On November 19, 2012 the United States Mission to India expanded the Interview Waiver Program (IWP). The IWP permits many qualified individuals to apply for visas without an interview being required. Many additional India visa applicants will benefit from this…

The Diversity Immigration Visa is a program mandated by congress that makes 55,000 diversity visas available each year. The recipients of the diversity visa are selected randomly from all applicants who meet the stringent eligibility criteria from countries with low…

U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) will not grant deferred action to individuals who have been convicted of a felony, three or more misdemeanor offenses not arising out of the same scheme, act or omission, or a significant misdemeanor offense,…

Deferred action by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will not confer lawful status on an individual. Rather, deferred action prevents an individual from accruing unlawful presence during the deferral period. Unlawful presence is the period of time an individual…

On June 15, 2012 the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano by way of memorandum set out a new policy for exercising prosecutorial discretion that impacts certain young people who were brought to the US as children…

On January 6, 2012 with much fanfare, the US citizen and immigration service announced that it would change the way certain waivers are processed. A notice of intent was posted in the Federal Register proposing a plan to reduce the…

With unemployment rate hovering in the 9 to 10 percent range, the U.S. government is turning to foreign entrepreneurs in an effort to spur the economy. By "clarifying" visa rules, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) hopes that foreign…

The E-1 treaty trader visa and the E-2 treaty investor visa are some of the lesser-known visas that permit foreign nationals to conduct business in the U.S. For people legally in the country with these visas, however, the visas are…

Several of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' (USCIS) documents and certificates have recently undergone design changes intended to help prevent fraud and tampering. Although the look of these immigration documents has changed, the application process and how applicants receive…

La administración de Obama recientemente anunció que está bajando la presión de los casos de deportación/extracción de menos prioridad, permitiendo asi que algunos inmigrantes no documentados puedan quedarse en los Estados Unidos y finalmente puedan aplicar para trabajar. El secretario…

Microsoft is the latest in a long line of companies, individuals, employment-based immigration attorneys and interest groups asking for immigration reform. On Tuesday, July 26th, Microsoft's general counsel, Brad Smith, testified before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on…

n 1982, the United States Supreme Court stated in Plyler v. Doe that a state cannot deny a child access to a public education, regardless of the child's immigration status. Amid three complaints that schools were checking the immigration status of students,…

A child was admitted to the United States when she under twenty years old as a K-2 visa holder with her mother, the K-l visa holder. The mother married a U.S. citizen within 90 days of entry. The child turned…

Last week, immigration law in North Carolina changed when the state joined only nine others - including Arizona, New Mexico, California and Florida - in implementing the Secure Communities program statewide. The goal of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) program…

A proposal is being put forth by the USCIS to amend the manner of filing petitions by employers for specialty occupation workers (H-1Bs). The proposed regulation affects H-1B petitions that are subject to the annual numerical limitations either under the standard 65,000…

The Obama administration continues to conduct silent raids on businesses employing illegal workers, most recently targeting fast-food restaurants. Audits by U.S. Immigrations and Custom Enforcement (ICE) are looking at records from over a thousand employers, including those in the food-processing and hospitality…

Scammers are sending fraudulent emails and letters, according to the US Department of State to Diversity Visa (DV) applicants. The DV notes that the 'visa lottery' is being targeted by scammers sending fraudulent emails and letters posing as US government…

On February 15, 2011, a Mexican citizen was sentenced in Toledo, Ohio to three years in federal prison. After completion of his sentence he will be deported to Mexico. The matter stemmed from an incident occurring in April last year involving Border…