Immigration Blog

A lawful permanent resident of the U.S. who gives birth during a temporary visit outside the U.S. may be able to return to the U.S. with the child without the need to file any immigration application or request a U.S. visa for the child. Such a child will be admitted into the U.S. as a permanent resident if the following requirements are met: The accompanying parent is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. The child will be seeking admission into the U.S. with the returning resident parent upon such parent’s first trip back to the U.S. after the birth… Read More

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has extended TPS status designation for eligible citizens of Nicaragua and stateless persons who last habitually resided in that country. The Immigration law of the United States provides that a country may be designated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) if there is armed conflict which would result in serious threat to the personal safety of citizens of that country if returned, or if there is a natural disaster in such a country and hence the country cannot cope with the return of its citizens or if the Attorney General of the US finds extraordinary and… Read More

On February 18, 2016, The New York City Economic Development Corporation in partnership with City University of New York launched a Program called the International Innovators Initiative (IN2NYC) designed to help international entrepreneurs obtain H-1B visas in the United States to enable them remain in the country legally to grow their businesses. The City University of New York-CUNY is an integrated system of colleges, graduate and professional schools, research centers, institutes etc which provides the city with graduates trained for positions in the sciences, technology, mathematics, teaching, nursing etc. New York City Economic Development Corporation-NYCEDC is the City's primary vehicle… Read More

Naturalization applicants seeking to become U.S. citizens but not eligible for a fee waiver are now able to use their credit card to pay the Immigration filing and biometric fee for their Form N-400, Application for Naturalization which is a total of $680. This is a combination of the Immigration filing fee of $595 and the biometric service fee of $85. To pay using a credit card, Naturalization applicants are required to complete Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transaction, which is to be placed on top of the N-400 application for naturalization and mailed to U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services-USCIS. There is no… Read More

The National Visa Center (NVC) has ceased collecting original civil documents in support of immigrant visa (IV) applications as of November 12, 2014. Applicants will be required to submit photocopies of supporting documents (such as birth, marriage, and police certificates) and will be instructed to take their original documents to their interviews for review at the designated US Embassy. This however, does not include the Affidavit of Support forms, which petitioners will still submit to NVC for initial evaluation. New Instructions to Applicants After applicants and petitioners collect the Affidavit of Support form(s), financial evidence, and supporting civil documents, they… Read More

US Citizen and Lawful Permanent Resident same sex couples married to foreign nationals are now eligible to file Immigration applications on behalf of their same sex spouse after the recent Supreme Court decision holding that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional. Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act states: “The word‘ marriage’ means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word ‘spouse’ refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.” Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced on July… Read More