Due to the recent surge of violence in Syria, the United States has closed the Embassy in Damascus.  All American Embassy personnel have departed the country.  The State Department has directed U.S. citizen petitioners who are resident in Syria to email USCIS.Amman@dhs.gov if they wish to make an appointment to file I-130 petitions in Amman for their Syrian relatives.  All I-730 petitions Refugee/Asylee following to join cases have been transferred to the Embassy in Amman, Jordan.  If your relative is unable to travel to Amman for his or her interview, you may be able to transfer the case file to another U.S. Embassy in the region.

As of January 27, 2012, USCIS receipted 29,301 petitions toward the 33,000 H-2B cap amount for the first half of the fiscal year. This count includes 21,689 approved and 7,612 pending petitions.  This also includes 1,705 approved and 931 pending petitions for second half of FY2012.  Once the H-2B cap is reached, USCIS will only accept petitions for H-2B workers who are exempt from the H-2B cap.

If you are a permanent resident (“green card holder”) and a spouse of a U.S. Citizen, you can apply for citizenship three years after approval of your Adjustment of Status. Your approval may be noted via any of the following: approval notice (I-797), on your passport (I-551 stamp and date), or your green card (“resident since” date). The three year count down begins with that date.

If you are not married to a U.S. citizen, you can apply for citizenship five years after the approval of your adjustment of status.  (There are exceptions for members of the U.S. armed services, which will be discussed in a separate post.)

It is not enough to simply be a green card holder for the required number of years.  You must also be in “continuous residence”
during that time.  “Continuous residence” means that you have not left the United States for a long period of time.  If you leave the U.S. for more than six months, it is likely that you interrupted your continuous residence.  In almost all cases, if you leave the United States for one year or more, you have disrupted your continuous residence and may not be eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship.

To find out whether you are eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship, schedule a consultation with our Dallas immigration lawyer today.

U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields, such as scientists, engineers, or computer programmers.  On November 23, 2011, USCIS received a sufficient number of H-1B temporary worker petitions to reach the cap of 65,000 for fiscal year 2012.  USCIS rejected all cap-subject petitions that arrived after November 22, 2011.   USCIS will start accepting cap-subject H-1B petitions for FY 2013 on Monday, April 2, 2012 for employment with a start date of October 1, 2012 or later.

In previous years, the annual limit for new H-1Bs was exceeded within the first few days of the filing season, resulting in a random, computer-generated lottery for available visa numbers.  However, since FY 2010, the cap has been reached later in the year.  It is impossible to predict whether the cap will be reached quickly this year, so employers should immediately start identifying employees who will need H-1B petitions filed this season.  Employers should also be aware that the Department of Labor is taking up to 60 days to process prevailing requests, which can significantly increase the amount of time it will take to prepare H-1B petitions.

In order to offer H1B visa sponsorship to a foreign employee, the employee must have at least a Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent, and the field of study must be related to the job being offered.  The job offered must usually require at least a Bachelor’s degree or higher.

If you are an employer and have questions about sponsoring an employee for an H-1B visa, you can schedule a consultation with our Dallas immigration attorney online.

Due to the increase in Diversity Visa scams, the U.S. State Department has issued a new Diversity Visa Scam alert.  The State Department as also changed the way it communicates with those selected in the lottery.  While DV-2012 and DV-2013 applicants may receive an email from the U.S. government reminding them to check their status online through DV Entrant Status Check, they will not receive a notification letter or email informing them that they are a successful DV entrant. Applicants can only find out if they were selected to continue with DV processing by checking their status online through the DV Entrant Status Check at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov .

If you have received a diversity visa scam email, you may file a complaint at econsumer.gov, which is a joint effort of consumer protection agencies from 17 nations, hosted by the Federal Trade Commission. You can also visit the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)website.

On November 23, 2011, USCIS received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the cap of 65,000 for fiscal year 2012.  November 22, 2011 was the final receipt date for new H-1B petitions.  USCIS will reject all cap-subject petitions that arrived or will arrive after November 22, 2011.   The filing season for H-1B petitions for fiscal year 2013 will begin in April 2012.

If your H-1B petition was not received before the cut-off date, you should consult with an immigration attorney to determine what options you may have for remaining in the U.S.  until the new filing season begins.

Due to planned maintenance, several USCIS online systems will be unavailable from Friday, December 2nd at 7pm (EST) until Monday, December 5th at 9am (EST), including:

During this time, the following on-line tools will be unavailable:

• Check My Case Status
• Sign-Up for Case Status
• Check Processing Times
• Change of Address Online
• Civil Surgeon Locator
• e-Request
• Office Locator

If you need to check your case status or change your address with USCIS, you should do so before or after the maintenance period.

Our Dallas immigration lawyer was  recently presented with the following question from a prospective client:

This is a very bad idea for several reasons.  The fiancee visa (K-1 visa) is the only proper method for your fiancee to use to enter the U.S. if you want to marry and have her stay permanently in the U.S.   If your fiancee attempts to enter the United States for the purpose of marriage but uses a tourist visa, experienced officers can often detect a problem and refuse her entry at the airport or border.

If she is allowed to enter and you marry, you will have to apply for a green card through adjustment of status for her to be able to remain in the U.S.  This process will be difficult if your fiancee entered on a tourist visa. The U.S. government may require your spouse to leave the country and apply for a spouse visa.  Your spouse would probably not be able to visit you in the U.S. while her visa petition is pending, and you would be in for a long separation.  Your spouse may also be accused of committing immigration fraud by entering for marriage on a tourist visa, which can complicate future immigration petitions on her behalf.

If you want to marry your fiancee and have her join you in the U.S. as soon as possible, you should consult with an immigration lawyer about filing a fiance visa petition.  The visa allows your fiancee to enter the U.S., marry you within 90 days, and then apply for a green card.  She would be allowed to remain in the U.S. while her green card application is pending.

Schedule a consultation with our Dallas Immigration Lawyer to find out how we can help you apply for a fiance visa or to learn more about your options for bringing your fiancee or spouse to the United States.

The U.S. Embassy in Sana’a, Yemen, has begun rescheduling visa interviews for immediate relatives of United States citizens.  If your visa interview appointment was cancelled, you will be notified when the appointment is rescheduled. The Embassy is also beginning to review cases that have been in administrative processing.  Non-immigrant visa services remain suspended.

Immigrant visa applicants who have not yet been interviewed by a consular officer may request another U.S. embassy or consulate that processes immigrant visa applications accept their immigrant visa case. Any request must be sent directly to the Immigrant Visa Section of the relevant U.S. embassy or consulate. Once another Embassy notifies the Yemen Embassy that they will accept your case, the case will be transferred.

The U.S. Consulate General in Mumbai has resumed interviews in Mumbai for H and L visas. The H and L visa categories are petition-based and enable a beneficiary to work legally in the United States.  All interviews will be conducted at the Lincoln House Consulate building, located at 78, Bhulabhai Desai Road, until further notice.

If you have applied for an H or L visa and need to make an interview appointment, the Embassy instructs applicants to use the VSF website at http://www.vfs-usa.co.in/ApplnForms/SchduleMenu.aspx to make your visa appointment on-line.

Last year 65 percent of all H1B visas were issued to Indian applicants.  The 2012 H-1B filing season began in April and visas continue to remain available.