Green Card Archives • Monique Kornfeld

Aug

2017

RAISE Act Attacks Legal Immigration and Ignores Business and Family Needs

The Senate has proposed legislation that would have far-reaching consequences, drastically cutting legal immigration, favoring highly-skilled immigration substantially and reducing family sponsorship and unskilled labor. This simply ignores the benefits of legal immigration, family unity, chain immigration and the needs of US employers. The Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy (RAISE) Act, introduced by READ MORE

Dec

2016

US DHS Final Rule on High Skilled Workers Provides for Employment Authorization under Compelling Circumstances

On November 18, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security published a final rule providing benefits to many highly skilled nonimmigrant workers and those workers with immigrant employment-based cases (Forms I-140) in the EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 categories. This final rule will become effective on January 17, 2017. Among the benefits provided by this rule is READ MORE

Oct

2013

Court Finds Beneficiary Has Standing to Challenge Denial of Petitioner’s Form I-140 Immigrant Visa Petition

The Sixth Circuit for the US Court of Appeals has found that under the APA the beneficiary has procedural standing to challenge the denial of his employer petitioner’s Form I-140 immigrant visa petition on his behalf. Patel v. USCIS, 10/11/13 (No. 12-1962). The court provided the following reasoning for its decision. Under the Administrative Procedure Act READ MORE

Jun

2012

Worldwide EB-2 Preference Category to Regress to January 2009

The US Department of State’s release of the Visa Bulletin for July 2012 shows the establishment of a cut-off date of January 1, 2009, for the worldwide EB-2 preference category. This is due to the continued heavy demand for numbers in the EB-2 preference category (there are only 140,000 visa numbers available each year). China and READ MORE

Apr

2009

In May 2009, EB-3 Category Freezes for 5 Months

The US Department of State’s May 2009 Visa Bulletin shows that immigrant visas in the EB-3 category will be unavailable for the next 5 months. Previously, the wait was approximately six years, which now seems attractive compared to the 5-month freeze. The implications of this suspension is pervasive and dire. An immigrant visa number must READ MORE

Sep

2008

Bill to Level Employment-Based Visas Numbers Among Countries

On April 29, 2008,Â Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced H.R. 5921: High Skilled Per Country Level Elimination Act. According to the Congressional Research Service, this Act “amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) eliminate the per-country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants; (2) increase the per-country numerical limitation for family-sponsored immigrants; (3) establish the fiscal year worldwide READ MORE

Jul

2008

USCIS Clarifies 245(k) Exemption

Donald Neufeld, Acting Associate Director, Domestic Operations for USCIS, in a memo published July 14, 2008, explains how section 245(k) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) renders waives three grounds of inadmissibility to adjustment of status to legal permanent residency under section 245(c). He states that 245(k) waives status violations, unauthorized employment and other READ MORE

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