Citizens, Residents & Visitors in the US

Beginning a New Venture

Nan — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:36:11 +0000

It has been said that the only things that are certain in life are death, taxes and change. Change is a good thing and I embrace it wholeheartedly. Beginning on February 1, 2010, I will close my law practice in its entirety, to devote 100% of my time on my newly formed company called Harmonyharp, Inc. Harmonyharp, Inc. is a music production company that creates live and recorded harp music, to provide ”a little bit of heaven on earth” to people who are under extreme stress, sick or dying. I am very excited about this venture, which has been in the making for several years and look forward to providing this service to the community. I have a blog at www. harmonyharp.com and I will be removing this blog site on March 1, 2010. To my readers, goodbye and May God Bless You. Naneaster (Nan) Hall

Temporary Protected Status for Certains Haitians

Nan — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:10:22 +0000

In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security announced that certain Haitian nationals who meet specific criteria will receive Temporary Protected Status or “TPS” in the U.S. for 18 months.

TPS is a humanitarian effort by the U.S., to help nationals of another country, when the living conditions in that country are extremely difficult due to an external event, such as a natural disaster. In response to the natural disaster, the U.S. allows nationals of that country to travel to the U.S., live in the U.S. and work in the U.S., on a temporary basis, for a limited time period. Thus the term ”Temporary Protected Status”. This immigration status is temporary, until the U.S. decides that the designated country no longer requires protected status. Temporary truly means temporary, and after the designated period (in this case 18 months) expires, and if the time period is not extended, these people must then leave the U.S.

In order to receive TPS, Haitians must meet certain criteria, and complete and submit certain forms to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”). These forms are explained in detail on the USCIS website.

What is distressing to me, is the requirement for a Haitian national to have been physically in the U.S. on the day of the earthquake, January 12, 2010, in order to qualify for TPS. This means that all of the Haitians who suffered through the earthquake on January 12, 2010 and are how homeless, and the children who are now orphans because of the earthquake, do not qualify to receive TPS in the U.S. The people who need humanitarian compassion the most, those who are now homeless and/or orphaned, are the ones who have been specifically excluded.

Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano stated on January 15th: “It is important to note that TPS will apply only to those individuals who were in the United States as of January 12, 2010. Those who attempt to travel to the United States after January 12, 2010 will not be eligible for TPS and will be repatriated.”

In my opinion, this is not humanitarian treatment, but is cruel treatment towards the Haitian people.

The Road to Lawful Permanent U.S. Residency

Nan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:34:49 +0000

Today, I will briefly discuss some aspects of lawful permanent residency in the U.S. Lawful permanent resident status in the U.S. means that an individual has the consent of the U.S. government to live and work in the U.S. indefinitely. It is sometimes referred to as having a “Green Card” however, the card is no longer green. The most common ways of obtaining lawful permanent U.S. resident status are

family sponsored immigration
employment based immigration
the U.S. diversity immigration lottery
asylum/refugee status

U.S. family sponsored immigration involves an application by a sponsor, requesting the U.S. government’s approval, for a designated relative to come to, live in and work in the U.S. Except under limited circumstances, the sponsor must agree to support the relative until the relative becomes a U.S. citizen, or the relative earns and pays 40 quarters of Social Security, or the sponsor dies, or the relative dies, or the relative permanently leaves the U.S. A U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent U.S. resident may sponsor the following categories of relatives:

Immediate relative – - defined as a parent of an adult (21 or over) U.S. citizen, or a spouse or unmarried child (under the age of 21) of a U.S. citizen;
1st Preference relative – - defined as an unmarried (21 or over) son or daughter of a U.S. citizen
2nd Preference relative
- – 2A category defined as the spouse or minor (under 21) unmarried child of a lawful permanent resident
- - 2B category defined as an unmarried son or daughter (21 or over) of a lawful permanent resident
3rd Preference relative defined as a married son or daughter (21 or over) and their spouses and children of a U.S. citizen
4th Preference relative defined as a sibling (brother and sister) of a U. S. citizen

Unfortunately, cousins, aunts and uncles of American citizens and lawful permanent U.S. residents cannot be sponsored by family members for lawful permanent residency in the U.S. They can however obtain Visas to visit the U.S. if they qualify.

