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OUR OFFICES:
NEW JERSEY OFFICE:
VISASERVE Plaza
487 Goffle Road
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Phone: 201-670-0006 (x107)
NEW YORK OFFICE:
108 West 39th Street
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:
IS THE BEST (ISSUE) BEING SAVED FOR LAST? We are given to understand that the third Presidential Debate will focus on the issue of U.S. immigration law as well as the issue of the "fitness (of a candidate) to serve" as the Nation's next Commander-in-Chief. This morning, on the way to the office, I stopped for a cup of coffee at a local Dunkin Donuts and overheard some folks discussing the Presidential Candidates and their positions about immigration law. Interestingly, one of the individuals told the other about how important immigrants are for maintaining a strong U.S. economy. It pleased me to hear that there was an understanding of this important point from someone who is not an immigration lawyer. Perhaps that person heard the recent speech of Mr. Patrick Harker, the President of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, who stated: "The bottom line is that a larger and more highly skilled labor force fuels economic growth, something we will need to meet the demands of demography." He suggested that U.S. immigration "is a source of immense potential for economic growth."
Further support for the value of highly-skilled immigration to the U.S. is the recent announcement about the Nobel Prize Awards. Each year, the Nobel Foundation awards prizes in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace to the most innovative scientists, researchers, writers, and peace-builders in our world. This year, six Americans have been awarded the prize in the areas of chemistry, physics and economics - notably, not a single one of these American Nobel Prize winners was born in the U.S. but rather became American Citizens by choice, bringing their talent, energy and innovation to our Nation.
Highly-skilled workers have several potential pathways to immigrate to the U.S. President Obama also recently announced a program to allow Deferred Action (DA) for Foreign Entrepreneurs. The immigration and nationality lawyers and immigration attorneys at NPZ continue to work hard to assist businesses, investors, families and individuals to find the fastest and least expensive methods for immigrating to the U.S. If you, your colleagues, your friends or your family members would like to meet with a member of our immigration law staff to discuss immigration options, please feel free to e-mail us at
info@visaserve.com
or you can contact us at 201-670-0006 (x107) and we would be pleased to schedule you for an initial consultation.
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THE E-2 VISA FOR INVESTORS AND ESSENTIAL EMPLOYEES APPLICATIONS: DOCUMENTS CHECKLIST AND EXPLANATION
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The nonimmigrant E-2 visa for treaty investors has as its underlying policy the aim of incentiving foreign nationals to come into the U.S through business investment. This investment could either consist in creating a new company, buying an existing one or purchasing a franchise. Also, this company can have a foreign national come and work in a managerial or executive position under an E-2 visa as an "Essential Employee", provided that this employee holds the same nationality as the organization (i.e. as the majority owner of this company).
In order for this E-2 investor's or employee's visa to be granted, the company will have to demonstrate to the United States Immigration Services (USCIS) or to the U.S. Department of State (DOS) that it complies with several requirements by providing substantial documents and information to the governmental organization adjudicating the case.
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NACHMAN PHULWANI ZIMOVCAK (NPZ) LAW GROUP, P.C. ECHOS CONGRESSES EXTENSION OF CONRAD STATE 30 PROGRAM, NON-MINISTER SPECIAL IMMIGRANT RELIGIOUS WORKERS, AND EB-5 REGIONAL CENTER IMMIGRANT INVESTOR PROGRAMS.
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President Obama signed a 10-week stopgap continuing resolution into law on September 29th, 2016 that included the extension of three visa authorizations. The extension of these visa programs will expire on December 9th, 2016. The three visa programs are the CONRAD State 30 Program, the non-minister special immigrant religious work program (SR visa), and the EB-5 Regional Center Immigrant Investor visa program.
CONRAD State 30 Program
The CONRAD State 30 Program will expire on December 9th, 2016. The CONRAD 30 program, allows medical doctors on J-1 visas to apply for a waiver of the two-year home residence requirement (INA Section 212(e)) upon completion of the J-1 exchange visitor program. The program addresses the shortage of qualified doctors in medically underserved areas. The Visa Office's Waiver Review Division will cease processing CONRAD 30 waiver recommendations for J-1 physicians who entered or were granted J-1 status after December 8th, 2016. Applicants who entered or were granted J-1 status on or before December 8th, 2016, may still apply for a waiver.
