Immigration Updates
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Supreme Court Decision: Deferred Action for Parents
Posted: 6/23/2016 3:04 PM
News Flash: The US Supreme Court announced a decision today on the deferred action for parents (DAPA) program. The court reached a deadlock on this issue. The court will leave in place the lower court decision that blocks the deferred action program for undocumented (sometimes called illegal) parents of US citizen and permanent resident children. For more information on the court decision see DAPA Court Decision. The earlier, two-year Deferred Action program for undocumented children who entere…
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Posted: 6/23/2016 9:49 AM
How to record Departure from the US It may be important to prove the date(s) of your departure from the US. For example, you may need to show that you have not overstayed your admission period to the US, or you may want to document the time you have spent out of the US for purposes of recapturing time in H-1B status. When you enter the US by air or sea, DHS records your entry and departure electronically. DHS no longer issues paper I-94 at air or sea ports of entry. You may visit the following…
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Posted: 5/18/2016 8:27 AM
The clock is ticking . . . The Immigration Service recently proposed raising the filing fees for many immigration applications. We expect filing fees to increase in the Fall of 2016. The biggest proposed filing fee increases are for the following applications. Naturalization (Form N-400) Increase from $595 to $640 Proof of US Citizenship (Forms N-600 and N-600K) Increase from $600 to $1170 Relative Petitions (Forms I-130 and I-485) I-130: Increase from $420 to $535 I-485:…
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Posted: 5/12/2016 11:24 AM
The Diversity Lottery Program (also known as the Diversity Visa Immigrant Program) provides up to 50,000 immigrant visas (green cards) every year for those from counties with low rates of immigration to the US. Lottery winners are drawn from all entries of those who qualify to apply. For more information on the Diversity Lottery, including a list of countries whose natives are eligible to apply for the lottery, visit travel.state.gov. Warning: Filing an application for the Diversity Lottery ma…
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Posted: 12/18/2015 6:43 PM
Visa Waiver Program Changes: Recent legislation limits who may be eligible to enter the US without a visa on the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Beginning in 2016, citizens of the following countries will no longer be eligible to enter the US using the Visa Waiver Program: Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Sudan. Citizens of these countries will now be required to apply for a visa to enter the US. The Visa Waiver Program allows citizens of many countries to enter the US for up to 90 days for business or touris…