The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced yesterday that it will conduct an agency-wide policy review to examine and potentially change its policies concerning the adjudication of applications for benefits and customer service. The USCIS has selected the following ten (10) areas to examine in its policy review: National Customer Service; H-1B visas; Citizenship & Naturalization; Employment based green cards in general; Employment [...]

The House of Representatives earlier this week passed the International Adoption Harmonization Act of 2010 (H.R. 5532).  The bill would amend the immigration law regarding the eligibility of foreign born adopted children to obtain permanent residence (green cards).   The bill if signed into law, will allow an adopted child to immigrate to the U.S. as long as the adoption is completed and the application for [...]

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) seeks public comments on its proposal to increase filing fees for the adjudication of applications, and to recover costs in administering the immigration laws. The proposal was posted yesterday in the Federal Register.  The proposed increase would raise filing fees for most applications by 10%. The comment period begins on June 11, 2010 and ends on July 26, 2010.  [...]

The Los Angeles Times reported today that the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) is considering raising filing fees for certain applications, mainly, the application to become a permanent resident. The filing fee for Form I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Resident or Adjust Status) is currently at $ 1,010.  USCIS’ plan is to raise the fee to $ [...]

Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar introduced legislation last week to promote job creation and increase our nation’s ability to remain globally competitive.  If the bill is signed into law, it would help foreign national entrepreneurs pursue a new way to immigrate to the U.S. The Start Up Visa Act of 2010 would allow foreign nationals who are entrepreneurs to pursue an immigrant visa (green card) on [...]

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services  (USCIS) reported today that as part of their overall transition to the use of lockbox facilities instead of service centers, that beginning February 25, 2010, Form I-485 (Application to Adjust Status) are to be submitted to the Dallas or Phoenix Lockbox Facilities depending on where the applicant resides. The I-485 is a form [...]

The Los Angeles Times reported today that Congressman Luis Gutierrez criticized President Obama and his administration for not doing more to seek legislation that would legalize the approximately 12 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S.  Despite his criticism, he also mentioned that he lacks the necessary votes in the U.S. House of Representatives to actually pass the bill that he sponsored. [...]

The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) reported yesterday that it has designated a centralized location for foreign nationals applying for a Waiver of a Ground of Inadmissibility on Form I-601. Beginning January 27, 2010, applications of this type are to be mailed to the USCIS’ Vermont Service Center (VSC). The designation of the VSC as [...]

The Miami Herald reported today that in light of the rising unemployment rate (approximately 10%), an all important question has come up in the immigration reform debate.  That question is, “Will legalizing millions of undocumented immigrants further hurt or help the economy?” The answer is difficult to come by due to conflicting reports that were issued recently.  One such report released last week endorsed [...]

The Washington Post reported today that number of foreign nationals who have applied for permanent residence (a green card) based on their investment between $500,000 to $1 million in a U.S. business has approximately tripled in the past fiscal year.  The rise in the number of applications have been the result of businesses that are in need for cash to either stay in business [...]