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THE H-1B NONIMMIGRANT VISA SEASON IS ALMOST HERE: TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY AND TIS ALMOST 2018 H-1B LOTTERY SEASON.
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As a reminder to all U.S. employers, H-1B season is almost here! United States Citizenship & Immigration Services ("USCIS") will start accepting new H-1B petitions for fiscal year 2018 on Saturday, April 1st, 2017. As such, employers should start immediately identifying current and future employees who will require sponsorship for new H-1B petitions.
By way of background, the USCIS issues H-1B visas to foreign national workers serving in "specialty occupations at a professional level." A specialty occupation requires theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge, to be performed by a worker with at least the equivalent of bachelor's degree in the field. Both the position to be filled and the foreign worker's qualifications must meet the criteria for a "specialty occupation".
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CHANGES IN THE DIVERSITY LOTTERY PROGRAM: ECUADOR NOW ELIGIBLE FOR DIVERSITY VISA PROGRAM - 2018.
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On September 16th, 2016, Department of state (DOS) made an formal public announcement of the Diversity Visa (DV) 2018 program in Washington, D.C. As per the September 19th, 2016 "UNCLASSIFIED 16 STATE 103720" for DV-2018, there is one change to the eligible countries list: Ecuador is once again eligible this year. The complete list of ineligible countries is: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, South Korea, the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam. These countries are ineligible for the DV-2018 program because they met the 50,000 threshold for immigrant admissions to the United States in the past five years (Note: Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan remain eligible.)"
The E-DV system will be open for entries beginning noon Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on October 4th, 2016, and will close for entries at noon Eastern Standard Time (EST) on November 7th, 2016. Posts should encourage DV program entrants to apply early. In the past, system delays caused by extremely heavy demand in the final days of the registration period prevented some individuals from submitting entries. DOS will not accept entries after noon EST on November 7th, 2016, regardless of system delays during the registration period.
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DOS UPDATE AND REMINDER: NO EYEGLASSES POLICY FOR VISA AND PASSPORT PHOTOGRAPHS.
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The "No Eyeglasses Policy" will go into effect November 1st, 2016. Under this policy, Consular Affairs (CA) will no longer accept photographs of visa and passport applicants wearing eyeglasses, except in rare, medically-documented circumstances.
CA will implement this policy with a soft one-month enforcement period from November 1st to November 30th, 2016, after which CA will not accept photographs with eyeglasses. Photographs with eyeglasses that passport and visa applicants submit during this one-month grace period, which are not processed until a later date, should be accepted.
CA decided to prohibit photographs of applicants wearing eyeglasses to enhance the performance of CA's facial recognition (FR). This prohibition increases the overall accuracy of the FR software and decreases the likelihood of misidentifying an applicant.
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USCIS INCREASES VALIDITY OF WORK PERMITS TO TWO YEARS FOR ASYLUM APPLICANTS.
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Effective October 5th, 2016, USCIS has increased the validity period for initial or renewal Employment Authorization Documents for asylum applicants from one year to two years. Applicants with pending asylum claims file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, under category (c)(8). This change applies to all (c)(8)-based applications that are pending as of October 5th, 2016 and all such applications filed on or after October 5th, 2016.
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THE EYE OF THE STORM: USCIS ALERTS CUSTOMERS AFFECTED BY HURRICANE MATTHEW TO AVAILABLE IMMIGRATION RELIEF.
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USCIS offers immigration relief measures that may help people affected by unforeseen circumstances, including natural disasters, such as Hurricane Matthew. These measures may be available on a case by case basis upon request. Relief measures includes: (1) Change of nonimmigrant status or extension of nonimmigrant stay for an individual currently in the United States, even if the request is filed after the authorized period of admission has expired; (2) Re-parole of individuals previously granted parole by USCIS; (3) Expedited processing of advance parole requests; (4) Expedited adjudication of requests for off-campus employment authorization for F-1 students experiencing severe economic hardship; (5) Expedited adjudication of employment authorization applications, where appropriate.
