Lei Mei is a professor at a Boston area university. She is a citizen of China and came to the United States after a successful career as a scientist in China, where her research helped discover a new drug that helps ease the pain of arthritis. Lei Mei entered the United States with a temporary H-1B visa. Her visa will expire in 2010 and she is trying to think of ways that she can make the United States her permanent home.
Juan is currently living in Worcester, Massachusetts. He is a citizen of Mexico and came to the United States after a lucrative career as a famous sculptor in Mexico. Juan works for an art museum in Worcester, but is not happy with his job and is thinking of looking for new employment.
Marco is a teacher in Brazil. He has been approached by a Massachusetts town interested in hiring him. Marco has helped school systems around South America make drastic changes that have helped increase graduation rates dramatically. Marco has family that already immigrated to the United States and is interested in living in the United States permanently.
Amélia owns a large company in Cape Verde. Her company was on the brink of bankruptcy before she was hired. Amélia has successfully made the company into one of the world’s most successful companies in its field. She is interested in opening an office in Boston and would like to move to Boston to oversee the company’s operations.
Liu is a soccer coach from Taiwan. She coached many Taiwanese teams to league championships, but never coached any teams internationally. Liu has been approached by an American university interested in hiring her to coach its women’s soccer team. Liu is considering moving to the United States permanently.
Lei Mei, Juan, Marco, Amélia, and Liu may seem like they do not have much in common other than that they are non-U.S. Citizens. However, they are all similar in that they all may be eligible to obtain their U.S. Lawful Permanent Residency, otherwise known as a green card, through the EB-1 visa.
The EB-1 visa is reserved only for those people who are able to demonstrate an extraordinary ability in the sciences, the arts, education, business, or athletics. People wanting to apply for an EB-1 visa must prove that they are at the very top of their field or endeavor. They also must prove that they have achieved national or international recognition.
The EB-1 visa is somewhat unique in that it lets a person self-petition. Therefore, Juan, who no longer wants to work at the art museum in Worcester, does not need the museum to help him with his immigration case and can instead petition for himself. Similarly, Amélia can self-petition as she works to open her company’s Boston office. By allowing people to self-petition, the EB-1 visa helps to ease the applicant’s stress in finding an employer to petition for them and also helps reduce costs, as it allows applicants to bypass the costly labor certification process that are required for other employment-based visas.
There are some drawbacks to applying for an EB-1 visa. First, applicants are required to submit a lot of documents showing that they have extraordinary ability because it is held to a very high standard. Second, the U.S. government prefers to give EB-1 visas to people who came to the U.S. on the O visa, which is a temporary visa for persons with extraordinary ability. However, a person is not required to have an O visa to apply for an EB-1 visa. Third, there are strict requirements for the type of proof that an applicant must submit to prove extraordinary ability. Hiring an immigration lawyer helps significantly with all of these potential problems for an EB-1 applicant and greatly increases an applicant’s chances for success.
Lei Mei, Juan, Marco, Amélia, and Liu can greatly benefit from the EB-1 visa. If they can prove that they possess extraordinary ability, these non-U.S. Citizens will soon find themselves as permanent residents of the United States.
Keith A. Pabian, Esq. is an Immigration Attorney at Pabian & Russell, LLC. Mr. Pabian can be reached at (617) 951-3100 or by email at kpabian@pabianrussell.com if you would like to schedule a consultation or are in need of immigration assistance or advice.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
The Possibility of Immigration Reform under President-Elect Obama
Since Barack Obama’s November 5th victory in the presidential election, immigration advocates are optimistic that comprehensive immigration reform will take place under President-Elect Barack Obama. But how optimistic should these advocates be that comprehensive immigration reform will actually happen in the near future?
For a United States president, Obama has a unique perspective on immigration as his father is from Kenya. He is only the fourth known U.S. president ever to have a foreign parent. During his presidential campaign, Obama often hinted that comprehensive immigration reform was on his priority list when he took office. During an appearance on Univision Spanish-language TV network in September 2008, Obama was asked whether he supported stopping immigration raids. Obama responded by calling the raids a “publicity stunt” and added, “They are a tactic to push people away from focusing on the failures of the immigration system as a whole.”
