In U.S. immigration matters, a visa is a document that allows a foreign national to enter the United States for a specific purpose, such as tourism, work, study, family visits (a nonimmigrant visa) or to immigrate (an immigrant visa). It is typically a stamp or sticker placed in the foreign
The U.S. labor certification process, also known as the PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) process, is a crucial step in obtaining certain employment-based immigrant visas and lawful permanent residence in the United States. Here’s an overview of the process. Obtaining a Job Offer: Prospective applicants for a job in the
The U.S. Alien Registration Number, commonly abbreviated as an A-Number, is a unique identifier assigned to non-citizens by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”). This A-Number begins with the letter “A” followed by 8 or 9 numbers (such as A012345678). It is used to track individuals throughout their interactions with
Under U.S. immigration law there are several types of immigrant visas. We can generally break these into family based immigrant visas and employment and investment based immigrant visas. Under the family based immigrant visas, there are two subcategories. Immigrant visas for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (spouses, parents and unmarried
The U.S. Department of State has announced a signing a Memorandum of Cooperation on Culture and People-to-People Ties between the United States and Vietnam. See the post on the USDOS website here. “Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Liz Allen and Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs Lee Satterfield met
The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has announced a Temporary Final Rule (“TFR”) providing that the automatic extension period applicable to expiring Employment Authorization Documents (“EADs”) for renewal applicants who have filed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, will be increased from
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) new filing fees have taken effect for all files received on or after April 1, 2024. In addition to new filing fees, USCIS has also released new forms for certain petitions. While the new form edition dates begin on April 1, 2024,
Enterline and Partners U.S. immigration attorneys, Ryan Barshop and David Enterline recently spoke at the regional American Immigration Lawyers Association, Asia Pacific Chapter (“AILA APAC”) Annual Conference. The conference, which was held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, was attended by a number of U.S. immigration lawyers from around the
Following member’s reports to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”) that applicants have been receiving biometrics appointment notices either too late or with appointment dates that have already passed, AILA reached out to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) to request clarification and resolution. The USCIS acknowledged the
In early 2024, USCIS changed the filing fees for certain immigration and naturalization forms and also released new versions of several forms. According to USCIS, the new fees will help to cover more of its operating costs and support faster processing of new applications. These updated fees and forms will
There has always been a challenge with some U.S. government offices incorrectly listing Vietnamese citizen’s names on government documents such as visas and Form I-551 “Green Cards” because Vietnamese passports list names in order of last name (or “family name” or “surname”) followed by middle name then first name. This
On January 5, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), on behalf of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), filed a motion to dismiss its appeal of a U.S. District Court’s ruling in the case Behring Regional Center LLC v. Alejandro N. Mayorkas, et al. (“Behring v. Alejandro”).
Six months have passed since the EB-5 Regional Center Program (“Program”) expired and Congress has still not taken any steps towards its renewal. Originally enacted in 1993, the Program was a pilot, or test, program and was never made permanent. The Program had been extended on a regular basis for
The COVID-19 Pandemic has in no doubt permanently altered the way business is done across many industries and professions. From international borders closures to internal movement control orders, activities and transactions which were once routine and seamless are now complex and difficult. Despite all of the hardship caused by the
Effective December 6, 2021, the United States Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”) has established new rules requiring international air travelers arriving in the United States to obtain a negative COVID-19 test within 24 hours of departure. Under the current rules, vaccinated international air travelers may present a negative test result
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ease, the United States Department of State (“DOS”) has announced that the earlier tiered approach aimed at reducing backlogs has been rescinded. Instead of the tiered approach, DOS will focus on reducing wait times for all consular processing services while also protecting the health
The Department of State (“DOS”) December 2021 visa bulletin is out and the priority date for non-regional center investments made by EB-5 investors under the EB-5 visa category is current for all countries including China. This is the first time that EB-5 visa numbers have been “current” for Chinese investors
Ryan Barshop, a partner of Enterline and Partners Consulting was recently featured in the October 2021 E-Bulletin of the American Immigration Lawyers Association Global Migration Section (“AILA GMS”). Mr. Barshop, who has been practicing U.S. immigration law overseas for nearly 10 years, was interviewed by AILA GMS about why he
On Saturday, October 30, 2021, David Enterline of Enterline and Partners Consulting discussed recent changes to the EB-5 immigrant investor visa category (“EB-5”) during an EB-5 webinar organized by Internegra Immigration and Pearl Bay Consulting for Indonesian and Vietnamese investors. Mr. Enterline explained that in June 2021, in the case
All immigrants to the U.S. must pass a medical examination prior to their visa interview. One of the criteria determined at the medical examination is whether the intending immigrant has received vaccinations required to be eligible to immigrate. Beginning October 1, 2021, most immigrants will be required to receive a
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