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CBP UPDATE: CBP MAKES ONLINE I-94 APPLICATION PAYMENT AVAILABLE TO TRAVELERS ARRIVING AT A LAND PORT OF ENTRY
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On September 29th, 2016, U.S Custom and Border Protection (CBP) announced an enhancement to the I-94 website, which allows travelers to apply and pay for their I-94 online prior to arriving at a land port of entry. Travelers can speed up their entry into the U.S. by providing their biographic and travel information, and paying the $6 fee for their I-94 application online up to seven days prior to their entry.
Travelers will now receive a provisional I-94 after submitting their application and payment online. The I-94 application will collect information that is otherwise collected in-person at the land port of entry, to include biographic information (name, date of birth, country of citizenship), passport details, visa details (if applicable), and petition/Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVIS) number (if applicable). In order to finalize the I-94 issuance process, a traveler must present themselves at a land port of entry within seven days of their application and submit biometrics, if applicable, and be interviewed by a CBP officer. Travelers should be prepared to show evidence of their residence, employment, and/or travel plans, if requested by the CBP officer.
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The U.S. Department of State (DOS) recently released the November 2016 Visa Bulletin. There is no change in the dates-for-filing (DF) chart from the October 2016 Visa Bulletin. In the final action (FA) chart, the cut-off dates in the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category for India and China continue to rebound from the retrogression that occurred in June 2016.
There is far less movement, however, in the employment-based, third-preference category, especially for India. Meanwhile, the employment-based, fifth preference (EB5) category returns to being current for all countries of chargeability other than China. While EB2 India and, to a lesser extent, EB2 China, remain severely retrogressed, the forward movement in November is better than projected. It remains to be seen whether this will continue in the coming months.
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Le visa nonimmigrant E-2 pour les investisseurs a pour objectif sous-jacent d'inciter les ressortissants de pays avec lesquels les Etats-Unis ont un accord commercial d'y venir via un investissement entrepreneurial. Cet investissement peut consister dans la création d'une entreprise, l'achat d'une société existante ou d'une franchise. Une entreprise peut également faire venir un ressortissant étranger sous visa E-2 à condition que cette personne vienne afin d'occuper un poste de direction ou de management, et qu'il ou elle soit de la même nationalité que l'organisation (c'est-à-dire de la même nationalité que le propriétaire de l'entreprise).
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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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CHECK OUT OUR INSTRUCTIVE IMMIGRATION LAW VIDEO: FAMILY-BASED IMMIGRANT VISA | SPONSORING MARRIED SON OR DAUGHTER OF A U.S. CITIZEN PARENTS.
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FAMILY-BASED IMMIGRANT VISA - SPONSORING MARRIED SON OR DAUGHTER OF A U.S. CITIZEN PARENTS. DOES MARRIAGE CHANGE A CASE?
Two groups of family based immigrant visa categories, including immediate relatives and family preference categories, are provided under the provisions of United States immigration law, specifically the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
Immediate Relative Immigrant Visas (Unlimited): These visa types are based on a close family relationship with a United States (U.S.) citizen described as an Immediate Relative (IR). The number of immigrants in these categories is not limited each fiscal year. Immediate relative visa types include:
IR-1: Spouse of a U.S. Citizen - Learn More
IR-2: Unmarried Child Under 21 Years of Age of a U.S. Citizen
IR-3: Orphan adopted abroad by a U.S. Citizen - Learn More
IR-4: Orphan to be adopted in the U.S. by a U.S. citizen - Learn More
IR-5: Parent of a U.S. Citizen who is at least 21 years old
Family Preference Immigrant Visas (Limited): These visa types are for specific, more distant, family relationships with a U.S. citizen and some specified relationships with a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR). There are fiscal year numerical limitations on family preference immigrants, shown at the end of each category. The family preference categories are:
Family First Preference (F1): Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and their minor children, if any. (23,400)
Family Second Preference (F2): Spouses, minor children, and unmarried sons and daughters (age 21 and over) of LPRs. At least seventy-seven percent of all visas available for this category will go to the spouses and children; the remainder is allocated to unmarried sons and daughters. (114,200)
Family Third Preference (F3): Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and their spouses and minor children. (23,400)
Family Fourth Preference (F4): Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens, and their spouses and minor children, provided the U.S. citizens are at least 21 years of age. (65,000)
Note: Grandparents, aunts, uncles, in-laws, and cousins cannot sponsor a relative for immigration.
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