H1B Visa Lawyer Blog

September 3, 2015

Alert – USCIS Simplifies the Immigrant Fee Payment Process

As part of USCIS’s transition to its online Electronic Immigration System, they have revised payment processing for the Immigrant Fee Payment. The Immigrant Fee can now be paid by anyone including an Attorney as long as the Attorney has the immigrant’s Alien Registration Number (A-Number) and DOS Case ID. Prior to this change, the USCIS instructions for making payment online specified that only the Immigrating Applicant was allowed to pay the Immigrant Fee.

If you are immigrating to the United States as a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR), you must pay the $165 Immigrant Fee through the USCIS Electronic Immigration System unless you are exempt. The government uses this fee to process the immigrant visa packet and produce an individual’s Permanent Resident Card (Green Card). An Applicant will not receive the physical Green Card until the Immigrant Fee is paid.

Note: The USCIS Electronic Immigration System is an online account-based system that allows you to electronically submit certain benefit requests and fees.

September 2, 2015

Impact of New Americans (2015) – Nevada, New Hampshire & New Jersey

by Kellie N. Lego

Immigration Policy Center Releases Updated State-by-State Fact Sheets (2015)

The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) has released all fifty states, the District of Columbia and the United States (Overall), for a total of fifty-two updated fact sheets with accompanying info graphics and other details. These fact sheets highlight the demographic and economic impact of Immigrants, Asians and Latinos in each state. The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) is the research and policy division of the American Immigration Council (AIC).

As Washington D.C. continues the discussion of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, we thought that it would be a good time to provide some statistics on the Immigrant population in the United States as provided by this IPC research. Once a week we will be posting a blog with information on three states at a time. This week we will highlight; Nevada, New Hampshire & New Jersey.

September 1, 2015

Revised: Updated Service Center Processing Times (as of 6/30/15)

by Kellie N. Lego

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 8/31/15 with processing dates as of 6/30/15.

If you filed a petition with one of the Service Centers, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.

California Service Center (CSC)

August 31, 2015

MVP “Immigration Q & A Forum” – This Friday, Sept. 4, 2015

by Kellie N. Lego

We wanted to find a new way to engage our reader base. Every other Friday, we will post the ten (10) best/most frequently asked questions received during the week from our h1bvisalawyerblog, Facebook, and Twitter readers. We will answer those questions and provide the Q&A on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.

If you have a burning question, are seeking assistance with a difficult immigration related case, wish to discuss your views on Comprehensive Immigration Reform, DREAMers, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, priority dates, the monthly visa bulletin, adjustment applications, etc., please contact us by submitting your question/comment/viewpoint in our comment box provided on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.

Our next “Q & A Forum” will take place this Friday, September 4, 2015. Act now and submit your questions!

August 28, 2015

Alert: USCIS Discontinues Legacy e-Filing System

by Kellie N. Lego

On Monday, August 24th, USCIS released the News Alert, “USCIS Discontinues Legacy e-Filing System“, stating that they are discontinuing their legacy e-Filing system. This USCIS legacy system has offered online filing for several USCIS forms. When this system is decommissioned, you must use paper forms when filing all categories of:

Form I-131, Application for Travel Document

Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker

August 26, 2015

Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times – 8/1/15

by Kellie N. Lego

Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times were released with processing dates as of 8/1/15.

If you filed an appeal, please review the link below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.

Administrative Appeals Office

August 25, 2015

Impact of New Americans (2015) – Missouri, Montana & Nebraska

by Kellie N. Lego

Immigration Policy Center Releases Updated State-by-State Fact Sheets (2015)

The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) has released all fifty states, the District of Columbia and the United States (Overall), for a total of fifty-two updated fact sheets with accompanying info graphics and other details. These fact sheets highlight the demographic and economic impact of Immigrants, Asians and Latinos in each state. The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) is the research and policy division of the American Immigration Council (AIC).

As Washington D.C. continues the discussion of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, we thought that it would be a good time to provide some statistics on the Immigrant population in the United States as provided by this IPC research. Once a week we will be posting a blog with information on three states at a time. This week we will highlight; Missouri, Montana & Nebraska.

August 24, 2015

Updated Service Center Processing Times (as of 6/30/15)

by Kellie N. Lego

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 8/18/15 with processing dates as of 6/30/15.

If you filed a petition with one of the Service Centers, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.

California Service Center (CSC)

August 21, 2015

MVP LAW GROUP – Immigration Q&A Forum, Friday, August 21, 2015

by Kellie N. Lego

MVP Law Group, P.A. makes available the information and materials in this forum for informational purposes only. The information is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice or any contractual obligations. Further, the use of this site, and the sending or receipt of this information, does not create an attorney-client relationship between us. Therefore, your communication with us through this forum will not be considered as privileged or confidential.

Question #1 – Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

If I returned my work permit for DACA, during the required time period, will I be issued a new one and how soon?

August 19, 2015

EB-5 Regional Centers Naming Conventions – Be Careful!

by Kellie N. Lego

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) would like to remind stakeholders that “EB-5 regional centers” and related commercial enterprises should not contain the words “United States,” “U.S.,” “US” and “Federal” in their names. Using these words in the name of a regional center or enterprise may imply a false relationship between the entity (using the name) and the U.S. government and its’ federal agencies. Please read the USCIS message, “News: USCIS Message on EB-5 Regional Centers Naming Conventions” for further details and regulations.

On Monday, August 17th, USCIS also reminded stakeholders that no one, including EB-5 regional centers, may use the official U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seal or the DHS seal coupled with the USCIS signature without first obtaining express written approval from the Secretary of DHS. Please read the USCIS message, “News: USCIS Message: Unauthorized Use of the DHS Seal” for further details and regulations.

Background: