A new USCIS Policy Memorandum signals a major shift in adjustment of status policy, potentially redirecting applicants toward consular processing abroad. GT immigration attorneys break down the implications and offer practical guidance.
Immigration Insights Episode 10 | EB-5 and the Trump Gold Card: Insights on Investment Immigration Reform
In this episode of GT’s Immigration Insights series, Greenberg Traurig attorneys Kate Kalmykov and Jennifer Hermansky examine President Donald Trump’s recent announcement about introducing a Trump Gold Card, a new $5 million investment-based green card, and its implications for the existing EB-5 visa program in the United States.
Kate and Jen provide insights into the
USCIS Extends Green Card Validity Extension to 24 Months for Green Card Renewals
Effective Sept. 26, 2022, USCIS is automatically extending the validity of Permanent Resident Cards (also known as Green Cards) from 12 months to 24 months for lawful permanent residents who file Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card.
USCIS has updated the language on Form I-90 receipt notices to extend the validity of a
I-751 Petition Receipt Notices and I-829 Petition Receipt Notices Now Valid for 24 Months as Proof of Status
On Sept. 3, 2021, USCIS announced that Petitioners who file a Form I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence or a Form I-829 Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status will receive a Form I-797 receipt notice that can be presented with their Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card, as evidence of continued
COVID-19 Vaccine Added To Requirements For Green Card Processing, Effective Oct. 1
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced that, effective Oct. 1, the COVID-19 vaccine is included in the list of vaccines required for applicants to obtain permanent residence and refugee status. By way of background, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), at section 212(a)(1)(A)(ii), sets out the requirement that, in order to
Important Update on Immigration Issues Related to U.S. Permanent Residents Unable to Travel Back to U.S. Due to Coronavirus Outbreak in China
The coronavirus “2019-nCoV” epidemic has resulted in a lockdown of millions of people in China, just as the country was celebrating the Lunar New Year 2020. Many are unable to leave their cities either due to travel restrictions imposed by the government or fear of being infected by the virus by boarding a bus, train,
President Trump Endorses New Bill Addressing ‘Green Card’ Immigration
Today, President Trump joined Senator David Perdue (R-GA) and Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) announcing the introduction of a bill titled “Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act,” known also as the “RAISE Act.” The president praised the work of the senators and in a statement added, “We want a merit-based system. One that protects workers, our workers, our taxpayers, and one that protects our economy. We want it merit-based.”
Highlights from the bill are included below:
- Eliminates the diversity visa program.
- Sets the maximum number of refugee admissions to 50,000 per fiscal year.
- Worldwide level of family sponsored immigrants is 88,000. The number of humanitarian paroles, if the individual has not departed or has not adjusted status, will be counted against that number.
- A new classification is created for the alien parents of adult U.S. citizens for admission for five years, but will not be able to receive public benefits or work authorization.
- A person cannot naturalize if the person who executed an affidavit of support failed to reimburse the Federal Government for all mean-tested public benefits received by the person during the 5-year period.
- Annual and quadrennial reports will be required to monitor the progress and numbers.
- The creation of an immigration points system to replace the employment-based immigrant visa categories.
- Effective date will be the first day of the first fiscal year that begins after the date of enactment. Those exempt are those who have been granted admission prior to enactment, but he or she will need to enter within one year of enactment.
Continue Reading President Trump Endorses New Bill Addressing ‘Green Card’ Immigration
The Trump Administration Contemplates an Executive Order Affecting Advance Parole
It has been reported that President Trump’s administration is likely preparing to effectuate additional changes affecting immigration issues. Specifically, in addition to the Executive Order executed on Jan. 27, 2017, the administration is reportedly working on additional Executive Orders, a released draft of which addresses the availability and use of advance parole, among other
September 2016 – Monthly AILA Check-In with Charlie Oppenheim
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
Over 4.5 Million Are Waiting for Green Cards—Over 100,000 of them are Employment-Based
The Department of State (DOS) recently published its annual report of immigrant visa applicants (2015 Annual Immigrant Visa Report), which tallies up the number of total applicants—including spouses and children—who are waiting for their respective priority date to become current, allowing for them to obtain their green card. The annual report, which totals the number of applicants up to Nov. 1, 2015, does not take into account those applicants who have adjustment of status applications pending with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) as of Nov. 1.
Overall, 2015 saw a three precent increase of total applicants compared against last year, increasing from a total of 4,422,660 for 2014 to 4,556,021 for 2015. This total includes both family-based green cards and employment-based green cards. Employment-based green card applicants only accounted for roughly 100,000 of the 4.5 million. When compared against 2014, the percentage of employment-based applicants waiting to apply for their green cards increased from 90,910 to 100,747—an increase of 10.8 percent.Continue Reading Over 4.5 Million Are Waiting for Green Cards—Over 100,000 of them are Employment-Based