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Category Archives: Immigrant Visa

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By Robert Y. Maples on Posted in E-Visa, Immigrant Visa, Immigration, Immigration Law, Visa, Visa Issuance

As an update to an earlier post, on Aug. 1, the president signed the Knowledgeable Innovators and Worthy Investors Act (KIWI Act) granting E-1 and E-2 status to certain New Zealand nationals under mutual considerations. This will permit citizens of New Zealand to apply for U.S. visas to carry on significant trade with the United States… Continue Reading

By Robert Y. Maples on Posted in Department of State, Immigrant Visa, Uncategorized

The Department of State (DOS) has noticed for public comment an Information Collection Review – Electronic Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration  that would require immigrants coming to the United States to submit five years of social media history. This effort is viewed by many as a component of “enhanced vetting” on behalf of the… Continue Reading

By Kristen Burke on Posted in E-Visa, Immigrant Visa, Travel, Visa

The U.S. Mission in Turkey has resumed limited processing of nonimmigrant visas following the earlier suspension of nonimmigrant visa services in all U.S. diplomatic posts in Turkey back on Oct. 8, 2017. The U.S. Mission in Turkey will process nonimmigrant visas on a limited basis with a reduced number of appointments in both Ankara and… Continue Reading

By Kristen W. Ng on Posted in Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, Immigrant Visa, President Trump's Administration, USCIS, Visa

On Oct. 8, 2017, the White House released the promised Immigration Principles & Policies (Principles & Policies) which outline the Trump Administration’s position on immigration. This document is broken into three parts: 1) Border Security, 2) Interior Enforcement, and 3) Merit-Based Immigration. A summary of each part is broken down below.

By Greenberg Traurig on Posted in Awards & Recognitions, EB-5, Immigrant Investor, Immigrant Visa

The Business Immigration & Compliance Practice of Greenberg Traurig, LLP is pleased to announce that Jennifer Hermansky has been elevated to shareholder in the Philadelphia office. Hermansky focuses her immigration practice on both employment-based and family-based immigration. Specifically, she focuses her practice on EB-5 immigrant investor visas. She has prepared and filed many immigrant investor… Continue Reading

By Greenberg Traurig on Posted in Department of Homeland Security, Immigrant Visa, Immigration, Visa

On Jan. 25, 2017, President Donald J. Trump signed two Executive Orders impacting U.S. immigration which are summarized below. Executive Order: Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements This Order addresses the recent surge of immigration by foreign nationals without proper documentation at the United States’ southern border with Mexico. The Order directs the government’s “executive… Continue Reading

By Kristen W. Ng, , , , and on Posted in EB-5, EB-5 Program, Eb-5 Regional Center, Events, Immigrant Visa, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Visa, Webinar

On November 10, 2016, Laura Foote Reiff, Bob Maples, and Rebecca Schechter presented an Immigration Post-Election Update webinar highlighting some of the anticipated key changes to U.S. immigration policy (click here to listen to the webinar).  President-elect Donald Trump will likely begin the change on current U.S. immigration policy as soon as he takes office. … Continue Reading

By Jennifer Hermansky on Posted in Department of State, EB-5, EB-5 Program, Eb-5 Regional Center, I-526, Immigrant Visa, Visa, Visa Bulletin

On Oct. 5, 2016, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) issued an unclassified cable on the Continuing Resolution signed into law on Sept. 29, 2016 that extends several important immigration programs, including the EB-5 Regional Center program. The cable explains that the EB-5 Regional Center program (immigrant visa categories R51 and I51) now is set… Continue Reading

By Nataliya Rymer on Posted in Department of State, EB-5, EB-5 Investment, Immigrant Visa, Visa

许多中国大陆出生的EB-5投资者最近注意到，他们不再能够访问国家签证中心（NVC）的在线平台。 此在线平台的功能包括移民签证费账单的支付，移民签证（DS-260）的申请，以及其他功能。 国家签证中心已确认将使用每月签证公告的申请递件排期表（“表B”）来启动案件处理。10月份的签证排期公告显示，对于中国大陆出生的EB-5投资者，表B当前优先日的截止日期是2014年6月14日或更早。因此，国家签证中心表示不会处理优先日晚于10月签证排期公告中表B截止日期的案件。 这种在处理中国大陆出生的EB-5投资者的移民签证申请上的改变导致许多人无法继续进行在处理方式变更之前开始的DS-260申请，以及无法支付移民签证费用帐单，完成DS-260申请，或从国家签证中心收到确认DS-260申请的所有相关文件已被接收的通知。根据国家签证中心的指示，在今年10月，只有那些优先日期为2014年6月14日或更早的中国大陆出生申请人能够在被国家签证中心通知后继续移民签证处理程序。另外，每个月国家签证中心将通知那些优先日在签证排期表表B截止日期之前的申请人。重要的是，对于以前已经提交给国家签证中心但优先日在排期表表B截止日期之后而不能进行处理的案件，国家签证中心表示将给申请人发出确认收到申请和材料的通知。 此外，国务院证实，正在努力使其在线平台现代化，并指出目标是在2017年春天，建立一个全新的门户网站. 此网站包括所有目前可用的独立的在线功能，如签证费用账单支付，DS-260提交，案件状态查询，以及许多其他功能。

