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Immigration News Blog
Welcome to the Bashyam Spiro Immigration News Blog
March 6th, 2010 by Murali Bashyam
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is issuing Notices of Inspection (NOIs) to 180 businesses in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee. The notices alert business owners that ICE will be inspecting their hiring records to determine whether or not they are complying with employment eligibility verification laws and regulations.
Inspections are one of the most powerful tools the federal government has to enforce employment and immigration laws. This new initiative is part of ICE’s increased focus on holding employers accountable for their hiring practices and efforts to ensure a legal workforce.
Employers are required to complete and retain a Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This form requires employers to review and record the individual’s identity document(s) and determine whether the document(s) reasonably appear to be genuine and related to the individual.
Employers should make sure to complete an I-9 for each employee within 3 days of the date of hire. Employers should also review current I-9 records to ensure compliance with employment verification regulations. If an employer is not sure whether they are in compliance with I-9 regulations, they should contact a qualified immigration attorney.
We will provide additional information at www.bashyamspiro.com as it becomes available.
Tags: h-1b enforcement, I-9, ice, Immigration, Immigration Enforcement, Immigration Lawyer, Raleigh Immigration Attorney, Raleigh Immigration Lawyer, uscis Posted in I-9, Immigration Enforcement, News | No Comments »
March 6th, 2010 by Murali Bashyam
This is a reminder that the USCIS will no longer accept H-1B applications without certified Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) after March 9, 2010. Prior to this date, USCIS was accepting H-1B applications with proof of that an LCA was filed, and would send a Request for Evidence (RFE) for the certified LCA at a later date. With the filing period for the new H-1B Fiscal Year beginning on April, 1, 2010, employers should make sure that each H-1B application is accompanied by a certified LCA (among other supporting documents).
If USCIS revises any of these policies, we will make sure to post it at www.bashyamspiro.com.
Tags: h-1b, Immigration, Immigration Attorney, Immigration Lawyer, labor condition application, Raleigh Immigration Lawyer, uscis Posted in H1B Visas, News | No Comments »
March 5th, 2010 by Murali Bashyam
Join us for a Webinar on March 31
Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/792025747
In January 2010, the USCIS released a memo defining the employer-employee relationship for the purposes of filing an H-1B application. This memo will have a significant impact on what employers, and especially information technology consulting companies, will have to prove in the H-1B application process.
We will be hosting an informative webinar for H-1B employers regarding the recently issued USCIS guidelines about the employer-employee relationship. This webinar is a must for employers who hire professional workers under the H-1B program.
This FREE webinar will be held on March 31, 2010 at Noon EST and is open to the public.
Sign up now!
Title: What Do Changes in USCIS H-1B Standards Mean for Employers and Employees
Date: Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Time: 12:00 pm – 1 pm EDT
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
March 2nd, 2010 by jcoscia
Post by: Pam Prather
We’re a big hit on the social circuit….
You think YOU hate go ing to parties and other social events? Maybe you’re shy, or what your spouse lovingly calls ‘antisocial’. Maybe you get bored, or just don’t know what to talk about. Discussions on the weather can only take you so far, so most people resort to talking about their careers at things like this. But what if you recently lost your job? Or you do some obscure research that no one understands? Maybe you’re a dermatologist and when you tell strangers they ask you to look at the rash on the bottom of their feet. When I had young children, and wasn’t employed outside the home, I would dread the question “So what do you do”? I would panic and stammer something like “Uh. Nothing.”, when that’s the LAST thing that could describe what I did all day.
All that pales in comparison to my experiences these last couple of years. My husband works for a health insurance company. (Was that a shudder that just went through you?) Anyway, we’ve started keeping it secret from new acquaintances. It’s just no fun getting that hateful glare as they digest the fact that he makes a living with the ‘evil empire’ that single-handedly destroyed their friend’s aunt’s life savings, or refused to pay for their sister’s neighbor’s liposuction. I think people would take it better if he was a used car salesman (apologies to all you used car salesmen).
Those that try to remain polite in the face of such circumstances will inevitably turn to me to change the topic of conversation. They try to disguise their contempt as they struggle to maintain their composure and not attack my sweet hubby in public. “Me”? I say. “Oh, I work in immigration”! There’s an audible gasp, and then silence. Their face turns white. And then they let me have it.
