|
- - - - - - - - - - - -
FOR YOUR U.S. AND CANADA IMMIGRATION LAW QUERIES PLEASE FEEL FREE TO GIVE US A CALL.
:: 201-670-0006
(ext. 100)
* * * * * * * * *
|
HEAR ABOUT YOUR IMMIGRATION LAW ISSUE:
NPZ LAW GROUP - US and CANADA Immigration and Nationality Law Podcast Library is available to you
on . . .
- - - - - - - -
PRESS RELEASE: DAVID H. NACHMAN, ESQ. CONTINUES
TO SERVE
AS CHAIR OF THE NJSBA INTERNATIONAL LAW COMMITTEE.
David Nachman, Esq., one of the Managing Attorneys at the
Immigration
and Nationality Law Firm of Nachman Phulwani Zimovcak (NPZ) Law Group, P.C. - VISASERVE - continues to serve as Chair of the International Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA).
|
|
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!
If you are stopped by an Immigration Official or Police Officer; you can choose to ...
* * * * * * * *
|
|
AT NPZ ... WE SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE:
* * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * *
|
|
NPZ'S OFFICES*:
NPZ'S NORTHERN NEW JERSEY OFFICE:
VISASERVE Plaza
487 Goffle Road
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Phone: 201-670-0006 (x107)
Please feel free to ask about 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.
NPZ'S CENTRAL NEW JERSEY OFFICE:
907 U.S. Highway
#202 North,
Raritan, NJ
Phone: 1-866-599-3625
NEW YORK CITY OFFICE:
108 West 39th Street
8th Floor, Suite 800
New York, NY 10018
Phone: 1-866-599-3625
INDIANA OFFICE:
201 North Illinois Street
16th Floor, South Tower
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: 317-936-6600
CANADA AFFILIATED OFFICE:
VISASERVE - Canada
2980 Drew Road
Suite 225
Mississauga,
ON L4T 0A7
Phone: 905-499-3853
INDIA AFFILIATED OFFICES:
Gujarat Office in India
If you are looking for
a local contact in
Gujarat (India), please
call us or send us an
email at
and we will point you in the appropriate direction. We have numerous individuals and organizations with
whom we have relationships in Gujarat and the organizations/persons with whom we work depend upon your demographics in
Gujarat (India) and the type of case you may
be calling about.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Nachman Phulwani Zimovcak (NPZ) Law Group, P.C. (Mailing Address only - Offices
in Mumbai)
.
c/o Mr. Shishir Goyal, Authorized Agent
201 Nepean House
85 Nepean Sea Road
Mumbai 400006, India
Call us at
201-670-0006 (x100)
for contact details.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Shekhar Raj Sharma
SRS Legal
A1/134, Safdurjung Enclave,
Lower Ground Floor
New Delhi-29, India
(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)
|
|
|
Dear Readers:
As we enter the month of February, we will soon be entertained by the wisdom a Ground Hog. How interesting? As the Coronavirus takes center stage in the news we see a Travel Restriction to the U.S. and a new Travel Ban. The Trump Administration is quite busy on the immigration law front.
Since our last E-zine there have been a few new developments in the US immigration and Nationality arena ...
1. The US Department of State promulgated a Final Rule about "Birth Tourism" to the US; and
2. The H-1B Registration Process has slowly been taking shape (slotted for March 1st); and
3. A proposal was made for a new way to treat EB-5 visa inventory (I-526 cases);
4. Denials and Revocations and Heightened Scrutiny for those of Iranian descent;
5. SCOTUS dissolved a TRO and the new DHS "public charge" rules will be finalized.
Of course, swirling in the background of the foregoing are significantly increased USCIS fee increases. We recommend that our clients (and prospective clients) strap themselves in for what promises to be a very bumpy 2020 immigration ride.
If you or any member of your human resources staff, your family, or any of your friends may be in need of assistance with regard to US and/or Canadian immigration or nationality law guidance, please feel free to contact us by e-mail at
[email protected] or by phone at 201-670-0006 (x107). We look forward to assisting you.
|
NEW RULE FROM DOS AMENDING B VISA REGULATIONS.
|
Effective January 24, the Department of State is amending its B nonimmigrant visa regulation to address birth tourism. Under this amended regulation, U.S. consular officers overseas will deny any B visa application from an applicant whom the consular officer has reason to believe is traveling for the primary purpose of giving birth in the United States to obtain U.S. citizenship for their child. The Department does not believe that visiting the United States for the primary purpose of obtaining U.S. citizenship for a child, by giving birth in the United States-an activity commonly referred to as "birth tourism"-is a legitimate activity for pleasure or of a recreational nature, for purposes of consular officers adjudicating applications for B nonimmigrant visas.
|
THE NEW H-1B PROGRAM AND CAP GAP.
|
The upcoming
H-1B lottery season
will be significantly different than how it has been in recent years.
These changes will have a significant impact on F-1 nonimmigrants that are on OPT/STEM OPT that seek to utilize cap-gap to extend their OPT/STEM OPT work authorization until September 30 of the same year in which their H-1B is filed unless the H-1B is denied or withdrawn.
TO READ MORE, PLEASE CLICK HERE . . .
|
I-9 UPDATE FOR HUMAN RESOURCES PROFESSIONALS: NEW VERSION OF THE I-9 FORM IS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE.
|
USCIS notice was sent announcing that a new version of Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) with a version date of ''(Rev. 10/21/2019)'' is available for use beginning 1/31/2020.
