Houston Immigration Articles

The Affect The Illegal Immigrant Reform & Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) and Case Law Since The Effective Date of April 27, 1996.
In 1996, Congress passed a shocking immigration Bill and President Clinton signed it into Law. The "new" law, at that time, was called the Illegal Immigrant Reform & Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) and took effect as of April 27, 1996. The law amended a series of immigration laws and created a list of what is called "Aggravated Felony," INA Section 101(a)(43). In addition, IIRIRA created a category called "Crimes of Moral Turpitude." (more...)

F-1 STUDENT VISA
An alien who is going to pursue full-time academic studies in a college, university, seminary, conservatory, academic high school, private elementary schools, other academic institution, or language-training program in the U.S. can apply for an F-1 via with a U.S. consulate abroad. Applicants for F-1 Student visas must show that they qualify under provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The presumption in the law is that every visa applicant is an intending immigrant. (more...)

How Can A U.S. Citizen Sponsor A Nonimmigrant Visa For A Fiancé Or A Spouse?
K-1 fiancé and K-3 Spousal nonimmigrant visas will allow the U.S. citizen's (U.S.C) fiancé and spouse to enter the United States as non-immigrants. The purpose for the K-1 visa is to allow the foreign fiancé to enter the United States to marry the U.S.C. The purpose for the K-3 visa is to allow the foreign spouse to unite with the U.S citizen or permanent resident alien spouse in the U.S. while waiting for her permanent residency, which is dependent on the visa availability for the home country, which could take several months and sometimes years to be current. (more...)

Transfer Of Foreign Employees To The United States
In today's global economy, numerous companies utilize foreign professionals to achieve their business goals. Often times, companies have offices all over the world; and at times, they need to allocate their human resources to minimize cost while utilize the employees skills and experience to maximize profits. Thus, a smooth transfer of your company's key employees to the United States is always of great concern. Most executives, managers and employees with specialized knowledge can come to work in the United States using the L-1 intra-company transferee visa. (more...)

Non-Immigrant Visas
A non-immigrant visa permits an alien to come to the United States for a specific purpose under a limited time period. The alien must demonstrate that he or she does not have the intent to remain in the United States after the end of the visa period. Often, that person must demonstrate that he or she has family members and sources financial income in the home country to demonstrate non-immigrant intent. (more...)

Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2007
On Thursday May 17, 2007, a bipartisan group of Democrat and Republican Senators struck a deal for swift immigration reforms. Please know that this is NOT law at this point, and the immigration law as we know it, still exists. The proposal will go through the Senate and the House for debate and to vote. (more...)

Medical Disability Waiver
Section 312(b) of the INA states that, the English and the Civic examination "shall not apply to any person who is unable because of physical or developmental disability or mental impairment to comply therewith." Federal regulation, 8 CFR 312.2, requires that a medical professional must establish that the applicant has a "medically determinable" physical or developmental disability or mental impairment in order for the applicant to qualify for the disability exception. (more...)

Visa Bulletin's Unpredictability & What We Can Do About It!
On June 13, 2007, the Department of State issued its Visa Bulletin for July 2007. Based on that Visa Bulletin, with the exceptions of a few categories, virtually all employment-based categories were current. Hundreds and thousand of employees and employers were excited, jubilated, and high hope that visas are now available for them to adjust status to become permanent residents. (more...)

Asylum, Application for Withholding of Removal, and U.N Convention Against Torture
Generally, people in the United States who have "well-founded fear" of persecution and meet certain criteria may apply for Asylum. Asylum is a discretionary remedy. The USCIS or an immigration judge may deny Asylum for a variety of reasons. A denial may or may not affect the alien's status, depending on whether the alien is here lawfully or not. (more...)

U-Visa Nonimmigrant Status and Temporary Immigrant Benefits to Crime Victims, Houston Immigration Attorney
On September 5, 2007, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (hereinafter "USCIS") announced it would publish an Interim Final Rule that grants temporary immigration benefits to certain victims of crimes who assist government officials in investigating or prosecuting the criminal activity. USCIS submitted the Rules to the Federal Register for publication. (more...)

Visa Bulletin For September 2007
This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during September 2007. Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security reports applicants for adjustment of status. (more...)

Gaining Freedom From an Immigration Detention Facility
Your spouse has been gone for several hours when your phone rings.  It’s your husband calling from an immigration detention facility for foreign nationals.  While many concerns will come to mind, the first goal is to help your husband come home.  Below you will find some of the rules involving release from immigration detention.(more...)

Overcoming Immigration Violations When Seeking an Employment-Based Green Card
Foreign employees trying to navigate through the immigrant visa process can hit some waves along the way.  A short period of overstay in the distant past, a week of unauthorized employment, a minor violation of the terms of a nonimmigrant visa, or a misdemeanor conviction can cause many sleepless nights for a foreign worker. (more...)

I-9 Employment verification rules: What every employer should know about immigration laws on hiring employees
Hiring managers and human resource personnel often know the value of hard working foreign nationals, especially when the work involves shortage areas, such as high technology, engineering, and nursing occupations.  As the workforce becomes more global in scope, companies are increasingly learning that it is essential to understand and effectively deal with immigration compliance rules. (more...)

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Raids – A Message to Employers and Employees
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (”ICE”) has stepped up enforcement, aggressively pursuing immigration violators and raiding numerous work sites throughout the country to find potential violators and apprehend them accordingly. In April of 2008, ICE raided a “Shipley Donut” factory in Houston, Texas and on May 5, 2008, they arrested 63 undocumented workers at 11 “El Balazo” restaurants around the Bay Area in California. (more...)

The Blanket L Visa Option: A Stream-lined Approach to Transferring Employees to the U.S.
Multi-national corporations looking to expand operations in the United States or which have highly qualified individuals working abroad, whose knowledge and experience are needed in the U.S., may be able to take advantage of the Blanket L Visa option and transfer foreign workers to the U.S. (more...)