No one has mild feelings on the subject of immigration. I’ve heard it all. Every misleading idea, every misunderstanding, every out-and-out lie that gets spread as if it’s the gospel truth. So I have taken this on as my personal life’s mission: to educate the average American on 1] why our country NEEDS immigrants; 2] why our country should WANT immigrants; and 3] how the US is inestimably richer for our melting-pot culture. I back them in to a corner (figuratively if not literally) and explain how immigration law is the only federal law that is completely made up. It’s been cobbled together from politicians good and bad over many generations, and currently makes as much sense as the continued popularity of America Idol. I tell them heartbreaking, personal stories of clients I’ve worked with (no names of course!), which show the truly ugly picture of our broken immigration system. They’ll look sheepish and say something like “Oh that’s different, I’m not talking about THAT kind of immigrant”. I smile sadly, and say as gently as I can, “But there’s more of this story than you can possibly imagine”.
Well, I may not change the world, or even my little corner of it, but my husband and I are getting very good at publicly defending our chosen fields! Both are at the forefront of the public’s minds right now, because they both desperately need to be fixed. Until then, every hostess in the Triangle is scratching the Prathers off their guest lists…..
Tags: Immigration, immigration law, jobs, law office, social circuit Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
March 2nd, 2010 by Murali Bashyam
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) recently announced that a number of USCIS forms have been revised and their filing locations changed. The changes are part of an overall effort to transition the intake of USCIS benefit forms from Service Centers to Lockbox facilities. If you are about to file an application with USCIS, we urge you to first check the USCIS web site to see if your form and/or filing location has changed.
We will provide updates on www.bashyamspiro.com as they become available.
Tags: Immigration, Immigration Attorney, Immigration Lawyer, Raleigh Immigration Lawyer, uscis, USCIS Filing Location, USCIS Forms, USCIS Lockbox, USCIS Service Centers, USCIS Web Site Posted in General, Immigration Tips, News | No Comments »
March 2nd, 2010 by Murali Bashyam
Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) introduced legislation to drive job creation and increase America’s global competiveness by helping immigrant entrepreneurs secure visas to the United States. The StartUp Visa Act of 2010 will allow an immigrant entrepreneur to receive a two year visa if he or she can show that a qualified U.S. investor is willing to dedicate a significant sum – a minimum of $250,000 – to the immigrant’s startup venture.
The StartUp Visa Act of 2010 would amend immigration law to create a new EB-6 category for immigrant entrepreneurs, drawing from existing visas under the EB-5 category, which permits foreign nationals who invest at least $1 million into the U.S., and thereby create ten jobs, to obtain a green card. After proving that he or she has secured initial investment capital and if, after two years, the immigrant entrepreneur can show that he or she has generated at least five full-time jobs in the United States, attracted $1 million in additional investment capital or achieved $1 million in revenue, then he or she would receive permanent legal resident status.
We will keep you updated on our web site if and when the StartUp Visa Act moves through the legislative process. To read the entire press release from Senator Lugar’s office, please click here.
Tags: EB-5, EB-6, Green Card, immigrant entrepreneurs, Immigration, Immigration Lawyer, permanent legal status, permanent resident, Raleigh Immigration Lawyer, Startup Visa, Visa Posted in General, Immigration Reform, News | No Comments »
February 16th, 2010 by Murali Bashyam
You are an employment-based immigration applicant who wants to get a “green card”, you read the title of this article, and you wonder why this attorney is using boring legal-speak. Well, there’s a reason. Section 245(K) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) is an important provision that can help you adjust status to permanent resident even if you’ve violated your immigration status in the past.
So what does ‘adjust status’ really mean? Adjusting status is a method by which an intending immigrant can get a green card while remaining in the United States. Form I-485 Application to Adjust Status (“I-485”) is the last step of the U.S. employment-based permanent residency process , and it can be filed if you have an approved I-140, a current priority date, and are legally present in the United States. Once the I-485 is approved, you are a U.S. permanent resident, and the USCIS mails you a green card.