This new version contains
minor changes
to the form and its instructions.
Employers may continue using the prior version of the form until 4/30/20.
After that date, employers can only use the new form with the 10/21/2019 version date. The version date is located in the lower left corner of the form.
|
USCIS UPDATE - PUBLIC CHARGE RULE IMPLEMENTATION TO BE FINALIZED.
|
USCIS announced that it will implement the public charge final rule for applications and petitions postmarked or submitted electronically on or after February 24th, 2020, except in the State of Illinois. USCIS will post updated forms, instructions, and policy manual guidance during the week of February 3rd, 2020. After February 24th, 2020, except in Illinois, USCIS will reject prior editions of forms if the form is postmarked on or after February 24th, 2020. If USCIS receives an application or petition using incorrect editions of the forms, USCIS will inform the applicant or petitioner of the need to submit a new application or petition using the correct forms.
|
USCIS ADJUSTS PROCESS FOR MANAGING EB-5 VISA PETITION INVENTORY.
|
USCIS announced a process change for Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Investor, from a first-in, first-out basis to a visa availability approach. USCIS will implement the change on March 31st, 2020. The visa availability approach will apply to petitions pending as of the effective date of the change.
TO READ MORE, PLEASE CLICK HERE . . .
|
USCIS ISSUES UPDATES TO BIOMETRICS COLLECTION GUIDANCE.
|
On January 30th, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced updates to its Policy Manual that address mobile biometrics services and fingerprint waivers.
USCIS requires biometrics from individuals who submit applications, petitions, and requests for certain immigration benefits. USCIS uses biometrics to verify identity, produce secure documents, and conduct required criminal and national security background checks.
As per new updates, Individuals may qualify for a waiver of the fingerprint requirement if they cannot provide fingerprints because of a medical condition. Only certain USCIS employees are authorized to grant a fingerprint waiver.
|
HELPFUL GRAPHIC DEPICTING THE ESTIMATED TIMELINE FOR THE NEW H-1B SELECTION/FILING PROCESS FOR FY 2020.
|
|
|
DOS VISA BULLETIN UPDATE: VISA BULLETIN FOR FEBRUARY 2020 - IF YOUR "PRIORITY DATE" IS CURRENT PLEASE LET US KNOW? YES, . . . WE KNOW, . . . THE MOVEMENT HAS BEEN SLOW!
|
Employment-Based, First Preference (EB-1) Category
The EB-1 cutoff dates for China and India remain unchanged, with China at May 22, 2017, and India at January 1, 2015. The EB-1 category for all other countries of charge ability advances to December 01, 2018.
Employment-Based, Second Preference (EB-2) Category
The EB-2 category remains current for all countries of charge ability except India and China. EB-2 China moves ahead by two weeks to July 15, 2015. EB-2 India only moves ahead by a single day to May 19, 2009.
Employment-Based, Third Preference (EB-3) Category
EB-3 China moves forward by one month to January 01, 2016. EB-3 India advances by one week to January 8, 2009. EB-3 Philippines moves ahead to June 1, 2018. All other cutoff dates are current in the EB-3 category.
EB-3 Other Workers
With the exception of China, the cutoff dates for EB-3 other workers are the same for each country as its respective EB-3 cutoff dates. For China, the cutoff date for EB-3 other workers progresses to May 1, 2008.
Employment-Based, Fourth Preference (EB-4) Category
The EB-4 cutoff date for El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras remains unchanged at July 1, 2016. EB-4 for Mexico moves ahead to September 1, 2017. This category remains current for all other countries of chargeability.
Employment-Based, Fifth Preference (EB-5) Category
The EB-5 category remains current for all countries of charge ability except China, India, and Vietnam. For China, the cutoff date moves to December 1, 2014. EB-5 India advances by four months to September 1, 2018. The EB-5 cutoff date for Vietnam moves up to December 15, 2016.
|
|
CANADIAN IMMIGRATION LAW NEWS .
|
WHAT IS CANADA'S IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE PROTECTION ACT?
|
In 2001, Canadian Parliament enacted legislation that would act as the country's central policy on immigration. The
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA)
was put in place to allow Canada to maximize the social, cultural, and economic benefits that come with immigration.
|
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 . . .
|
H-1B VISA (A VIDEO): REGISTRATION FOR THE H-1B ON MARCH 1ST, 2020 - THE NEW FACE OF H-1B VISA PROCESS.
|
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on November 8th 2019 published a final rule to establish an electronic registration program for H-1B petitions for FY 2020. This new H-1B registration will require a $10.00 registration fee for the cases that will have to be filed by the April 1st, 2020 cap season deadline.
|
A VIDEO UPDATE DISCUSSING THE BONA FIDES OF A MARITAL RELATIONSHIP FOR US IMMIGRATION PURPOSES IN ENGLISH AND IN GUJARATI.
|
|
The "bona fides" of a marital relationship is the ultimate legal standard used to determine if a visa can be granted. There are several factors used to determine the bona fides of the marital relationship. Ultimately the legal standard for the determination of the bona fides is a "totality of the circumstances test" but cultural nuances are certainly important to the analysis. David Nachman, Esq. and Neejal Patel at the Nachman Phulwani Zimovcak (NPZ) Law Group - VISASERVE - explain these issues in both English and Gujarati.
|
|
| |
|
