Month: November 2015

Categories
Updates

USCIS Updates Employers and Refugees on Automated I-94 Processing for Refugees

Share this:

USCIS has updated employers and refugees that Customs and Border Protection has automated Form I-94 processing for refugees. A refugee will no longer receive a stamped paper form upon arrival, with the exception of limited circumstances. Refugees may obtain copies of their I-94 forms from Get I-94 Information, online at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/request.html.

Refugees are authorized to work because of their immigration status. A refugee may choose to present any applicable document from the federal Lists of Acceptable Documents. The new electronic Form I-94 for refugees does not include an admission stamp but provides the class of admission as “RE” and an admit until date as “DS”. If a refugee presents a Form I-94 computer-generated printout for Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification, the employer must accept it as a receipt establishing both employment authorization and identity for 90 days. No later than at the end of the 90-day receipt period, the refugee is required to present an Employment Authorization Document or a combination of a List B document and an unrestricted Social Security card.

Categories
Updates

Department of State to No Longer Add Visa Pages to U.S. Passports

Share this:

The Department of State will no longer add visa pages into U.S. passports, beginning January 1, 2016. U.S. passport holders have had the option to pay for the insertion of additional 24-page visa inserts when their valid passports did not have enough space for entry or exit visa stamps.

This option is being discontinued to enhance the security of the passport and to abide by international passport standards. To help limit impact on frequent travelers, the Department of State began issuing 52-page passports to applicants outside the United States for no additional cost on October 1, 2014.

Categories
Updates

USCIS Releases Spanish Language Version of Civics Practice Test

Share this:

USCIS has launched an online Spanish-language version of its civics practice test. Questions in the practice test are presented in English with Spanish subtitles and focus on basic U.S. government and history topics. The goal of this practice test is to help Spanish-speaking lawful permanent residents prepare for the naturalization test and gain a firmer grasp on the English language.

The civics test is normally conducted in English. There are, however, certain instances in which an applicant may take the civics test in his or her native language. Reasons for exception may be age, time as a permanent resident or a disability.

Categories
Updates

Mexican Border-Crossing Card Holders Urged to Apply Early for Holiday Travel to U.S.

Share this:

Travelers with a Mexican border-crossing card (the laser visa) who plan to make a extended visit to the United States during the upcoming holiday season are urged by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to apply early for their I-94 card to avoid expected delays at ports of entry in Arizona.

“With the holiday season just around the corner, we expect November and December to be very busy months at all ports of entry,” said Director of Field Operations William K. Brooks. “With that in mind, we suggest travelers needing permits to apply early and possibly avoid delays.”

Travelers seeking I-94 documents at ports of entry may apply at any time. This permit allows visitors crossing through Arizona borders to travel up to 75 miles from the U.S./Mexico border.

Categories
Updates

CBP to Expand Camera Review to Include Testing of Body-worn Cameras

Share this:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be expanding the agency’s camera review to include testing of new body-worn cameras in operations such as checkpoints, vessel boarding and interdictions, training academies and outbound operations at ports of entry.

“While CBP already makes extensive use of cameras in the border environment, technology is constantly evolving and we are committed to testing durable new cameras that may work with CBP’s operational requirements,” said CBP Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske. “We will develop sound policies to reflect technology requirements, privacy concerns, training implications, union negotiations, and funding.”

Categories
Global Pinoy

Dealing with Questionable Parent-Child Relationship

Share this:

When it comes to proving relationships in family petitions or in citizenship applications, submission of legal documents will generally suffice to obtain a visa approval from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. There are certain times, however, when birth certificate documents are available yet a DNA test is still required to prove relationship. When does this occur and what will happen if the real parent is other than the petitioner?

Jessie is a U.S. citizen who met Alexa, his fiancé, during one of his visits in Manila. After two years of courting Alexa, he finally decided to file a fiancé visa petition for Alexa. A petition was filed with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the fiancé visa was approved.

Prior to being interviewed at the U.S. Embassy, Alexa gave birth to Joshua. A birth certificate was obtained indicating that the father is Jessie. The relatives and friends of Jessie had doubts about the paternity of the child. Nonetheless, Jessie filed a Consular Report of Birth Abroad with the US embassy in manila so that a U.S. passport may be issued to Joshua as his U.S. citizen child. Paternity was in doubt because at the time of conception, Jesse was in the United States. Further evidence was required including a DNA testing to determine paternity. Instead of proceeding with the DNA test, Alexa admitted that child Joshua’s father was Alexa’s former suitor. As expected, Jessie was severely distressed by Alexa’s admission but also realized that he still loves Alexa and is willing to accept Joshua as his own child. Can Alexa still obtain the fiancé visa? Will Joshua be able to travel to the United States with his mother?

