrant visas available at the time, the application is put in a line behind all the others who applied earlier, waiting to get to the front of the line. It’s kind of like a “rain check”, when you go to the store to buy an item on sale and the store is out of stock, once the stock becomes available again, you can complete your purchase – which in this case – can take many years. Visit the Visa Bulletin to view the current waiting lines for Family and Employment Immigrant Visas.
You can read a full explanation of Family Immigrant Visa lines and processing to give yourself a fuller understanding of the issue.
The chart below gives readers an idea of the various family categories and waiting lines for all countries except China, Mexico & Philippines, which often have waiting lines exceeding 20 years or more due to high demand:
Immigration How To:
How Do I Update My Address With Immigration When I Move?
So, as an additional measure, here are the instructions on changing your address with the USCIS:
** For those with pending cases, have your I-797 Notice of Action Receipt available for each case type.
1)Change Address on the USCIS Website: Go online to the USCIS Address Change page and complete and file the form for each pending case. Print out a copy of the filed form for your records and write the filing date on it.
Change Address on the USCIS Website: Go online to the USCIS Address Change page and complete and file the form for each pending case. Print out a copy of the filed form for your records and write the filing date on it. 2)Call the USCIS 800#: Call the USCIS to notify them of the address change at 800-375-5283 and give them all your case numbers so they can confirm the change has been made in all the databases.
Call the USCIS 800#: Call the USCIS to notify them of the address change at 800-375-5283 and give them all your case numbers so they can confirm the change has been made in all the databases.3)Infopass Appointment: For cases pending at local USCIS Field Offices, this is an additional step to be sure that the local office USCIS database has been properly updated. Give the information officer a copy of your address change (from online filing) and ask her/him to check the computer to confirm that the address has been updated. Good luck!
Infopass Appointment: For cases pending at local USCIS Field Offices, this is an additional step to be sure that the local office USCIS database has been properly updated. Give the information officer a copy of your address change (from online filing) and ask her/him to check the computer to confirm that the address has been updated. Good luck!Immigration regulations require that all immigrants change their address with the USCIS within 10 days of moving. This is done by changing your address on the USCIS website electronically. For those with cases pending with the USCIS, including family petitions, adjustment of status, work authorization, etc, not only must you change your address online, but as a safeguard through the USCIS 800 number as well.
The reason is that even though your address is changed in the general USCIS database through the electronic online filing, this does not necessarily change your address in the database for any of your pending cases.
With Immigration in the forefront of this year’s Presidential election, here’s a quick comparison of the positions held on major Immigration issues by Presidential candidates Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump:
