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Today, USCIS held an engagement session about developments in its Entrepreneurs in Residence initiative (EIR). Director Alejandro Mayorkas, his senior counsel and others on his staff attended. The EIR initiative is an attempt by USCIS to have adjudicators better understand the entrepreneurial space. Key developments thus far include the following: 1. The EIR Tactical Team has trained small groups at the various USCIS adjudications service centers. 2. Specialized teams are assigned to … [Read more...]
Immigration and Firm News
Getting Married in Washington State? What Binational and Dual National Same-Sex Couples Need to Know
December 9, 2012 by ·
It's a historic day in Washington State. Thanks to the voters who approved Referendum 74, same sex couples can legally marry starting today. The referendum went into effect on December 6, when couples started applying for marriage licenses. Along with the eight other states that permit same sex marriage, what does this new historic opportunity mean for couples where one or both spouses are foreign nationals? This blog post looks at the current status of options for foreign nationals to legally … [Read more...]
November 20, 2012 by ·
On November 19, 2012, USCIS expanded its e-Request system for making status inquiries about individual pending applications or to correct notices. Applicants can submit web-based inquiries on cases pending longer than stated processing times, have notices/approvals corrected, and can inquire about or change biometrics appointments for replacement green cards (I-90s) and naturalization applications (N400s). In order to use the e-Request service, applicants will need their original fee receipt … [Read more...]
November 18, 2012 by ·
I mentioned in my October 18, 2012 pre-election post, Should You Apply for DACA? An Update, that it seemed potential applicants for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) were holding off filing applications after Governor Romney's statement that he would not honor DACA applications filed after his inauguration if he was elected. As of November 15, 2012, USCIS has received over 308,000 applications.There was a slight uptick in filings in October compared to September. Of the 308,000 … [Read more...]
November 12, 2012 by ·
It took Governor Mitt Romney's loss to President Obama in the presidential election for some key GOP members to finally admit the party made fundamental mistakes in its position on immigration. Now GOP representatives are engaged in a post-election reassessment of their stance on immigration. Governor Romney's pronouncement that undocumented immigrants should just "self-deport," and his position that he would not accept any further Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) cases after his … [Read more...]
November 2, 2012 by ·
As of October 10, 179,000 people applied for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) of the estimated 1.7 million people eligible. It's hard to know how many of the applicants hired lawyers to help with their applications. We do know that many did it themselves. If you are "easily eligible," do you need a lawyer at all? When or why would it be useful to have a lawyer help with a DACA application? Let's say you have done the online wizard at www.weownthedream.org or you have gone to a DACA … [Read more...]
November 2, 2012 by ·
A new book out by Thomas K. McCraw, professor emeritus at Harvard Business School, called "The Founders and Finance: How Hamilton, Gallatin, and Other Immigrants Forged a New Economy" looks at the history of immigrants to the US and their innovations. In a New York Times op-ed by Professor McCraw, Innovative Immigrants, he discusses how immigrant entrepreneurs have fostered economic prosperity since the country was founded and why our immigration laws should be reformed to accommodate the … [Read more...]
October 18, 2012 by ·
A lot has been written about President Obama's courageous Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, including the requirements, what kind of evidence is needed, and how to apply. There is a ton of "how to" information on the Internet from the implementing agencies, as well as from attorneys, nonprofit organizations and some not so well-meaning lawyers and non-lawyers wanting to take on DACA clients. As of October 10, 2012, USCIS has received 179,000 DACA applications and has … [Read more...]
July 22, 2012 by ·
The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently released its FY2012 year to date statistics covering October 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012 concerning the use of H-1B visas and PERM, the labor certification program for permanent residence. Here are a few key stats from the report: H-1B Use The H-1B report shows that 278,737 applications were received YTD. 287,165 were processed. Of those, 243,098 were certified, and 16,346 were denied. The balance were withdrawn. These covered 577,298 positions. (A … [Read more...]
July 19, 2012 by ·
During the last month since President Obama announced the new Deferred Action program for Certain Young People, I have mulled over the commentary by media, politicians, and immigrant advocates. There is plenty of information out there about the eligibility requirements or how they should be interpreted, but little discussion about whether people should apply in the first place. is this program all it's hyped up to be and should people apply if qualified? After all, Deferred Action is not a visa, … [Read more...]
