This scenario can easily take place when the Illinois Department of Motor Vehicles, as required by the federal “motor-voter” law, offers a voter registration form to a green card holder applying for a driver’s license. Incredibly, there is no provision in the law to protect the applicant if they supply a green card or foreign passport as identification either.

 The fact is that the federal law prohibits motor vehicle registration agencies from asking about citizenship or discriminating in any way based on citizenship. So the applicant, sometimes a foreign language speaker, often winds up signing just one more form that he thought was associated with getting a driver’s license.

 This act, however, does not necessarily have to kill a pending citizenship application. A green card holder can take proper steps to have his name removed from voter registration rolls and can then demonstrate to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services by affidavits of proof that the registration was made in error.

 If you have applied for citizenship or intend to apply for citizenship and want help processing your application, do not hesitate to call our offices for an appointment to visit with a qualified attorney at (847) 564-0712. Feel free to check out our immigration law Website  for more information as well.

 Under current law, once an alien is unlawfully present in theU.S.for more than 6 months but less than a year, he is subject to a three-year bar from returning after he leaves. Similarly, an alien who is unlawfully present in theU.S.for more than one year will be subject to a ten-year bar.

 This puts many immigrants, such as those caring for sick or injured relatives, in a very difficult position. They must decide whether to stay here for their relative, and risk losing their pending bid for citizenship under an I-130 application, or whether to abandon their relative and return home to avoid a legal bar to re-entry.

 The proposed rule would allow the beneficiary of a family-based I-130 immigration petition to stay in theU.S.and care for his relative while his I-601 hardship waiver is being processed. In order to demonstrate that his case involves the requisite “extreme hardship,” however, it is helpful for the immigrant beneficiary to have an experienced attorney involved in the process.

 If you or a family member wants help in processing a hardship waiver or family-based immigration petition, do not hesitate to call our offices for an appointment with a qualified lawyer at (847) 564-0712. Feel free to check out our immigration law Website as well.

 Some of those deported were guilty of violent crimes, but many were convicted of minor offenses, such as filing incorrect papers to obtain a job. Furthermore, 25 percent of those parents were deported for reasons unrelated to criminal justice at all.

 This is a human tragedy and a financial burden on the U.S. The financial strain from losing a working parent and the emotional strain on the family is incalculable, but the additional burden on the foster care system is tangible and carries a direct cost to taxpayers.

 Much of this tragedy can be avoided when families seek out a reasonably priced, experienced immigration lawyer to help them stay in this country legally.

 See our other posts on this blog and/or check out our immigration law Website for more information about legal avenues of immigration. Also, feel free to call our offices for an appointment to talk with a qualified lawyer at (847) 564-0712 if you need assistance with your immigration needs.

 The pathways to legal residency are many, but almost all of them can be categorized into of the following descriptions:

1.  Employer petitions. If an employer offers a worker a job in this country, the employer can choose to file a petition on your behalf to obtain an employment-related visa or green card (authorizing permanent residency).
2. Worker petitions. In some circumstances, a worker can file their own petition for employment-based immigration. “Aliens of extraordinary ability” may qualify for green cards. You might also qualify for a “national interest waiver.”
3. Investment-based petitions. If an alien makes a substantial investment in a U.S. enterprise meeting certain qualifications, that too may create a path to legal residency, including permanent status.

 Some individuals might also fall into a variety of special classifications allowing them to obtain a green card or some other authorization to stay because they have fled persecution, assisted the U.S. government or helped particular international organizations, but those situations are more rare.

 Of course, a worker who has already stayed in this country for too long without proper authorization might have to jump through more hoops (filing for “waivers of inadmissibility” and so forth) in order to clear a path to legal residency, but a good lawyer can often find a way to get it done.

 If you need assistance or counseling with regard to your immigration status, do not hesitate to contact our offices for an appointment by calling (847) 564-0712, and/or feel free to check out our immigration law Website.

 Generally, the “necessary preparations” would include obtaining a tourist visa, but it is possible to avoid the paperwork, fees and waiting associated with this step if you are an eligible citizen of a country that is enrolled in the U.S. visa waiver program.

 There are 36 countries in the program, including the United Kingdom, Japan and most of Europe, which enables eligible visitors from participating countries to apply online for a visa waiver via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (the “ESTA”).

 In most cases, the ESTA site will immediately determine your eligibility for travel under the visa waiver program, and it will tell you quickly if:

• Travel is not authorized;
• Travel is approved; or
• Travel authorization is pending, subject to further scrutiny.

 Applicants who receive a notice of “pending authorization” should be able to re-check the Website after 72 hours for a definitive response.

 If your ESTA application is rejected or you are not eligible to use the ESTA, then you will have to apply for a regular tourist visa. This process is much longer and more confusing, but can be facilitated by an experienced lawyer.

 If you have questions about travel to the U.S., you may contact our office at (847) 564-0712 to speak with a qualified immigration lawyer. You can also check out our immigration law Website for more information.

 If you are a foreigner engaged to a U.S.citizen and living abroad, then your petition for a K-1 visa will establish your intent to marry an American citizen and stay here permanently.

 That could be problematic if you come here to visit prior to marriage using a tourist visa or visa waiver, as entering the U.S.with a temporary visa with intent to marry and stay could be considered visa fraud.

 In fact, immigration authorities may deny your entry into the country if they even suspect that your temporary visit is a sham, and they will know of your K-1 petition and will consider it when deciding whether to let you visit.

