A recent decision by immigration officials underscores the importance that immigrants seeking permanent residence need to be fully aware of the terms and conditions of their visa category and take personal responsibility in maintaining lawful status and following rules.  

FBI Name Check Policy Revised For Adjustment of Status (AOS) Applications, How does this Affect You?
Submitted by the staff of Immigration Law Associates, P.C.

The USCIS Background Check Process
Every individual that applies for a U.S. immigration benefit must go through a criminal and national security background check to confirm eligibility. This background check process usually involves three stages. The first and fastest of these is The Interagency Border Inspection System (IBIS) name check. The IBIS is a database that stores the law enforcement information of multiple agencies and the information is usually immediately available.

Impact of DUI arrests on Visa Issuance

The Department of State (DOS) has recently issued a cable, “Guidance on Processing Visa Applicants with Drunken Driving Hits,” and revised the text of the applicable section of Foreign Affairs Manual accordingly.  Under this new directive, consular officers must refer immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applicants to panel physicians for medical examination if the applicant has a single DUI arrest within the last three calendar years, if the applicant has two or more DUI arrests or a conviction (s) in any time, or if there is any other evidence to suggest the applicant has an alcohol problem. As this new directive is not discretionary but mandatory, it is most likely that any alcohol-related arrest (i.e., disorderly conduct, assault or battery while intoxicated) at any time could trigger this new directive, and render visa applicants inadmissible.

Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) Scheme

Applications for the OCI Scheme will be received at the Indian Embassy, Washington, DC and Consulates General of India, USA with effect from January 9, 2006. 

Highlights of the Scheme

The Constitution of India does not allow holding Indian citizenship and citizenship of a foreign country simultaneously. Based on the recommendation of the High Level committee on Indian Diaspora, the Government of India decided to grant Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) commonly known as ‘Dual Citizenship’.

Forward Movement in Employment-based Priority Dates

H-1B Processing

In the aftermath of the speedy and complete exhaustion of   FY2008 H-1B numbers, USCIS has clarified some issues

Sixty-five thousand (65,000) H-1B visas become available April 1, 2007 for an employment  start date on or after October 1, 2007.  In recent years, the supply has run out within just a few months.   We remind employers and foreign nationals that they may strengthen their chances of timely approval by preparing their H-1B cases now.   In addition, as a service to our readers we present a short discussion of some recent USCIS policy changes, as they may affect an H-1B  individual’s present or planned immigration status. 

As of October 1, any individual in need of an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) -- interim or not – must send Form I-765 to the address indicated by the form’s instructions.     Local processing will no longer take place, and the form requesting it has already been discontinued.  Until October 1, offices that had been accepting applications locally may continue to do so, but will simply forward them to the appropriate service center rather than processing them.  Applicants are best advised to send their forms directly to the indicated center for fastest service.  After October 1, local offices will return any Form I-765 to the applicant, advising him or her to redirect the application.

As a result of this change, local USCIS offices will no longer produce interim Employment Authorization Cards.  Those whose EAD applications have been pending 90 days may still use InfoPass to schedule appointments at local offices to obtain an interim EAD, but processing will no longer be local. Rather, the local office will call the service center to inquire about the case; however, it will not issue the EAD.  (According to USCIS, their aim is to respond to any such phone call within 30 minutes.)  It is therefore especially important for applicants to allow adequate lead time and respond promptly to USCIS requests for documentation.  For example, failure to attend a biometrics appointment, or a delay submitting information requested by USCIS may

re-start the 90-day period.   

Petitions for R-1/I-360 Religious Worker Status

Come Under Increased Scrutiny

Having found that immigration benefit fraud was pervasive in 2002, USCIS conducted a study on nonimmigrant (R-1) and immigrant (I-360) religious worker petitions in 2005 in order to assess their integrity.  The study subjected a random sample of 220 religious worker petitions to more intense scrutiny than they normally receive.  As a result, USCIS found approximately 33% of all petitions to be fraudulent.  Some examples outlined by the study included “paper” churches, misrepresentations of qualifications and duties of the beneficiary, falsification of sponsor’s ability to pay, and a failure to report current deportation proceedings.

The success of a permanent resident application hinges on the clear and persuasive presentation of intricate provisions in the immigration laws. Our firm recently represented an Indian national in such a case and the U.S consulate in Mumbai reversed its decision in favor of our client. Here is a synopsis of the facts of the case; the clients name has of course been changed to protect his privacy.

Last month a U.S citizen with a brother in Mumbai came to our law firm to seek legal assistance with respect to his immigrant visa application. On November 15, 1990, she had filed an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative on her brother’s behalf. The petition was approved on December 10, 1990 and the visa for the November 15, 1990, priority date became current on December 1, 2002. At that point, the brother along with his wife and two daughters, filed the Immigrant Visa Applications with the National Visa Center. On December 27, 2003, the consulate called the beneficiary, his wife and younger daughter for an interview at the U.S Consulate in Mumbai but did not call Supriya, the older daughter, who was born on November 18, 1981 and had turned 21 just 13 days before the visa became available on December 1, 2002.

Based on the assumption that this was a simple clerical error, they took her with them for the interview anyway. At the interview, the consular officer informed the family that Supriya was not qualified for an immigrant visa due to the fact that she had turned 21 years of age before the visa became current. Based on this, he denied her application but granted the rest of the family’s application for permanent residence.

Chicago, Illinois May 1 –  Immigration Law Associates personnel who attended the recent BIO 2006 convention here encountered a variety of immigration questions from students, universities, multi-national and start-up businesses, and collateral service providers such as recruiters.

Status as a U.S. permanent resident is difficult to gain, and it can be all too easily lost due some understandable confusion about what it really means to maintain permanent resident status.  A USCIS Inspections Officer may, at a port-of-entry, challenge an LPR’s status after only a six month absence. In that case, the Immigration Service will look for evidence indicating whether the LPR’s life in the U.S. has been of a permanent or temporary character.