By Nataliya Rymer on Posted in Department of State, EB-5, EB-5 Investment, Immigrant Visa, Visa

Many of the mainland China born EB-5 investors recently noticed that they no longer had access to the National Visa Center (NVC) online platform for the purposes of immigrant visa fee bill payment, access to immigrant visa (DS-260) applications, as well as other functions.  NVC has confirmed that it is using the Dates for Filing… Continue Reading

By Patty Elmas* on Posted in China, Department of State, EB-3, Immigrant Visa, USCIS, Visa, Visa Bulletin

After the release of the October Visa Bulletin, Charlie Oppenheim, Chief of Visa Control and Reporting Division for the U.S. Department of State (DOS), provided his predictions on the future movement in the employment-based green card categories.  They are summarized below: EB-1 China and India In the October bulletin, final action dates for India and… Continue Reading

By Nataliya Rymer on Posted in China, EB-5 Investment, Immigrant Visa

美国国务部已经使用完到2016年财年底，即2016年9月30日之前，所有给出生在中国内地的EB-5投资人的签证名额。因此，国家签证中心现已暂停受理出生于中国内地的已获批I-526申请的受益人的移民签证申请。预计会在2016年10月1日恢复受理。在此期间，申请人将不能支付移民签证费用和完成或访问移民签证DS-260申请。 美国移民和国籍法案的第203条限制了可用于每个类别移民签证的名额，其中大约10,000个名额拨给EB-5投资移民类别。这个总数是进一步受制于每个国家的限制，其中给出生于中国内地的EB-5投资者的签证名额已经受到积压。到2016年9月13日为止，国家签证中心已经告知在当前法律的限制下，在本财年，分配给在中国内地出生的EB-5投资人的名额已经告罄。本财年将会在2016年9月30日结束。 美国国务院宣布如果他们确定其他国家将不会使用2016财年余下的签证名额，他们仍可能会提供这些额外的签证名额给中国内地出生的申请人。在此期间，国家签证中心已经向那些受暂停影响的申请人通过邮递和电子邮件发送通知和解释这个情况。国务院已要求受到暂停影响的申请人只在需要改变联系方式或签证资格的情况下才联系国家签证中心。 欲了解更多信息，请订阅这个博客，GT律所将继续提供更新。

By Nataliya Rymer on Posted in China, EB-5 Investment, Immigrant Visa

The U.S. Department of State has now used the number of immigrant visas available for the Mainland-China-born EB-5 investors for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2016, which is set to conclude Sept. 30, 2016.  Therefore, the National Visa Center (NVC) has temporarily suspended processing of immigrant visa applications for the Mainland China-born beneficiaries of approved… Continue Reading

By Laura Foote Reiff on Posted in Immigrant Visa, Immigration, USCIS, Visa

26 августа 2016 года Иммиграционная Служба США опубликовала сообщение о проекте Закона об Иностранных Предпринимателях, и запросила комментарии общей публики и заинтересованых лиц.. В соответствии с сообщением Иммиграционной Службы США (USCIS), предлагаемый проект закона позволит Департаменту Внутренней Безопасности (DHS) по усмотрению выдавать официальные разрешения на въезд иностранным предпринимателям для осуществления развития вновь-созданных бизнесов в США,… Continue Reading

By Laura Foote Reiff on Posted in China, Immigrant Visa, Immigration, USCIS, Visa

2016年8月26日，美国移民局发布消息称将推出一项针对国际企业家的政策，并提供了一个拟定的方案供公众审阅。 根据移民局公告，该新规则将授予国土安全部独立裁量权，针对每个个案情况向那些在美国新设企业并亲自管理企业为公共利益做出重大贡献的外国企业家发放入境许可。移民局提议 修改其之前根据移民国籍法INA212章节（d）（5）款所制定的行政规章，意图为行政裁量权的行驶以及初创企业家入境许可个案申请的审核提供一个“透明的架构”。 想依据此新规则获得入境许可的移民企业家被要求： *至少持有新设企业15%的股份且积极地参与企业管理 *在之前三年的时间内在美国创立该企业 该企业家还必须证明他或她的企业在就业创造以及业绩增长方面的潜力： *企业获得了至少$345,000来自合格的美国投资者的投资，该投资者要有投资成功的先例； *获得来自联邦、州、或本地政府的奖励或者拨款 对于只满足上述部分条件的企业家，新规则也留有一定的灵活度，允许企业家补充证明其初创企业能够快速发展和就业创造的潜力 在新规则下，合格的企业家可以获得有效期为两年的入境许可，并可以在初创企业获得成功的基础上申请延期 该新规则一旦实施，将会给那些正在饱受移民排期困扰并且不具备E-1、E-2签证资格国家的移民申请人带来希望，比如中国大陆和越南。对新规则的进一步分析也将可能为正在等待签证排期的EB-5投资人带来新的机会。 在Federal Register 公布新规则之后，公众有45天的时间给出自己的反馈意见 在我们全面审核分析新规则内容的过程中，我们也将会进一步地阐明这到底可以为当前的移民申请人带来怎样不同的机遇。

