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OUR OFFICES*:
NEW JERSEY OFFICE:
VISASERVE Plaza
487 Goffle Road
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Phone: 201-670-0006 (x107)
Please feel free to ask about our Princeton, New Jersey, Satellite Office and our presence in Boston, MA. and in Chicago, IL.
* Please note that our immigration law practice is national and international in scope. We assist our clients throughout the U.S. and throughout the world.
NEW YORK OFFICE:
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8th Floor, Suite 800
New York, NY 10018
Phone: 1-866-599-3625
INDIANA OFFICE:
Indianapolis City Center
201 North Illinois Street
16th Floor, South Tower
Indianapolis, IN 46204
INDIA AFFILIATED OFFICES:
Kaival Chalishazar, Adv.
Kaival Chalishazar & Co.
22 Vasant Kunj
New Sharda Mandir Road, Paldi, Ahmedabad 380007, India
ATT: Call Kaival at x107
(This office provides "on the ground" services to our Indian clients such as India Divorce, India Real Estate Purchase and Sale, Business Sale Purchase, Adoption, Litigation and High Court Complaints).
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Law Office of Michael Phulwani
F603 Remi Biz Court
Veera Desai Road
Andheri West
Mumbai 400 053, India
Call us at 201-670-0006 (x104) for contact details.
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Dear Readers:
First and foremost, we want to wish our readers a safe and happy and enjoyable holiday season. For the past two weeks Michael Phulwani, Esq. and David Nachman, Esq., two of the Managing Attorneys at the Nachman, Phulwani, Zimovcak (NPZ) Law Group, have been "on the road" in India visiting friends and clients, conducting speaking engagements, meeting with Consular Officers, and working from NPZ's affiliated offices in Mumbai and in Ahmedabad.
Of course, the big issue "on the ground" in India is the demonetization of the India currency. We have included an article in this e-zine from one of our "on the ground partners" in New Delhi about this issue. The second most important issue lately is how Trump's recent "win" will impact US family and business immigration laws for the next several years.
At this point, it is too early to know what President Trump is likely to do. However, perhaps we can interpolate his position from the "thinking" of his proposed transition team. It is our hope that the new Administration will respect the importance of the H-1B program and the need for F-1 students to obtain STEM extensions both of which initiatives are vital to US global competitiveness. Of course, more rigid protocols and additional audits are expected.
At the U.S. Consulate Offices, in Mumbai and New Delhi, we met with the Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visa Chiefs and discussed such issues as Consular Staffing, statistics about approvals and denials, attorney access for the visa process, delays caused by Administrative Processing under 221G, and many other issues.
We remind our readers that NPZ Law Group are US and Canadian immigration lawyers and visa professionals. We continue to provide our clients with the very highest level of quality immigration law services at very competitive prices. If you, a friend, a colleague or a family member would like to meet with one of our immigration lawyers or immigration attorneys, we invite you to email to us at info@visaserve.com or call us at 201-670-0006 (x107).
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THE UPCOMING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ON U.S. IMMIGRATION: THE NEW U.S. PRESIDENT AND THOUGHTS ABOUT WHAT U.S. IMMIGRATION
RULES AND POLICIES MAY CHANGE.
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As part of his immigration platform, President-elect Donald Trump pledged to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative which was announced on June 15th, 2012.
We do not know how or when DACA might end. There are two actions that he can take:
1) Rescind the memo authorizing DACA and allow previously issued DACA and work permits to remain valid until expiration. No new applications for first-time DACA or DACA renewal would be accepted.
2) Rescind the memo authorizing DACA and declare immediately invalid all previously issued DACA and work permits.
TO READ MORE, PLEASE CLICK HERE . . .
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USCIS MESSAGE ABOUT N-400, NATURALIZATION APPLICATIONS: GUIDANCE FOR N-400 APPLICANTS ABOUT WHICH FORM TO USE.
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Starting December 23rd, 2016, applicants must use only the "12/23/16" edition of Form N-400, Application for Naturalization. USCIS will reject earlier versions of the Form after that date. Applications postmarked or filed on or after December 23rd must also include the new fees or USCIS will not be able to accept them.
USCIS made a Special Note for Applicants at Group Processing Events . . .
For applicants who received help completing their Form N-400 at an immigration group processing event (such as a citizenship workshop or fair), the sponsoring organization must provide its name, address, and contact information in Part 14 (for interpreters) and Part 15 (for preparers).
The sponsoring organization must also type or write the name of the organization representative who was responsible for managing the event, and the representative must sign and date the completed Form N-400.
The representative's signature must be handwritten (a photocopy of an original handwritten signature is acceptable, but a stamped signature is not acceptable). USCIS will no longer accept stamps or stickers in the preparer and interpreter sections.
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U.S. IMMIGRATION TRAVEL ADVISORY - "KNOW BEFORE YOU GO": NPZ LAW GROUP HELPS EASE THE STRESS OF HOLIDAY TRAVEL FOR CERTAIN FOREIGN NATIONALS.
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This the season to be jolly . . . but it is also the season when international travel can be a folly. Many foreign nationals will be traveling outside the U.S. during the holidays. This holiday travel usually extends from the end of December through the middle of January. Of course, for some, holiday travel often seems to entail a visit to the friendly Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer.
For others, holiday travel may entail a visit to the U.S. Consulate Office in a home or to a third-country.
The NPZ Law Group has posted many instructional videos on the internet which you can view on YOUTUBE about some of the nuances of international travel and seeking visas at U.S. Consular Offices. We recommend these videos for those who will be traveling. If you do not have time to view those videos, there are a few basic tips that will help to ease any potentially unpleasant international travel/return issues to the United States.