But not everyone is eligible to file an I-485 application, nor can everyone be approved for one. One legal bar, or impediment, to this step in the process is having violated your status. There is one exemption to that bar, and it is a little known provision known as INA Section 245(K).
Enacted in 1997, Section 245(K) allows foreign nationals who have violated their status by less than an aggregate of 180 days following admission, and who are physically present in the United States, to file for adjustment of status (if you are otherwise eligible to do so). Some examples of status violations, which are addressed in Section 245(K), refer to persons who have:
- Failed to maintain, continuously, a lawful status;
- Engaged in unlawful employment; and/or
- Otherwise violated the terms and conditions of his/her admission.
Section 245(K) applies only to aliens in one of the employment-based preference categories. It does not apply to family-based preference immigrants, diversity visa adjustment applicants, asylum or refugee adjustment applicants or adjustment applicants under the employment-based fifth preference (EB-5) investment category. Only aliens in the following preference categories are eligible to take advantage of Section 245(K) if you otherwise meet the conditions mentioned above:
- Employment-Based First Preference (EB-1) – All priority workers.
- Employment-Based Second Preference (EB-2) – Professionals with advanced degrees or aliens of extraordinary ability (National Interest Waiver).
- Employment-Based Third Preference (EB-3) – Skilled workers, professionals or other workers.
- Employment-Based Fourth Preference (EB-4) – Religious workers (only).
The section also applies to spouses and children of eligible aliens.
The following is a simple example that shows how Section 245(K) can help you.
Example:
You are a Canadian national in H-1B status, and your family has H4 visas. Your employer is sponsoring you for permanent residency, and you just found out that your I-140 has been approved. Your priority date is current, so your immigration attorney says you can now file I-485 adjustment applications for yourself, your wife, and your two children. However, your wife was employed for 3 months when she first arrived in the U.S., because she didn’t know she was not allowed to work. She has therefore violated her H4 non-immigrant status. You are very concerned that she is ineligible to adjust status to permanent resident, because of her unauthorized employment. Your knowledgeable immigration attorney assures you it’s going to be okay – your wife is protected under Section 245(K) because she has violated her status by less than 180 days. You breathe a sigh of relief and file those I-485s!
Section 245(K) is an important provision to keep in mind for any employment-based adjustment application who has violated their status in this manner. It’s frightening and stressful once you realize you or a family member has violated their status, but act quickly, consult your immigration attorney, and make sure the violation is for less than 180 days. You will still be eligible to file your I-485 Adjustment of Status application, and realize your dreams of becoming a Permanent Resident of the United States.
Tags: 245(K), Adjustment of Status, Green Card, i-485, Immigration, Immigration and Nationality Act, immigration law, Immigration Lawyer, INA, Permanent Residency, Raleigh Immigration Lawyer Posted in I-485 Adjustment of Status, News, Other | No Comments »
February 16th, 2010 by Murali Bashyam
Our law firm created a YouTube page where we will post all of our instructional immigration videos. Right now, you can see a video on Temporary Protected Status for Haitian nationals, and a video where our staff and clients describe the immigration process and our law firm. We will be uploading more exciting immigration videos in the coming weeks!
To access our YouTube page and view our immigration videos, please click here or click the YouTube icon on our home page.
Tags: Haiti, Immigration, Immigration Lawyer, Immigration Videos, Raleigh Immigration Lawyer, Temporary Protected Status, TPS, Video, You Tube Posted in News, Temporary Protected Status | No Comments »
February 16th, 2010 by Murali Bashyam
The U.S. Department of State released its March 2010 Visa Bulletin. To view the Visa Bulletin, please click here.
Here’s what happened:
Employment-Based Category Two (EB-2):
- India – advanced 1 week
- China – advanced 1 1/2 months
Employment-Based Category Three (EB-3)
- All Other Chargeability Areas – advanced 2 1/2 months
- China – advanced 2 1/2 months
- India – advanced 1 week
- Philippines – advanced 2 1/2 months
There obviously was not much forward movement from the February Visa Bulletin. We will keep you updated at www.bashyamspiro.com as additional information becomes available.
Tags: Department of State, dos, Immigration, Immigration Lawyer, Raleigh Immigration Lawyer, uscis, Visa, Visa Bulletin Posted in News, Visa Bulletin | No Comments »
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