“IMMIGRATION LAW CONNECTION”

Just days ago, the Russian Supreme Court issued a letter providing guidance to regional courts. The letter clarifies that families that have had their preliminary court date prior to January 1, 2013 will be able to assume physical custody and obtain the necessary documents from Russian authorities to exit the country. This will be the [...]

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Starting February 1, 2013, USCIS will begin collecting a new fee of $165 from foreign nationals arriving in the United States as new immigrants.
The agency said it has worked closely with the Department of State (DOS) to implement the new fee, which will allow USCIS to recover the costs of processing immigrant visas in the [...]

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1. In a change from the prior announcement, people currently in removal proceedings will use the USCIS process when it is implemented on August 15, 2012, rather than go through ICE. Only individuals in detention will go through ICE to make a deferred action request.
2. Information provided as part of the [...]

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THE DREAM ACT: A CENTRAL ELEMENT OF REFORM
The Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors (DREAM) Act (S. 729/H.R. 1751) is a bipartisan bill that would provide a conditional six-year pathway to legal permanent residence for certain unauthorized youth who, as children, were brought to the U.S. if they: complete high [...]

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“Deferred action” amounts to an excercise of favorable discretion by the authorities, which allows an individual to remain temporarily in the United States and apply for work authorization. It does not confer any kind of permanent residence, nor can it be seen as a form of amnesty.
Under this new initiative, deferred action [...]

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In keeping with “tradition”, the U.S. State Department, which oversees the annual Greencard Lottery program, has posted participation dates and instructions for the upcoming DV-2013 lottery, which will accept entries between October 4 and November 5.
As usual, the lottery entries will only be accepted online at the official U.S. State Department site during the [...]

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Generally, a Greencard holder (aka “Lawful Permanent Resident”) is required to maintain his/her worldwide domicile and residence in the United States, and should be physically present during 6 months of any 12-month period.   Absences from the United States for over 12 months, can lead to a loss of the permanent resident status and lead to [...]

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that he would attach the so-called “DREAM Act” to a Defense authorization bill expected to come before the Senate as early as next week.
While both Democrats and Republicans acknowledge a desperate need of reform, it will be interesting to see if Congress can get its Act (pun intended) together [...]

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The annual DV program, frequently referred to at the “Green Card Lottery”, makes visas available to persons meeting simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. A computer-generated, random lottery drawing chooses selectees for D(iversity) V(isas).
The visas are distributed among six geographic regions, with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration, and [...]

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(DHS Secretary) Janet Napolitano granted deferred action for two years to widows and widowers of U.S. citizens—as well as their unmarried children under 18 years old—who reside in the United States and who were married for less than two years prior to their spouse’s death.
USCIS will suspend the adjudication of visa petitions and adjustment applications [...]

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