The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi and the U.S. Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City has announced that all routine visa interviews will be cancelled as of March 19th in an effort to impede the spread of the Coronavirus. Applicants with an urgent travel matter may request an expedited appointment which
In light of the Philippines government decision to impose a city-wide lockdown around Metro Manila to contain the Coronavirus, the U.S. Embassy has announced that all immigrant and non-immigrant visa interviews have been cancelled as of March 16, 2020. Visa interviews will resume as soon as possible. More information can
The Employment Based Second Preference Immigrant Visa Category (EB-2) Advanced Degree Holder and Person of Exceptional Ability with National Interest Waivers. Previously we wrote about the qualifications for an Employment Based Second Preference (EB-2) Immigrant Visa which is for persons who have an advanced degree or persons with exceptional ability
The new public charge rule requires immigrant and non-immigrant visa applicants to provide a detailed DS-5540 public charge questionnaire in order to determine whether they are likely to become a public charge at any time in the future. While a K-1 visa is officially a non-immigrant visa allowing for single
Why did the EB 5 China final action date jump forward in the March 2020 visa bulletin? There have been a number of questions as to why the final action date for EB-5 investors from China leaped forward 4.5 months in the March visa bulletin. United States Department of State’s
Following the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) lead, the U.S. Department of State (“DOS”), which oversees consular processing for immigrant and non-immigrant visas at U.S. Embassies and Consulates, has implemented its new public charge rule as of February 24, 2020. Immigrant visa applicants will be required to complete a Form
The U.S. Department of State (“DOS”) March visa bulletin is out and in a big surprise, the Final Action Date priority date [link to article] for Chinese EB-5 investors leaped forward by 5 months, from December 1, 2014 in February to May 15, 2015. We are looking forward to reading
Ryan Barshop and David Enterline of Enterline and Partners will speak at the American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”), Bangkok District Chapter (“BDC”), “8th Annual Consular Processing Conference” in Taipei, Taiwan. AILA is an international organization of more than 15,000 attorneys and law professors who practice and teach immigration law. Ryan
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) released an updated policy memorandum advising the Department of States (“DOS”) on adjudicating Form I-130 Petitions for Alien Relatives at U.S. Embassies and Consulates through Direct Consular Filing (“DCF.”) The policy memorandum clarifies that USCIS will no longer accept and adjudicate routine I-130 Petitions
The investment capital that an EB-5 Investor may use for his or her investment, called the “lawful source of funds” (“SOF”), can come from any source as long as the investor can prove that the capital or funds were obtained lawfully. Some common SOF are salary and bonus income, dividends
Are you a conditional permanent resident waiting for the approval of a Form I-829 Petition (for EB-5 immigrant investors) or a Form I-751 Petition (for spouses of U.S. citizens) to remove the condition from your permanent resident status but have not been able to return to the U.S. because of
Update: Between the writing and publication of this article, a federal judge granted a motion for a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) fee rule discussed herein. As long as this preliminary injunction is in place, the existing fees remain as before. Effective October 2, 2020,
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (“CBP”) has not announced any special relief to a lawful permanent resident (“LPR’) who has remained outside the United States for more than one year because of COVID-19 travel and movement restrictions. Currently, a LPR who was remained outside the United States irrespective
Due to significant travel and movement restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Lawful Permanent Residents (“LPR”’) have found themselves stranded abroad and thus unable to travel to the United States despite not having the intention of abandoning their LPR status. All permanent residents receive an identification called a Form I-551
There are many reasons why a lawful permanent resident (“LPR”) would remain outside the United States for more than 180 days. However, staying outside the U.S. for a long period could result in the U.S. government taking the position that an LPR has abandoned his or her intent to live
Since the President’s July 14, 2020 Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization there has been much concern and confusion about whether and how the Executive Order impacts persons born in Hong Kong. The issue is whether the Executive Order makes individuals born in Hong Kong subject to visa chargeability of
Effective August 28, as it becomes safe to resume more consular operations at the U.S. Embassy in Manila and the U.S. Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, posts are authorized to give K visa cases high priority. Applicants should check https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/ (Philippines) and http://cdn.ustraveldocs.com/vn/ (Vietnam) for updates. The I-129F Petition
DOS Provides Update on Public Charge Inadmissibility Following Temporary Injunction Following a nationwide injunction issued by a federal judge temporarily blocking Public Charge inadmissibility from being enforced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Department of State (“DOS”) will be updating its guidance to consular officers on how to
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has posted for public inspection an advanced copy of a final rule that will significantly alter many fees the USCIS charges for services, including adding new fees, establishing multiple fees for nonimmigrant worker petitions, and limiting the number of beneficiaries for certain
A United States federal judge issued a nationwide injunction temporarily blocking the Department of State (“DOS”) and the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) from enforcing Public Charge inadmissibility in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Judge George McDaniels of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
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