In most situations, to obtain U.S. lawful permanent resident status (i.e., a "green card") through an employment-based (EB) category, one must be sponsored by a U.S. employer for a position that is full time and permanent. The foreign national must intend to work in that...
Answer The USCIS does not appear to have an official policy on this. Anecdotally, however, we have had cases where we have provided an updated I-94 to the USCIS while the form I-765 application for employment authorization was pending. For at least some of those cases,...
Foreign nationals frequently are confused by the specific instructions found in certain denial decisions issued in response to their immigration filings. The standard language used by these government agencies is often wrongly perceived as either requiring or recommending specific action. The terminology discussed here is...
Answer A U.S. citizen who is at least 21 years old typically can sponsor a sibling for a green card under the family-based, fourth preference (FB4) category. However, the pending or approved I-130 petition does not provide any immediate immigration benefits. Rather, one would need to...
With the ongoing pandemic, there have been severe backlogs in immigrant visa processing at U.S. consular posts. The overwhelming majority of consular posts still have limited capacity to process immigrant visas. Due to the delayed visa interviews during the pandemic, the National Visa Center (NVC)...
Answer Generally speaking, a U.S. citizen living abroad may sponsor her parents for green cards when she turns 21, as long as she plans on moving to the U.S. once the immigrant visas are issued. (On occasion, we have seen consulates require the U.S. citizen child...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) recently held its monthly YouTube program with Charlie Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division. During the program, Mr. Oppenheim answered various questions submitted by stakeholders, mainly related to predictions for the September 2021 Visa Bulletin, which...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its policy guidance related to the impact of registering to vote on a foreign national's good moral character (GMC) requirement when applying for U.S. citizenship. The updated guidance is designed to prevent potentially catastrophic consequences for...
Answer In the list of exceptions to the COVID-related travel ban, there is no mention of individuals with AP. This presumably means that a person with an AP must obtain a national interest exception (NIE) in order to return to the U.S.Based on anecdotal reports, it...
Answer For now, the USCIS will not adjudicate any I-485 applications filed based on an I-526 petition, where the investment was made in a regional center. Assuming Congress renews the program, the USCIS is expected to resume processing these I-485 applications.As for the EAD application (form...
