Immigration Blog

What is adjustment of status vs. consular processing? If you’re applying for a U.S. green card, one of the first big decisions you’ll face is where and how to complete your application. You’ll quickly discover there are two main paths: Adjustment of Status and Consular Processing. Contents hide 1 🌎 What Is Consular Processing (CP)?

Learn how green card priority dates work, how to read the Visa Bulletin, compare filing charts, and determine when your priority date is current.

Family-based vs. employment-based green cards Comparison So you’ve decided you want to live in the United States permanently—awesome! 🇺🇸 Contents hide 1 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 What Is a Family-Based Green Card? 2 💼 What Is an Employment-Based Green Card? 3 ⏳ Comparison of Processing Times 4 💰 Costs Involved in Both Processes 5 ⚖️ Pros and Cons of Each Pathway 6 📈 Which Green Card Path Is Best for You?

Easiest Ways to Immigrate to the United States Legally Dreaming of life in the United States? Contents hide 1 Family-Based Immigration: The Most Accessible Route 2 💼 Employment-Based Immigration Options 3 🎓 Student Visas: F-1 and M-1 Explained 4 🕊️ Humanitarian Relief and Refugee Programs 5 💰 Investment and Entrepreneur Immigration Paths 6 🎟️ Diversity Visa Lottery (Green Card Lottery) 7 🛂 Adjusting Status vs.

How Long Does it Take to Get a Green Card? 7 📚 Further Reading You’ve probably asked yourself that while staring at government forms or obsessively refreshing the USCIS case tracker. You’re not alone—tens of thousands of people are navigating this exact question right now. The truth is: there’s no single answer.

You don’t need to be famous for EB1A – 12/1/2011 In this video the topic of EB1A alien of extraordinary ability is discussed in detail, and it clarifies that in order to qualify for EB1A, although the requirements are difficult to meet, you don’t have to be famous or particuarly well known in your field.

Tips to Support your VAWA Petition for a Green Card – 12/7/2011 Did you know that Joe Biden was instrumental in developing the Violence Against Women’s Act. This important piece of legislation allows victims of abuse to get out of their abusive situation, not worry about their immigration status, and get their green card on their own assuming their spouse was a permanent resident or US citizen.

Tips on Qualifying for a National Interest Waiver 2/23/2012 The national interest waiver, NIW, is a type of immigrant visa sponsorship process in the EB2 category for which the petitioner does not need an employer. It allows you to skip the labor certification. This video provides some useful tips to qualify for the national interest waiver.

Tips on Qualifying for a U-visa Crime Victim – 2/23/2012 If you’ve been a victim of particular crimes on the U-visa list of crimes, you could potentially qualify for a U visa. There are many advantages that the U-visa has in that you can easily waive the EWI entry without inspection bar.

After your I-130 Marriage Petition Gets Denied – 2/23/2012 If your I-130 green card petition and I-485 adjustment of status gets denied, what should you do? What can you do? This video helps answer these questions. If it was due to a difficult or unreasonable option, you should not be too worried, because you can generally refile.

Consulate Abuses Administrative Processing in H1B Cases – 2/28/2012 In this video, a denial based on administrative processing is revealed and analyzed.

The New Obama Era I-601A Provisional Hardship Waiver – 4/6/2012 Ten Facts (accurate as of the recording of this video): 1. It is not yet available, but should be later this year (UPDATE: and it is now available). 2. You must be beneficiary of IR APPROVED petition from USC. Not pending.

Do you Qualify for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival)? 8/25/2012 In this video, the topic of DACA deferred action for childhood arrivals, established by the Obama Administration, is covered. The benefits, risks, and political implications are covered as well. This is an alternative to the DREAM Act.

Prevailing Wage Determinations (PWD) 7/15/2011 Before an applicant files most employment based green card petitions for foreign workers, an employer is required to file a labor certification. A labor certification is an application that the employer files with the department of labor indicating that it has taken necessary recruitment efforts to test the US labor market to see if it can find qualified US workers.

Hiring Foreign Workers from India and China 7/20/11 In this video, the caveats of filing green card petitions for those from India and China in EB2, employment based second category, and EB3, employment based third preference category, is discussed. Keep in mind, priority dates are backlogged in these countries, especially India.

Cap Gap Extension Applicability for F-1 Students Seeking H-1B – 7/29/11 This vlog entry covers the topic of the H1B cap gap extension, and the STEM extension, and the e-verification requirement in order to qualify.

Professional H1B Assessment Process – 8/1/2011 The topic of this video is how a professional makes assessment of whether a job qualifies for H1B status. This goes over some of the basis, from prevailing wage, what the employer requires and what the candidate possesses in terms of qualifications to have to petition qualify as a “specialty occupation.”

Writ of Mandamus Complaints and 1447(b) – 10/7/2011 In this video, the topic of writ of mandamus complaint and 1447(b) complaints is discussed. If you have a petition which is delayed to an unreasonable extent, then a writ of mandamus complaint could be filed to compel USCIS to act on the case.

Double Your Chance of Winning Asylum – 11/29/2011 Immigration lawyer/attorney, Hasan Abdullah, provides his personal insights on the political asylum process in the United States. Link to Immigration Judge Reports: https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/judgereports/ Here’s a link to a GAO report showing applicants with legal representation have twice the approval rate as those without legal representation, yes it is an old report, but should still be considered relevant.

Is Your College Accredited for H1B and I-140 Purposes? – 4/26/2012 It is absolutely critical that your degree is from an accredited program if you’re filing an H1B petition, seeking a master’s cap exemption, and if you’re filing an I-140 petition and using the degree as a qualification for EB2 or EB3.

B1 Business Visa Application – Free Case Assessment 10/24/12 This video guides you through the process of a self-assessment of whether you may qualify for a B-1 business visitor visa. It was created for a now defunct website called “ImmigrationEase.” Although Immigration Ease is no longer supported, this video still is of value.

B2 Tourist Visa Applications – Free Case Assessment 10/24/12 This video provides you with a simple self-assessment as to whether a B-2 tourist visitor visa is an appropriate visa for you. This video was prepared for a now closed website ImmigrationEase, and is still of value to benefit you if you are considering to apply for a visitor visa.

National Visa Center (NVC) Process – Free Case Assessment 10/24/12 Have you received a fee bill from USCIS’s National Visa Center (NVC)? This video guides you through some of the basis of National Visa Center processing. It was prepared for a now discontinued website, ImmigrationEase, and although the site doesn’t provide services anymore, this video is still of value and provided for your reference.

INA 214(b) Disproving Lack of Ties to One’s Home Country – 11/9/12 If your B-1 or B-2 visitor visa was denied on account of INA 214(b), that means that you have not showed sufficient ties to your home country. This video explains what you can do to avoid this result in a future application.

Posting Job Ads in Local or Ethnic Newspapers for PERM – 2/14/2013 If you intend to fulfill PERM recruitment requirements using a local or ethnic newspaper, this video explains some of the pitfalls to watch out for. A simple approach is to just post on a weekday in the paper of general circulation.