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USCIS ANNOUNCES EXTENSION OF PAROLE FOR IMMEDIATE RELATIVES OF U.S. CITIZENS.
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CNMI (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) - To allow immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and certain "stateless" individuals to maintain legal status in the CNMI, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has extended the parole program for these relatives, effective immediately, until December 31st, 2018.
To apply for extension of this parole, you must:
· Reside in the CNMI;
· Be an immediate relative, which for purposes of this parole program means you are the legal spouse, unmarried child under 21, or parent (regardless of the age of your child) of a U.S. citizen; and
· Have been previously granted parole.
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MUSINGS ABOUT HOW TRUMP CAN DEAL WITH BUSINESS IMMIGRATION: WHAT THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY CAN EXPECT WITH REGARD TO BUSINESS IMMIGRATION DURING A TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.
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Throughout the campaign, President-Elect Trump made U.S. immigration law issues one of his cornerstones. Generally, Trump's immigration ideology did not seem to address highly-skilled business immigration. President-elect Donald Trump's 10-point immigration plan seemed to be squarely focused on undocumented immigration and border security and he did not seem to set forth any clear or specific initiatives that would alter the business immigration landscape.
President-elect Trump seems to be "all business". Reform of the business immigration system is not likely to be a priority for the Trump Administration. However, the potential for business immigration reform may be subsumed in employment and labor related proposals for the new administration. The President-elect has promulgated a platform for U.S. business aimed to "boost wages and to ensure that open jobs are offered to American workers first."
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CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE FROM ONE OF OUR PARTNERS IN NEW DELHI: "MODI TRUMPED DONALD" ON DEMONETIZATION" - By:- Shekhar Raj Sharma (Practicing Lawyer at the Supreme Court of India)
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SHOCK AT 8 PM ON 8TH NOVEMBER
It was a usual Dinner time in India
on Tuesday
evening. People were watching closely the US presidential election. The result was expected later at night. However, the tables turned back in India. Suddenly at
8 Pm
the country glued at their television screens or smart phones after messages flashed on social media about demonetization. It was the Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi addressing the nation that the Rupee 500 and 1000 currency would not be a legal tender anymore from
midnight
. The only option was to deposit the illegal tender in the respective bank accounts to get its equal value. The conclusion of the Mr. PM's speech led some Confused, Happy and Irritated.
(Shekhar Raj Sharma shekhar@srslegal.org is The Author of this Article & is a practicing Lawyer at the Supreme Court of India & having an experience of Decade plus at the Bar. The views expressed here are personal.Mr. Sharma works closely with NPZ Law Group staff to assist clients on the ground in New Delhi with various India law issues.)
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EB-4 EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS AND MEXICO. The DOS continues to observe huge demand in the EB-4 category, especially with respect to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. As previously reported, this is largely due to demand for Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJS) visas from these countries.
As noted in the
January 2017 Visa Bulletin, the final action dates for these categories may retrogress at some point this fiscal year. When asked when this might occur, DOS stated that the lack of visibility into USCIS demand in these categories makes it difficult to predict. It is unclear whether the high usage is attributable to a one-time clearing out of SIJS-based I-485 cases which had retrogressed briefly at the end of the last fiscal year, or whether there are still large numbers of cases with early priority dates pending at USCIS.
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CHECKOUT VISASERVE'S REGULARLY UPDATED YOUTUBE VIDEO LIBRARY (SOME SELECTIONS BELOW) ABOUT U.S. AND CANADIAN IMMIGRATION LAWS:
"IMMIGRATION NEWS AND VIEWS" - NPZ'S NEW PRACTICAL SERIES ON YOUTUBE ABOUT VARIOUS U.S. AND CANADIAN IMMIGRATION LAW ISSUES.
Check us out at . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Crfb5L_vlo
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EB-5 INVESTOR VISA PROGRAM.
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The EB-5 visa provides a method of obtaining a
green card
for foreign nationals who invest money in the United States.To obtain the visa, individuals must invest $1,000,000 (or at least $500,000 in a
Targeted Employment Area
- high unemployment or rural area), creating or preserving at least 10 jobs for U.S. workers excluding the investor and their immediate family.Initially, under the first EB-5 program, the foreign investor was required to create an entirely new commercial enterprise; however, under the Pilot Program investments can be made directly in a job-generating commercial enterprise (new, or existing - "Troubled Business"), or into a "Regional Center" - a 3rd party-managed investment vehicle (private or public), which assumes the responsibility of creating the requisite jobs. Regional Centers may charge an administration fee for managing the investor's investment.
If the foreign national investor's petition is approved, the investor and their dependents will be granted conditional permanent residence valid for two years.Within the 90-day period before the conditional permanent residence expires, the investor must submit evidence documenting that the full required investment has been made and that 10 jobs have been maintained, or 10 jobs have been created or will be created within a reasonable time period.
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CONSULAR HOLDS AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSING - 221(g).
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Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
It is often the case when an applicant for a visa is told that a final decision cannot be made on his visa application immediately. In doing so, the consular officer invokes Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and informs the applicant that the case will be put on hold until the applicant's eligibility for the visa can be determined. This processing "time-out" is taken frequently: approximately more than 1,100,000 visa applications were subjected to 221(g) during 2012. Technically, 221(g) is considered a denial; in subsequent visa applications and registration in the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, this must be disclosed. Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority of 221(g) denials are overcome and visas issued.
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