One of the perks of being a Chicago Immigration Lawyer or an Immigration Lawyer in general is meeting people of all walks of life. We work with clients on their immigration matters from not only Chicago, but around the U.S. and the world and we get to work on some of the most interesting issues. A challenging part is that the U.S. Immigration Laws are not sufficient to deal with the many inquiries we receive. One common question we regularly receive is on the topic of gay marriage. The question that generally arises is “I married my partner overseas or in California…etc, can we file a Marriage Green Card Application?” The simple answer unfortunately is no. The not so simple answer is, even though some states recognize same sex marriage, the U.S. government does not. Immigration Law is Federal, meaning state laws are not controlling but rather U.S. law is what is controlling for Immigration … Continue reading…
Russell Brand and Katy Perry’s current divorce and hypothetical effects on Russell Brand’s immigration status. As we all know, Katy Perry is a famous pop singer and to my knowledge a US Citizen. Russell Brand is an actor and comedian from England who married Katy Perry in October 2010. The marriage attracted quite a bit of publicity as they are both young and famous in their own right and in their own country – United States and Britain. So based on Russel Brand’s background as a foreign national in the United States, what immigration options does he possibly have?
EB1 Extraordinary Ability Green Card
Let’s assume that Russell did not file for a National Interest Waiver or EB1 based on Extraordinary Ability. Whether Russell’s past performances are “extraordinary” is debatable. However, as an immigration lawyer that works on all type of employment and family based immigration cases, I am confident of getting his EB1 Extraordinary … Continue reading…
Amy Winehouse was an excellent performer. She was nominated for 6 Grammy Awards and won 5 a huge achievement and one of international acclaim. Amy was clearly tops in her field as an international performer, singer, and songwriter. Unfortunately, Amy Winehouse had a troubled life, she died way too early at the age of 28 in July 2011. She was arrested numerous times for drugs and was even allegedly videotaped smoking crack. This is likely the reason why her visa was denied by the US Consulate in London so that she could perform at the Grammy’s and also be present while being nominated for 6 awards.
Two part test: Visa eligibility + admissibility
Given Amy Winehouse’s international acclaim as a performer, her substantial ties to the United Kingdom she was eligible for many different types of visas. Just on the surface if an Examiner was told that Amy was nominated for the Grammy Awards it would … Continue reading…
In law school, we learn through case studies and from those cases we create hypothetical. There is a lot of value in creating different scenarios and analyzing a legal situation from different angles. Viewing situations from different angles due to different scenarios creates a strong understanding. Going forward I would like to review current topics for foreign celebrities and do an analysis. This should aid our readers in understanding immigration and perhaps get a better idea of their current immigration situation.
Tiger Woods’ ex-wife Elin Nordegren
The first case study is Elin Nordegren, the former spouse of Tiger Woods. As you know, Tiger Woods was the world’s number one golfer and may be among the best golfers that has ever played the game. Tiger and his former wife Elin had an argument and Tiger Woods was found outside of his mansion wounded in his SUV. There is speculation that Elin was chasing Tiger with a … Continue reading…
What is a K1 fiancée visa?
This is a question that causes a lot of confusion. The answer is no. However, a fiancée visa can quickly lead to a permanent residency (green card). A fiancée visa (K-1 visa) enables a US Citizen to bring an overseas fiancée to the United States so that the couple can get married. The sole purpose of the visa is to get married in the US. The marriage must take place within 90 days of the overseas fiancée entering the United States. If the marriage does not take place within 90 days, the fiancée must leave the United States and visa extensions are not granted to the K1 visa. The good news is once the marriage takes places within the 90 days, the overseas fiancée can and should apply for a green card if the couple intends on living in the United States. Once the green card application is issued, … Continue reading…
Unlawful Presence – Enter Without Inspection
One of the most frustrating things an Immigration lawyer can encounter are limited options for a client. As a Chicago based immigration attorney, I take my job very seriously and my heart is with our clients and their cases. A common story that we hear is: A client walks in the door, usually from Mexico, they were brought here to the United States illegally as an infant by their parents. The parents did not have a visa and were not inspected by a Customs Border Patrol Agent at the border. They simply sneaked across the border in some capacity and did not request entry with a visa such as a K1 fiancée visa, H1b visa, TN visa, or other common type of visa. So because the parents did not have a visa, obviously the child did not have a visa either. Years go by, the family … Continue reading…
Today the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that they have received approximately 17,400 regular cap H1B applications and 8,200 Advanced degrees cap petitions. As the H1B cap is still unexhausted from both the 65,000 regular cap and 20,000 advanced degrees cap, the USCIS will continue to accept FY2012 H1B petitions until the congressionally mandated numerical limitation is used up.
Based on last year’s statistic, there has been almost 300% increase of regular H1B petitions and 55% increase of the advanced degrees cap received by the USCIS in the month April. With that said, as of April 9, 2012, approx. 17,000 regular cap H1B petitions were filed compared to 2011 at the same time, there were only approximately 5,000 petitions filed. Granted that it is only 10,000 above prior year and significantly weaker than the bustling job market as in 2006 and 2007 where the cap was exhausted on April 1. However, the … Continue reading…
Question:
What if my employer/sponsor is planning on changing work locations?
We often receive questions from clients who are currently on an H1B Visa – and his/her current employer/sponsor is considering moving his office to a different location. Often times, the H1B worker wants to know whether he/she can re-locate with the company under the current visa or whether a new application is need. Another more question we get is that when H1B employer wants his lawyer may want me to frequently work overseas, may I do this with an H1B?
Answer:
You ask great questions and I am glad you are seeking help from an immigration attorney in advance of just acting without finding out your options. Much of law is similar to preventative medicine and with careful planning, goals can often be accomplished. With that, let’s get started on your questions.
The answer to the first question of whether an H1B Visa holder … Continue reading…
Question:
If I apply for a tourist visa (B visa), will I be able to eventually obtain a green card?
Answer:
In short, yes. There are two major areas of immigration law, permanent resident and non-permanent resident immigration. Many of you know permanent residence to mean obtaining a green card, which can ultimately lead to United States Citizenship. Non-permanent residence (also known as a non immigrant visa) includes temporary visas such as tourist visas (B1 or B2 visa) or temporary work visas (H1-B temporary skilled worker visa) or even fiancé visas (k1 visa) and spouse visas (k3 visas).
Temporary visas can sometimes be a good start to legally living in the United States before applying for permanent residence. For example, a fiancé visa can quickly lead to a conditional green card through marriage. A marriage visa can also lead to a green card. Some temporary work visas can lead to … Continue reading…
For starters, let us discuss what an H1-B work Visa is. An H1-B Visa, also referred to as the “Specialty Worker” Visa is a temporary visa made available to workers in occupations requiring highly specialized knowledge. The H1-B Visa is commonly utilized by persons in fields such as computer science, medicine, law, engineering, business, and teaching, just to name a few. There are two main components to an H1-B, namely whether the applicant has the appropriate background and experience to be considered a specialty worker and whether the position requires the skills of a specialty worker. For example, a compute programmer with a bachelor’s degree in computer science applying for a secretarial position will not likely be approved. However, a computer programmer with a bachelor’s degree applying for a position whereby the job requires the applicant to develop software will generally be acceptable. Person’s applying for an H1-B must have a job offer before applying … Continue reading…