The wait period of the U.S. family based immigration process can be short (such as 3-6 months for immediate relatives) or very long (such as 15 -20 years for 4th preference relatives) and the relative, cannot live in the U.S. (based upon the fact that the application is pending) while the application is pending. The monthly Visa Bulletin published by the U.S. Department of State may provide individuals with an estimate of the wait period, at any given point in time.

With U.S. employment based immigration, an individual can either self petition under certain preference categories or an American employer can sponsor an individual to work on a specific job in the U.S. if there are no American citizens who can perform the job. The process under the second option is complex and far beyond the scope of this blog entry, but it can be done if the requirements are met. The following are categories for employment based immigration.

1st Preference which includes people with extraordinary ability (may self petition), outstanding researchers and multi-national executives
2nd Preference which includes people with a national interest waiver (may self petition), members of a profession holding advanced degrees or persons of exceptional ability
3rd Preference which includes skilled workers and other workers
4th Preference which includes certain special immigrants
5th Preference which includes investors in a targeted rural area or high unemployment area

The monthly Visa Bulletin published by the U.S. Department of State should be reviewed to get an estimate of the wait period for employment based preferences.

The U.S. diversity immigrant lottery is literally a lottery, where individuals can submit an application online with the U.S. Department of State’s website and if the individual’s application is chosen and the individual meets the other requirements of the diversity lottery program, he or she can come to the U.S. and apply for lawful permanent U.S. residency. This option was discussed in greater detail in a previous blog entry.

Asylum or refugee status involves a situation where an individual has a “well founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion”. Refugee status is sought while an individual is outside of the U.S. and the individual makes the request at a U.S. Consulate. Asylum status is sought when an individual is physically in the U.S. and does not wish to return to his/her home country because of this legitimate fear. The mere act of requesting asylum or refugee status does not guarantee an approval from the U.S. government and one must truly persuade the U.S. government that he/she is in fear of his/her life.

One last point is that lawful permanent U.S. residency is only permanent as long as the lawful permanent U.S. resident does not commit a crime that will make him/her removable from the U.S. If an individual pleads guilty to specific crimes that are defined within the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, that individual may be deported after serving the applicable sentence or immediately if there is no jail time associated with the plea.

Updated on 11/06/09 to move legal disclaimer to “Legal” page of the blog site.

What is the expiration date on your I-94 card?

Nan — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:01:50 +0000

If you are in the U.S., as a temporary visitor, with one of the many types of Visas, you should remember to always look at your I-94 card to determine the date in which you will have to leave the U.S. You may have other documents with different expiration dates; however, those dates only refer to the specific documents. The only date that really defines how long you can legally stay in the U.S. is the expiration date on the I-94 card. If you have lost your I-94 card, you should contact the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) to obtain a replacement. Instructions for obtaining a replacement I-94 card may be found by accessing the USCIS website. If you have never received an I-94 card, you have a more significant problem and should probably see an immigration attorney at your earliest convenience. If you are asking yourself, as you read this blog, “what is an I-94 card”, continue reading. An I-94 card is officially named an “I-94 Departure Record”. It is the card that you get when you enter the U.S. at a port of entry, which could be an airport, bridge, seaport, etc. This card will be stamped with the date of your entry and will have an expiration date that will be handwritten by a U.S. Customs officer. The card states: “You are authorized to stay in the U.S. only until the date written on this form. To remain past this date, without permission from immigration authorities is a violation of the law.” The card should be carried on your person (much like a driver’s license) while in the U.S. and must be surrendered when you leave the U.S. If you stay beyond the date on the I-94 card, you may be subject to the 3 year bar or the 10 year bar. This means that if you stay beyond the expiration of the I-94 card, and leave the U.S. between 1 and 180 days thereafter, you may be barred from re-entering the U.S. for a period of 3 years. If you stay over 180 days after the expiration of the I-94 card and then leave the U.S., you may be barred from re-entering the U.S. for a period of 10 years. If you wish to extend your stay in the U.S., you can apply for an extension, but you must apply for the extension before the expiration date on the I94 card and you must apply at a time that will allow enough time for the extension request to be reviewed and approved. In summary, the I-94 card is an extremely important document, if you are a visitor in the U.S. and it is therefore important to keep the expiration date of the I-94 card in mind at all times.

