On August 26, 2024, a federal court in Texas ordered the USCIS to stop approving the Keep Families Together Parole in Place applications while the legal issues were reviewed. Although the court initially placed a temporary halt until September 23, 2024, the situation became more complicated. On September 4, 2024, the court extended the pause, and by September 11, 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered all proceedings in the District Court to be suspended while it addressed related matters. As a result, the program has been left on indefinite hold. As of October 2024, the USCIS is still accepting applications but cannot approve them. Applicants are advised that while they can submit their paperwork, they risk losing their filing fee if the courts ultimately block the program from moving forward. The legal battle could stretch for months leaving immigrant families in uncertainty.
What is President Biden’s New Immigration Program and Could You be Eligible for a Green Card?
On June 18, 2024, President Biden unveiled a new initiative aimed at easing the path to lawful status for certain individuals who entered the country without authorization. This program introduces "parole-in-place," allowing eligible individuals to apply for temporary protection and a work permit, with the opportunity of eventually obtaining their green card without the need to risk lengthy separations from their families.
Defining "Child" under U.S. Immigration Law
Under U.S. immigration law, the definition of "child" holds significant importance because it provides an important legal basis for immigration benefits and protections. To understand the intricate facets of the term "child", including its definitional variations, implications, and rules governing age determination, helps parents and children achieve their goals for immigration to the U.S.
Classifying Crimes for Immigration: The Categorical Approach
Criminal conduct may affect a noncitizen’s eligibility for U.S. immigration benefits or ability to stay with his family members in the U.S. The categorical approach is the main legal framework used to evaluate whether a crime committed by noncitizens renders them removable or ineligible for immigration benefits. Under this approach, the elements of the crime for which noncitizens are charged and convicted are compared with those of the generic definition of the criminal ground provided by the immigration statute to determine if the crime is an inadmissible or deportable offense.
Guide to Employment-Based Immigrant Visas
Employment-based immigrant visas allow noncitizens to immigrate to the United States for permanent residence. These visas are divided into five preference categories: the first three categories are reserved for skilled or unskilled workers, talented professionals or scientists, and executives of multinational companies, and the fourth and fifth categories for certain religious workers and other special immigrants. In this article, we will be focusing on the first three preference categories.
What is a Qualifying Marriage for U.S. Immigration?
Keeping close family members together in the U.S. is an important goal of U.S. immigration law. The pathway most commonly taken to reach this goal is through marriage immigration. More people immigrate to the U.S. each year for lawful permanent residence based on marriages to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents than under any other category. Unlike other contexts where marriage serves as the basis for federal benefits, the marriage involving a noncitizen for immigration purposes requires more than just meeting the legal requirements under the marriage laws. To qualify for U.S. immigration, a married couple must also demonstrate that their marriage is factually bona fide.
How to Read a Visa Bulletin For Visa Numbers
To determine whether a visa number is available requires careful reading of the monthly Visa Bulletin published by the U.S. Department of State. To read the Bulletin, an applicant must know the filing date for their I-130 Petition or labor certification application, their country of origin, and their category within family-based or employed-based preferences.
More Fields of Study Qualify for STEM OPT
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of State (DOS) have recently taken new actions aimed at attracting and retaining talent in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). These actions are likely designed in response to an 11% reduction in the number of international students enrolled in our universities over the past 5 years, resulting from restrictive policies of the Trump administration.
U.S. Immigration Options for Long-Term Residents
In order to submit a successful immigration application, noncitizens must have a legal ground that supports their application. If they have been in the US for many years, what options are available to them? What should they be looking at to see whether any applications can be filed for them to gain legal status in the U.S.? Below are three potential pathways that may lead them to a lawful status in the U.S.
The Minoru Yasui Justice Award
Benjamin Wang has practiced U.S. immigration law for more than 20 years. He has helped thousands of immigrants coming from different parts of the world, including those who are persecuted in their home countries, those who are looking for better opportunities for themselves and their families, and those who live in our community without documentation. As an immigrant himself, Mr. Wang is always willing to provide affordable and comprehensive services to underrepresented immigrants. He fights for these immigrants to help keep their families together and provide a place of safety for refugees in the United States.
