Valentines Day Gift For L-1 Visa Holders
ALTHOUGH the “L” visa does not stand for “love”, on Valentine’s Day this year, the US State Department bestowed a gift on L visa holders. As a refresher, the L-1 visa is for “intra-company” transferees. To qualify, an employee of a foreign company (big or small), can be transferred to the US to work in [...]
Easier Process Possible For US Citizen Spouses
THE US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has published a proposal that would make the green card application process for some applicants a bit less stressful and more certain. The general rule is that if a foreign national is in the US and is the spouse of a US citizen, she can apply to have [...]
Options To H-1B Visa
THE CAP for the H-1B non-immigrant working visa for the fiscal year (October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012) has now been reached. The H-1B is one of the most common working visas. As such, with the cap being reached, this leaves many foreign workers in limbo as they are unable to obtain the necessary [...]
Buy A House And Stay In The USA
ON OCTOBER 20, 2011, two US senators introduced a bipartisan immigration reform bill that aims to encourage foreign nationals to buy homes in the United States and to stimulate tourism. The Visa Improvements to Simulate International Tourism to the United States of America Act (VISIT-USA Act) was co-authored by Democratic Senator Charles E. Schumer (NY) [...]
More Government Delays
THE EMPLOYMENT based immigrant visa process is one way that a non-citizen can become Legal Permanent Residents (commonly referred to as a Green Card holder) of the US Every fiscal year (October 1-September 30), there are approximately 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas available to qualified applicants in one of five categories. The process of obtaining an [...]
New Immigration Initiatives To Spur Job Creation
WITH THE US economy continuing to sag, the Obama administration and its immigration agency (US Citizenship & Immigration Services-USCIS) announced new initiatives to help spur growth and create jobs by making it a bit easier for job creating foreign nationals to permanently immigrate to the US. Under current adjudicatory standards, it is extremely difficult for [...]
I’m Not Your Stepping Stone: US-UK Treaty Investor Visas And The Green Card Process
A UK national can be granted an E-2 visa to invest in a US business, and to develop and direct that investment entity. However, the E-2 does not have a clear path to a US Green Card – generally, a foreign national cannot be petitioned for a Green Card by her own company, ie, cannot [...]
Sunday Brunch, A Drama Unwinds
SEVERAL WEEKENDS ago while enjoying a particularly festive brunch I was approached by an attractive, enthusiastic, mimosa-drinking Brit named Julie. She wanted some clarification about the Visa Waiver Program that she was traveling on. The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) of course is the US policy that allows for nationals from 36 participating visa waiver countries, [...]
The Immigration Forecast Today Is….
I’M NOT certain if stormy with a high probability of confusion is appropriate for a weather forecast, but as it applies to immigration, it is unfortunately applicable. While immigration law falls under the purview of the federal government, this hasn’t stopped storms from whipping up in states like Arizona and Utah, a vast disparity of [...]
Beware H-1B Employer – No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
WELL, it’s that time of year again when the immigration service starts its H-1B1 merry go round, more commonly referred to as the H-1b1 lottery. On April 1 of every year for the past several years, employers have been allowed to submit working visa applications on behalf of hopeful beneficiaries who fall within the H-1B1 [...]
British Pound Exchange Rate