 Thus, you should be prepared to provide evidence that you currently live outside of the U.S.and will continue to do so until your K-1 is processed. Documents related to your residence and employment (such as a lease, an employment contract or other documents) can be helpful in demonstrating the true temporary nature of your visit.

 If you cannot prove the temporary nature of your visit, you should consider postponing your visit or filing your K-1 petition after the visit (if it has not been filed already).

 If you need assistance or counseling with regard to immigration visas, you may contact our office at (847) 564-0712 to speak with a qualified lawyer. You can also check out the pertinent section of our immigration law Website for more information.

 Thus, employers who seek an employment start date on or after October 1, 2012 (the start of the 2013 fiscal year) for foreign workers in specialty occupations should file visa petitions on behalf of those workers soon. By rule, the specialty occupations include, but are not limited to: scientists, engineers and computer programmers.

 Petitions should be filed as soon as possible in order to avoid being shut down by the annual cap limitation for the H-1B program (cap amount of 65,000 for FY 2012). Some petitions will be exempt from the cap if they are made on behalf of certain individuals who have obtained an advancedU.S.degree, but USCIS grants the exemption only to the first 20,000 applications.

 The current H-1B petition counts are as follows through April 20, 2012:

•  H-1B Regular Cap: 25,000 cap-eligible petitions
• H-1B Advanced Degree Exemption:  10,900 petitions

 This pace beats even the largest projections for the opening month and represents the fastest pace in years for H-1B petition filings.

 Up to 6,800 visas may also be set aside for workers fromChileandSingapore, pursuant to the H-1B1 program arising out of the U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreements.

 H-1B petitions, in order to be properly filed, must be complete and accurate. Necessary documents include, but are not limited to the following:

•  A Form I-129 petition with appropriate supplements;
• Labor condition applications on Form ETA 9035;
• Required evidence of a beneficiary’s educational background;
• Duplicate copies of certain documents; and
• Consulate-specific forms required by the Department of State where appropriate.

 If you are in need of more information about business immigration, please check the pertinent section of our immigration law Website or call our offices for an appointment at (847)564-0712.

 The increase in demand for EB-2 visas (for workers with advanced degrees and exceptional abilities) involving foreign nationals from India and China has been large in recent years, and the annual supply of available visa numbers for natives of these countries is greatly less than the demand now.

 In fact, the EB-2 visa process is so backlogged with applications for people fromIndiaandChinathat by May or June of this year, the cut-off dates on the Visa Bulletin (for priority of processing applications) will roll back to August 2007.

 Furthermore, Mr. Oppenheim has stated that there will be no spill-over this year of unused EB-1 visas (for “priority workers” seeking permanent residency) into the EB-2 category as in past years.

 As a result, it is quite likely that immigrant visas could become altogether unavailable for new, prospective EB-2 immigrants fromIndiaandChinathis year. However, an updated set of immigrant visa numbers will be published by October 1, 2012, when the new fiscal year begins for the Department of State and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

 If you are an employer or employer’s representative in need of foreign workers, do not hesitate to contact our offices for a consultation at (847) 564-0712 and/or feel free to check out our immigration law Website for further information.

 The report points to evidence from employers that “denials, either at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services [the “USCIS”] or at consulates, particularly involving Indian nationals, share the common attribute of new [unwritten] arbitrary standards that go beyond the statutes and regulations.”

 For example, hard data demonstrates that while virtually all foreign nationals experienced an increase in denial rates for L-1B petitions in the last several years, those denial rates increased much more dramatically for petitions on behalf of Indian nationals.

 The denial rate for Indian-born applicants for new L-1B petitions rose from 2.8 percent in FY 2008 to 22.5 percent in FY 2009, while the denial rates for Canadian applicants rose only from 2.0 to 2.9 percent during the same time period.

 Thus, the USCIS and U.S. Consulates are effectively re-proportioning visa spots to countries other thanIndia, andU.S.companies are losing out on the chance to hire people of special technological or professional training that come fromIndia.

 If you are an employer or an employer’s representative in need of foreign worker assistance, please do not hesitate to call our offices at (847) 564-0712 for immigration law assistance. You can also check out our immigration law Website for further information.

 Among other things, the report noted that:

•  Denial rates for L-1B petitions rose from 7 percent in FY 2007 to 27 percent in FY 2011.
• The Request for Evidence rate for L-1B petitions rose from 2 percent to 63 percent of all petitions in the last 7 years.
• The Request for Evidence rate for L-1A petitions rose from 4 percent in FY 2004 to 51 percent in FY 2011.
• The denial rate for H-1B petitions was just 11 percent in FY 2007, but it rose to an average of 22 percent over the next 3 years.
• For H-1B petitions, the Request for Evidence rate rose from 4 percent in FY 2004 to 26 percent in FY 2011.

 This kind of action by the USCIS only serves to encourage companies to keep their labor outside of theU.S.while hampering the domestic economy.

 Furthermore, American companies have reported that time lost due to the increase in denials and Requests for Evidence are costing them millions of dollars in project delays and contract penalties, while aiding foreign competitors.

 It has become very difficult for employers to get through the H-1B and L-1 Visa processes without the aid of a top notch advocate.

 If you are an employer or employer’s representative and need assistance with understanding or navigating the visa process, please do not hesitate to contact our offices at (847) 564-0712 and/or check out our immigration law Website for more information.