Guide To Hire H-2A Seasonal Workers
H-2A foreign workers can come to the United States to perform agricultural labor or services, such as the planting, raising, cultivating, harvesting or production of any agricultural or horticultural commodity. Businesses that engage in the planting, growing, harvesting, production of agricultural or horticultural commodities qualify to participate in the H-2A program to recruit foreign workers. For farms, H-2A workers may be employed to plant, cultivate and harvest crops; for nurseries, H-2A workers can help them propagate, grow and harvest trees, plants and flowers for sale to customers; and for Christmas tree farms, H-2A workers can plant and provide care for tree seedlings during the planting season, and shear and harvest trees for sale during the Christmas season.
How U.S Immigration Laws are Significantly Lowering the Number of International Students and how that Affects our Universities
Companies continue to face additional fees to pursue H1-B petitions for workers which are already arguably prohibitively expensive for many companies. However, these restrictions go beyond just a financial deterrence for hiring companies. These increased restrictions on a visa that only lasts three years sends a message to high-skilled international workers that they are unwelcome in the U.S. This message has been received particularly strongly by prospective H1-B visa workers - foreign students who come to our universities from around the world.
Immigration Q&A: Obtaining H-2B Visas for Temporary Workers
Faced with the current labor shortage, companies may consider bringing foreign workers to the U.S. to supplement their labor force on a seasonal or one-time occurrence basis to meet their urgent labor needs. To qualify for H-2B visas, the employment must be geared toward meeting a temporary need. Many jobs in various nonagricultural industries such as landscaping, construction, fishing, hotels, ski resorts, and reforestation may qualify for H-2B visas. The following questions and answers are aimed at providing some basic understanding of H-2B visa requirements and application procedures.
The New Address of Benjamin Wang's Immigration Law Firm
Hello! Welcome back to our blog. Today we just wanted to notify you guys that we have just finished moving our immigration office to a new location.
We are Still Located in Eugene. Here is our New Address:
750 Lawrence Street, Eugene, OR 97401
Please come visit us at our new location when you are in town. We look forward to seeing you guys soon!
How to Qualify For H-1B Specialty Occupation
Employers that hire foreign born professionals such as engineers, scientists and software developers often file H-1B petitions with the USCIS. To be eligible for H-1B visas, the employers must establish the positions they offer constitute specialty occupation. U.S. immigration laws set forth the criteria for showing a particular position qualifies as a specialty occupation.
To Reverify or Not: Green Card as Evidence of Employment Authorization
Green card is evidence of a noncitizen’s lawful permanent resident status. It can also serve as evidence of employment authorization for I-9 purposes. Lawful permanent residents can reside permanently in the U.S. with the right to work. To comply with the I-9 requirements, employers must be familiar with when reverification is required.
You Could Qualify for a 180 Day Extension on Your Work Permit; Here’s How
Navigating the renewal process for your Employment Authorization Document (EAD) can be a very time consuming and stressful process. You have filed your application, and you’re waiting for your EAD, but the USCIS has not made a decision on your application. Now your employer is asking when you will be receiving the renewed EAD. Knowing that your EAD can be automatically extended will greatly alleviate the stress and anxiety throughout this process.
Working With H-1B Electronic Registration
The much-anticipated change to the H-1B petition process has finally arrived. While the substantive law governing H-1B visas has not changed, the recent change implemented by the US CIS is procedural. Employers are now required to go through a pre-filing online registration of their prospective H-1B employees who will be selected for the H-1B visa numbers through lottery. The employers can only file petitions for those employees who have been selected through the lottery. The change will directly affect how H-1B petitions are prepared, and the following procedures are recommended for the upcoming 2020-2021 H-1B filing season.
Steps to Deal with No-Match Letters
Recently, the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) has resumed issuing the Employer Correction Request notices, also known as “no-match letters.” Employers which receive these no-match letters must take actions to properly handle such letters. This article first explains what no-match letters entail and then offer suggestions on how to avoid potential liabilities for discrimination and knowingly hiring unauthorized workers.
