VARIOUS ITEMS

Thứ Tư, 04 Tháng Chín 201300:00(Xem: 20961)
VARIOUS ITEMS
IMMIGRATION REFORM? MAYBE. MAYBE NOT. At this time, no one knows if there will be new immigration laws during Mr. Obama’s presidency. The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee rejected the idea of giving 11 million illegal immigrants a special pathway to citizenship. He said the House of Representatives must produce its own immigration proposals even if these proposals never become law.

 If (repeat IF) there is a Comprehensive Immigration Reform that follows the Senate proposal, there will be some advantages and some disadvantages for the Vietnamese community.

In the Senate CIR, F2A petitions filed by Green Card holders for wife and children would move to the Immediate Relative Category, thus eliminating any waiting time.
 
F2B petitions filed for >20 children who were left behind in Vietnam would gain the priority date of their parent's petition, thus eliminating a waiting time for them.

Two items in the Senate CIR would not be helpful. US citizens sponsoring married children would need to file the petition before the child reached the age of 31, and the F4 category of siblings of US citizens would be eliminated.

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I-601A Provisional Waivers: If the spouse or child of an American citizen entered the US illegally or overstayed a non-immigrant visa, the I-601A Provisional Waiver procedure allows them to have their unlawful presence excused. To receive approval, they will have to show that if they had to remain outside the US for 3 or 10 years, it would cause extreme hardship to their American citizen spouse or parent. In this procedure, they will obtain their waivers before leaving the U.S. Then they will be interviewed abroad and return to their families in the U.S. within a few days.

CIS says that 35% of the waiver applications have been denied, but immigration practitioners estimate that the denial rate may be as high as 50%.

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Same-sex marriage and fiancée cases: On August 2nd, Secretary of State John Kerry made the situation very clear. He said, “Effective immediately, when same-sex spouses [or fiancées] apply for a visa, the Department of State will consider that application in the same manner that it will consider the application of opposite-sex spouses.” So, from now on, both traditional and non-traditional partnerships can be approved by CIS and the US Consulate in Saigon.

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First Anniversary of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals): The one-year anniversary of the DACA program for childhood arrivals was August 15. During the first year of the program, about 557,400 young immigrants had applied for a deferral from deportation. Roughly 75% of the applications had been approved as of June 30, about 1% had been denied, and 25% were still under review.


The DACA policy applies to undocumented immigrants who were younger than 16 when they came to the United States. They must have lived in the U.S. for at least five years continuously and currently be less than 30 years old. They must have clean criminal records, free of felonies and serious misdemeanors. To receive the two-year exemption from deportation that allows work and study, immigrants must clear a background check and pay a $465 application fee. The DACA status must be renewed at the end of two years. It is a temporary measure and does not lead to a Green Card.

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Q.1. If there are new immigration laws that affect F4 petitions for the siblings of US citizens, when will those laws take effect ?
A.1. No one knows exactly when new immigration laws will take effect. However, the Senate CIR proposal states clearly that after the new law is approved, sponsors will have 18 months to file F4 petitions. After that, no more F4 petitions will be accepted by CIS.

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Q.2. What is the main reason why so many I-601A Waiver applications have been denied?
A.2. CIS says that the reason is very simple. In most of the denied cases, the applicants did not include proof that they had paid the immigrant visa fee to NVC. Obviously, these applicants did not get help from qualified professionals.


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Q.3. Has the US Consulate in Saigon issued any visas for same-sex marriage or fiancée applicants?
A.3. All of the same-sex visa petitions are now being processed by CIS and NVC. After that, they will be sent to the US Consulate in Saigon for interviews. That will be several months from now.

In the US, CIS has already approved several same-sex Green Card applications. These were cases of long term partners living in the US who filed their visa petitions as soon as the DOMA law was removed by the US Supreme Court.

 
ROBERT MULLINS INTERNATIONAL www.rmiodp.com
Immigration Support Services-Tham Van Di Tru

9070 Bolsa Avenue, Westminster CA 92683 (714) 890-9933 
779 Story Road, Ste. 70, San Jose, CA 95122 (408) 294-3888 
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Thứ Tư, 15 Tháng Tư 2015(Xem: 14407)
Last week, Democratic legislative leaders proposed a package of bills that would greatly expand protections for California’s 1.8 million illegal immigrants. This is far beyond what's offered by any other state.
Thứ Tư, 08 Tháng Tư 2015(Xem: 14846)
In California, attitudes shift on illegal immigration. Times change. Attitudes soften. People get to know each other and relax.
Thứ Tư, 01 Tháng Tư 2015(Xem: 13428)
A federal appeals court announced that a court hearing has been set for April 17 to decide whether a temporary hold on President Obama's immigration executive actions should be lifted.
Thứ Tư, 25 Tháng Ba 2015(Xem: 13263)
In February 2015, a federal judge in Texastemporarily blocked the president’s executive action on immigration and allowed time for 26 states to pursue a lawsuit that would permanently stop the president’s orders.
Thứ Năm, 12 Tháng Ba 2015(Xem: 13217)
Mis-representation means that an applicant tried to hide a fact that would make her ineligible for a visa. If the Consulate doubts the relationship, they say there is mis-representation.
Thứ Tư, 04 Tháng Ba 2015(Xem: 13664)
The same way that they tell if any other claimed relationship is real: They talk to the applicant, asking the same questions they would ask of any heterosexual couple. If the petitioner comes to the interview, they observe the couple together.
Thứ Năm, 26 Tháng Hai 2015(Xem: 19248)
Every fiscal year (October 1st – September 30th), approximately 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas are made available to qualified applicants.
Thứ Tư, 18 Tháng Hai 2015(Xem: 16124)
On behalf of everyone at Robert Mullins International, we would like to wish you Year of the Goat filled with good health, Prosperity and longevity.
Thứ Tư, 11 Tháng Hai 2015(Xem: 14055)
Submitting an H-1B Petition on April 1st: What Prospective H-1B Employers and Employees Need To Know It is highly likely that this year we will also see an H-1B lottery. Here are a few practice pointers which every prospective H-1B employer and employee should know.
Thứ Tư, 04 Tháng Hai 2015(Xem: 18677)
An expired 10 year Green Card is like an expired passport. If the US passport expires, the person is still an American citizen, but the expired passport cannot be used for travel outside the US.