Updated on 11/06/2009 to move the legal disclaimer to the “Legal” page.

U.S. Diversity Immigrant Visa Program

Nan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:32:22 +0000

You may be able to get a green card through the U.S. Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. Each year the U.S. government gives out 50,000 visas to people, by holding a lottery. People who register for the lottery have a chance to have their application/entry selected by a computer generated random drawing of entries. The lottery is geared towards people who are born in countries with a low number of immigrants to the United States and unfortunately citizens of certain countries may not apply for the lottery. The visa is called a “Diversity Visa”. The time to submit an application/entry for a Diversity Visa is between October 2, 2009 and November 30, 2009. The application/entry may only be submitted through the U.S. Department of State website.

If you are a winner of a Diversity Visa, you will be notified by U.S. mail. To obtain a green card after you are the winner of a Diversity Visa, you must file a Form I-485. You may only file the Form I-485 if a Visa is immediately available, otherwise your application will be rejected. To see if a Visa is immediately available, you must check the current U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin. In addition you must be “admissible” to the U.S. as that word is described in the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act. Your spouse and children may also each obtain a Green Card, if a Visa is immediately available for each of them and they are also “admissible”. For more information on obtaining a diversity visa, see the “U.S. Department of State: Entering Diversity Lottery” and “U.S. Department of State: How Do I Participate in the Diversity Lottery Program” by clicking on this link.

Updated on 11/06/2009 to move the legal disclaimer to the “Legal” page.

U.S. Immigration for Extraordinary Musicians

Nan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:22:55 +0000

Are you a musician who wishes to immigrate to the U.S. but have no relatives in the U.S. and have no job offer from a U.S. employer? The U.S. immigration and nationality laws state that a person can petition on his/her own behalf (meaning you do not need a U.S. sponsor) for U.S. permanent residence if he/she is a person of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics. The statute (8 CFR Section 204.5(h)(2) defines extraordinary ability as “a level of expertise indicating that the individual is one of that small percentage who have risen to the very top of the field of endeavor”. Your petition must show that you, (as a musician, for purposes of this article) have “sustained national or international acclaim” and that your “achievements have been recognized” in the field of music. Evidence of extraordinary ability may be a one time achievement that is a major internationally recognized award or at least three of the following:

(i) receipt of a lesser nationally or internationally recognized prize or award for excellence in the music field,

(ii) membership in associations in the music field which require outstanding achievement, judged by recognized experts in the field of music;

(iii) published articles about you in professional or major trade publications or media;

(iv) participation as a judge of the works of others in the field of music;

(v) evidence of original artistic contributions of major significance in the field of music;

(vi) authoring scholarly articles about the music field in professional or major trade publications or media;

(vii) display of your work at exhibitions or showcases;

(viii) evidence that you have provided a leading or critical role for organizations that have a distinguished reputation in the field of music;

(ix) receipt of a high salary or remuneration for music services; or

(x) commercial success in the music industry such as box office receipts or sales of CDs/DVDs, etc.

The good news is that you do not need to have an offer of employment in the US and you do not need a labor certification. You must; however, provide clear evidence that you are coming to the U.S. to continue working in the field of music. This evidence may be letters from prospective employers, contracts or a statement explaining in detail, how you plan to continue your music services in the U.S. For more information please see the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services website by clicking here.

Updated on 11/06/2009 to move the legal disclaimer to the “Legal” page.

Immigration Practice

Nan — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:51:14 +0000

After recently relocating my law practice from New York to Northern Virginia, my service offering is now limited exclusively to Immigration and Nationality matters. The issues resulting from the current Immigration and Naturalization Act touch or will touch most Americans in some manner. The best way to help people within the current system is to understand the current laws and to work with those laws until new legislation is implemented. The blog title will remain “licenses and consents” because, entry into the US, by a non US citizen is by authorization and approval of the US government, until such authorization or approval is withdrawn (which is another way of defining a license or consent).

Naneaster F. Hall, Esq. 2121 Eisenhower Avenue, Suite 200, Alexandria, VA 22314 (703) 413-3234 nfhesq@gmail.com