Derivative Citizenship

A child born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent may derive U.S. citizenship from the parent as long as eligibility requirements are met. These children are U.S. citizens at birth. In conferring derivative citizenship proof of parental relationship is critical. There is usually further scrutiny of the application when the parents of the child are living apart, or, when there is a wide age gap between the parents.

Stepchild of the Fiance

In the case of Jessie, instead of applying for derivative citizenship of the child Joshua, he could still get a K2 visa as the child of his fiancé. Unfortunately, Alexa has to deal with her ‘misrepresentation’ issue when she stated that the father of the child was Jessie. This may affect her ability to obtain the visa unless a waiver is filed and approved by the USCIS.

Proving parental relationship should not be difficult if the truth is asserted from the beginning of the application. Concealment of child’s real parents by the use of a false birth certificate will not be favored in visa applications. There may be good intentions but the best interest of the child is not served by concealing the identity of his real parent until the time of the visa application.

(Atty. Lourdes S. Tancinco may be reached at law@tancinco.com, facebook.com/tancincolaw or (02)721-1963)

Categories
Updates

H-2B Forms Are Extended

Share this:

OFLC has temporarily extended the forms for the H-2B visa program until November 30, 2015. This form is being extended while OFLC awaits approval of its request for a three-year extension which is currently under review with the Office of Management and Budget.

OFLC will continue to extend the forms in one-month increments until they receive approval from the Office of Management and Budget. A second comment period will end on November 30.

Categories
Updates

Updated Instruction for Using the DOS Visa Bulletin

Share this:

USCIS has posted a series of updated instructions for using the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin. According to USCIS, if it determines that there are more immigrant visas available for a fiscal year than there are known applicants, it will state at www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo that applicants may use the Dates for Filing Visa Applications chart. Unless otherwise noted, the Application Final Action Date chart will be used to determine when individuals may file their adjustment of status applications.

USCIS anticipates it will make this determination each month and post the relevant chart on its website within a week of the Department of State’s publication of the Visa Bulletin.

Categories
Global Pinoy

Nonimmigrants with immigration violations and the waiver application

Share this:

Most of the time, complications in obtaining visas are the result of past errors committed by an applicant, which could have been avoided. These past wrongful acts may come to haunt the future applicant for visa.

Elna and her husband Paul were green card holders and they have a US citizen-born daughter. Paul later moved back to the Philippines for work and Elna would travel often to be with him.

To keep her green card status, she would regularly return to the US and obtain reentry permits for her long trips.

Five years ago, Elna went to the Philippines for 11 months. She was erroneously told by a friend that she will have problems when she returns to the US because she has spent too much time in the Philippines and does not have a reentry permit.

Fake arrival stamp

Elna was worried and sought assistance from this friend. She was referred to a former airport employee who gave her a fake arrival stamp on her passport to show that she was in the Philippines for only one month.

When Elna returned to the US, the immigration officer discovered the fake arrival stamp. To avoid removal proceedings, Elna admitted to the fake stamp, and abandoned her resident status and voluntarily returned to the Philippines.

Elna has been living in the Philippines since she abandoned her status. Elna’s daughter Julia, who lives in the US, is pregnant. She wants to go back for her first grandchild’s birth.

She applies for a tourist visa at the US Embassy but her application is denied because she is inadmissible for fraud based on the fake arrival stamp she previously used. Will Elna be able to obtain a tourist visa to visit Julia and her family?

All grounds of inadmissibility

Elna is eligible to apply for a 212(d)(3) waiver for her fraud. Except for security-related grounds, this waiver applies to virtually all grounds of inadmissibility including visa overstay, criminal records, unauthorized employment, fraud/misrepresentation and removal orders.

The waiver is only available to nonimmigrant visa applicants such as tourists, H-1Bs, students, etc. Eligibility does not depend on having a qualifying family member or the passage of a specified time since the immigration violation.

As there is no specific form for the waiver, the applicant will need to explain the circumstances that led to the immigration violation and provide evidence that he or she is not a threat to the US.

Evidence of life changes such as rehabilitation or good character, established career, good family and community ties in order to persuade the consular officer that the immigration violation will not occur again. The decision to grant this waiver is discretionary.

The waiver can take approximately four to six months to be processed. While the waiver is available to a broad range of applicants, it is only a temporary solution.

The waiver is valid for one year and will need to be renewed each time the applicant applies for a visa.

Considering the harsh consequences involved in fraud and misrepresentation, it is best to avoid committing any immigration violation as it will always affect your chances of coming to the US and will only result in difficult and lengthy separations from your family, friends and business matters.