By Greenberg Traurig on Posted in EB-5 Program, Immigrant Visa, Immigration, Targeted Employment Area

There are currently many different investment immigration programs offered by countries around the world, all of which offer their own unique benefits. Two popular programs are the EB-5 Visa Program in the United States and the Quebec Investment Immigration Program (QIIP) offered in Canada. The following comparison provides an in-depth look at the parameters of… Continue Reading

By Greenberg Traurig on Posted in Department of State, Immigrant Visa, USCIS, Visa, Visa Bulletin

This week, the Department of State released the Visa Bulletin for September 2016. Given that visa numbers are issued based on the government fiscal year, we expect to see significant movement again in October 2016; for September 2016, the last month of FY2016, there were only minor changes with regard to movement of final action… Continue Reading

By Kate Kalmykov on Posted in EB-5 Investment, Immigrant Visa, Immigration, Visa

Under the U.S. immigration laws, there are four common visa options for foreign investors and entrepreneurs. These include: Temporary Work Visas L-1A Intracompany Transferee E-2 Treaty Investor  Immigrant Visas (“Green Cards”) EB-1C Multinational Manager or Executive EB-5 Investor/Entrepreneur The EB-1C and EB-5 visas offer long-term solutions for those Investors and their families who wish to… Continue Reading

By Courtney B. Noce on Posted in China, Immigrant Visa, Immigration, Visa, Visa Bulletin

Charlie Oppenheim is the Chief of Visa Control and Reporting Division for the U.S. Department of State (DOS) where he is responsible for providing analysis and prediction for immigrant preference categories.  After the release of the July 2016 visa bulletin Mr. Oppenheim provided the following information regarding employment-based petitions to AILA: EB-2 and EB-3 – China:… Continue Reading

By Greenberg Traurig on Posted in Events, Immigrant Visa, Immigration, Visa

Greenberg Traurig attorneys, Kate Kalmykov and Nataliya Rymer, recently presented at the 2016 CIAD Conference hosted at the New School in New York City.  Attended by representatives including ISOs and DSOs from over 25 educational institutions across the East Coast, this two day event provided insight on career issues in arts and design.  Kalmykov and… Continue Reading

By Kristen W. Ng on Posted in Immigrant Visa, Immigration Reform, Legislation, Visa

On May 16, 2016, Representative Will Hurd (R-TX), along with Representatives Michael McCaul (R-TX), Candice Miller (R-MI), Peter King (R-NY), John Katko (R-NY), and Martha McSally (R-AZ), introduced H.R. 5253, the “Strong Visa Integrity Secures America Act.” The Homeland Security Committee will consider this bill on June 8, 2016. The bill’s purpose is to improve… Continue Reading

By Laura Foote Reiff on Posted in Department of Homeland Security, Immigrant Visa, Immigration, Legislation, Visa

Today, the House Judiciary Committee will consider H.R.5203, the Visa Integrity and Security Act of 2016.  The bill is authored by Representative Randy Forbes of Virginia. The bill’s purpose is to enhance security procedures for the processing of both immigrant and nonimmigrant visas.  We provide a sectional summary of the bill below. Section 2 of… Continue Reading

By Greenberg Traurig on Posted in Events, H-1B Cap, Immigrant Visa, Immigration, USCIS

As the US economy recovers, the demand for H-1B visas is skyrocketing.  Please join our experienced immigration attorneys for this seminar which will provide important legislative updates and share effective strategies for succeeding this upcoming H-1B cap season. Topics will include: Lessons learned from the last cap season New fee schedule affecting certain employers Compliance and… Continue Reading

By Kristen W. Ng on Posted in EB-5 Program, Immigrant Visa, USCIS

The White House has just released a new report titled “Modernizing & Streamlining our Legal Immigration System for the 21st Century,” which builds on the President’s executive actions of Nov. 21, 2014. This report provides for plans to improve the immigration system to modernize and streamline the processes for certain visa categories and to address… Continue Reading