Articles Posted in Immigration News

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On December 22, 2010, the Department of State announced the implementation of a newly redesigned Consular Report of Birth Abroad Certificate. (CRBA). In the past, CRBAs have been printed at US Embassies and Consulates but beginning January 3, 2011, all CRBAs will be printed at the passport facilities in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and New Orleans, Louisiana.

This new streamlined and centralized process will allow the production of CRBAs to be more controlled as well as decrease the possibility of fraud. In addition to the production location change, CRBAs issued after January 3, 2011 will feature the title of “parent” instead of “mother” or “father.” This change was instituted in order to “provide a gender neutral description of a child’s parents and in recognition of different types of families.”

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The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is offering a Spanish-language only event called “Enlace” where agency updates will be given, a presentation will be shown, and an open forum for general questions will be conducted.

The topic for the event is “How Do I Help My Relative Become A Permanent Resident in the United States?”

The engagement is to be held on Saturday, January 29, 2011 at the USCIS Washington Field Office, 2675 Prosperity Avenue in Fairfax, Virginia, 20598 from 1:00pm to 2:30pm (EDT).

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The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently updated the list of Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) approved schools. The schools listed have all been certified to participate in the program.

The program allows foreign students interested in obtaining an education in the United States to complete a visa petition, pay the required fee, and attend a U.S. College or University.

Interested Foreign students: There is a process in obtaining a student visa, but it is not a difficult one. The student must first obtain Form I-20 from the U.S. College or University from which he/she intends to enroll, pay the required visa fee (Form I-901) and contact a local U.S. Consulate/Embassy to schedule an interview. The SEVP procedures differ among U.S. Consulates/Embassies; contact your U.S. Consulate/Embassy NOW to determine its particular procedure on applying for a visa before planning for the interview.

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The Global Entry Trusted Traveler Pilot Program launched by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced on December 27, 2010 that membership has surpassed 100,000 individuals.

The Global Entry program was launched by CBP in hopes of streamlining the process at airports for pre-approved travelers through the use of self-service kiosks. Currently the kiosks are located at 20 major airports around the United States and help to reduce waiting times by approximately 70 percent. In order to qualify for the Global Entry program and become a pre-approved traveler, an individual must either be a US citizen or lawful permanent residents able to pass an intensive background check. The Netherlands has an agreement set up that links the US’s Global entry program with Amsterdam’s Privium program allowing citizens of the Netherlands to apply as well. Applications must be submitted online at www.globalentry.gov in addition to a fee of 100 dollars to cover a five-year membership. To finish the process, the individual must go to any of the 20 airport sites in order to complete an in person interview and fingerprint data collection.

Once a member of the Global Entry Program, upon arriving at an airport an individual only has to insert their passport or lawful permanent resident card into a kiosk, provide fingerprints to compare with the fingerprints on file, and answer customs declaration questions. More information on the Global Entry program including detailed requirements and available locations can be found at www.cbp.gov/travel.

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The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.

Click here to view the February 2011 Visa Bulletin.

The February 2011 Visa Bulletin still shows employment based third preference (EB-3) visas as oversubscribed while the employment based second preference (EB-2) is current for all areas of chargeability except for China and India.

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On December 21, 2010 the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) released its first ever E-Verify news publication called “E-Verify Connection.”

Highlighted in the newsletter was the new photo matching capability to help confirm the authenticity of documents, the new E-Verify seals and the invalid status of birth certificates of US citizens born in Puerto Rico issued prior to July 1, 2010. In addition, on the E-Verify website individuals can now download E-Verify guidance manuals, see a timeline of the program’s milestones and review its statistical reports for Fiscal Year 2009. Additionally, free webinars are offered on the website both for existing members and interested individuals looking for more information.

The MVP Law Group, P.A. provides assistance to employers interested in establishing an effective employment compliance program which includes training administrative personnel and other employees. If you are interested, please contact our office.

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The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap.

As of January 7th, 2011 58,700 H-1B Regular CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 65,000 cap.

*USCIS will continue to accept REGULAR cap-subject petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn.

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For those individuals taking naturalization tests AFTER January 5, 2011 please note that there are some changes to the civics test answers due to the recent federal elections. Questions 20, 23, and 47 will have different responses.

For question 20 which asks: “Who is one of your State’s US Senators now?” please choose a senator for your state that will serve in the 112th Congress. A list of current members of the US Senate can be found at www.senate.gov.

For question 23 which states: “Name your US Representative” also make sure to write the name of your representative that will be serving in the 112th Congress. A list of the members of the US House of Representatives can found at www.house.gov.

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On December 22, 2010, U.S. District Court Judge Dolly Gee ruled that two men with severe disabilities must be provided with representation in their deportation cases.

The ACLU of Southern California is optimistic after the ruling as they hope someday all mentally disabled detainees will receive representation. Immigration courts are not required to provide attorney representation for individuals. A current lawsuit filed by the ACLU alleges, “Federal officials have deprived the detainees of their Constitutional right to due process.” They argue mentally disabled detainees are unable to get a fair hearing without representation. As a result of the Judges’ ruling, the Federal Government will have to find pro-bono representation or pay for representation for the two men.

MVP Law Group supports Judge Gee’s ruling to provide representation for the two mentally disabled men and is supportive of the ACLU’s suit to require representation for all mentally disabled detainees.

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MVP Law Group, P.A. makes available the information and materials in this forum for informational purposes only. The information is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice or any contractual obligations. Further, the use of this site, and the sending or receipt of this information, does not create an attorney-client relationship between us. And, therefore, your communication with us through this forum will not be considered as privileged or confidential.

Question #1 – Temporary Work Visa – H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa

Is the H1B CAP still available?

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