How to Document your Valid Relationship for Immigration Purposes
By: Gary Chodorow (gary@fwhonglaw.com) and Jacqueline Lentini McCullough (jacki@lentinivisas.com) Date: Aug. 20, 2009 Do you have a pending immigration case that will require you to prove the validity of your marital relationship to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) or to a U.S. Consulate? If you are applying for a K-1 fiancée visa, you […]
Four Ways to Apply for a Green Card
Legal Permanent Resident (“LPR”) What is a green card? –Allows foreign nationals to work in the US for any employer –Permits self-employment –Cannot vote –Can be deported if commit a crime that would rise to the level of deportation Immigration Agencies -U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) -Customs and Border Protection (CBP) -Immigration and Customs […]
Technology Company Agrees to Pay more than $740,000 in Back Wages to 73 H1-B Workers
In a recent settlement announced by the Department of Labor (DOL) in June 2012, Semafor Technologies, of Norcross, Georgia, agreed to pay workers $741,288 in back wages. The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division found violations of the H-1B visa program, which permits foreign nationals to work temporarily in the United States. Semafor Technologies is an […]
Priority Date Retrogression: Visa Office Update
On June 19, 2012, Mr. Charlie Oppenheim of the U.S. Department of State’s Visa Office predicted the visa demand in the employment preference categories for fiscal year 2013 and beyond. This month (July 2012) shows a backlog of the EB-2 “All chargeability areas Except those Listed” category for the first time since July 2007. This […]
H-1B’s Still Available!
The H-1B visa category is used by employers hiring a foreign national in a professional level position (“specialty occupation”) requiring at least a Bachelor’s degree or the equivalent. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) began accepting H-1B petitions on April 1, 2012 , with a start date of October 1, 2012 (FY 2013). There […]
ARB finds worker’s time to obtain social security card entitled her to back pay
The Administrator, Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor (“ARB”) recently found that the time for which an approved H-1B employee was unavailable to start work while she was waiting for a Social Security card to be issued, was nonproductive status, entitling her to back pay. (Matter of Univ. of Miami v. Gabriele […]
Not your Usual Trip Through O’Hare
In March 2012, The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced the launch of TSA Pre √ at both Chicago O’Hare International (ORD) and Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) airports. The TSA Pre √ enhances aviation security by enabling TSA to focus on a risk-based, intelligence driven approach while expanding screening for travelers who volunteer information about […]
Special Registration and Third-Country Nationals
How would you respond if a clients asks, “I am a Canadian citizen, but I was born Iran. Do I need to comply with Special Registration?” The answer is not altogether clear from current immigration policies and regulations, but it is advisable to err on the side of compliance—even if it proves unnecessary. Your client […]