However, Obama may not want to be seen prioritizing immigration with other pressing issues on his To Do List. According to Joel Millman and June Kronholz of the Wall Street Journal, the new administration’s preoccupation with the economic crisis will likely delay sweeping changes to immigration law. According to Millman and Kronholz, “Obama will be focused on the economy and tax policy and isn’t likely to expend political capital on such a divisive issue.”
If Obama is unable to tackle comprehensive immigration reform early in his presidency, he may take a “piecemeal” approach to fixing the immigration system by tackling areas of the law that are particularly troublesome. According to Marcelo Balive of New America Media, areas that need to be immediately addressed include the backlog of visa and citizenship applications, the overwhelmed immigration courts, an inadequate prison system for immigrant detainees, and the Bush administration decision to begin mailing notices to employers of workers with suspect Social Security numbers. Furthermore, based on Obama’s September 2008 remarks, it appears that the stopping of immigration raids may be a top priority for him as president.
The question remains, however, whether comprehensive immigration reform is on the horizon as President-Elect Obama prepares to take office.
“What the election showed is that the conventional wisdom on why immigration reform is too hot to handle is wrong,” said Frank Sharry of America’s Voice, a pro-immigration lobbying group. In fact, according to Sharry, Democrats need to push for an immigration overhaul to satisfy the now crucial Latino voting constituency for Obama’s reelection bid in 2012.
According to Clarissa Martinez, Senior Director of Immigration and National Campaigns for the National Council of La Raza, over the last three years in particular, immigration has been the “driving push factor” influencing the Latino vote. Statistics support Ms. Martinez’s argument. Election results indicate that a candidate’s stance on immigration reform played a pivotal role in who gained the majority vote in certain battleground congressional races and Obama greatly benefited by strong support from the Latino and immigrant communities.
President-Elect Obama has a “historic opportunity to carry out immigration reform, because he received widespread citizen support from voters, and he will have a majority in Congress and House of Representatives that can help him make the changes needed to help undocumented immigrants who work in the United States,” said José Eduardo Borunda, political science professor at the Autonomous University of Chihuahua in Juarez, Mexico. However, according to Frank Sharry, “he is going to have people in one ear who say, ‘Wait wait, it’s too controversial,’ and in the other, people will be saying, ‘But this is why you got elected.’”
Those supporting comprehensive immigration reform hope that their voice is the one that President-Elect Obama chooses to follow early in his presidency.
Keith A. Pabian, Esq. is an Immigration Attorney at Pabian & Russell, LLC. Mr. Pabian can be reached at (617) 951-3100 or by email at kpabian@pabianrussell.com if you would like to schedule a consultation or are in need of immigration assistance or advice.
For a United States president, Obama has a unique perspective on immigration as his father is from Kenya. He is only the fourth known U.S. president ever to have a foreign parent. During his presidential campaign, Obama often hinted that comprehensive immigration reform was on his priority list when he took office. During an appearance on Univision Spanish-language TV network in September 2008, Obama was asked whether he supported stopping immigration raids. Obama responded by calling the raids a “publicity stunt” and added, “They are a tactic to push people away from focusing on the failures of the immigration system as a whole.”
However, Obama may not want to be seen prioritizing immigration with other pressing issues on his To Do List. According to Joel Millman and June Kronholz of the Wall Street Journal, the new administration’s preoccupation with the economic crisis will likely delay sweeping changes to immigration law. According to Millman and Kronholz, “Obama will be focused on the economy and tax policy and isn’t likely to expend political capital on such a divisive issue.”
If Obama is unable to tackle comprehensive immigration reform early in his presidency, he may take a “piecemeal” approach to fixing the immigration system by tackling areas of the law that are particularly troublesome. According to Marcelo Balive of New America Media, areas that need to be immediately addressed include the backlog of visa and citizenship applications, the overwhelmed immigration courts, an inadequate prison system for immigrant detainees, and the Bush administration decision to begin mailing notices to employers of workers with suspect Social Security numbers. Furthermore, based on Obama’s September 2008 remarks, it appears that the stopping of immigration raids may be a top priority for him as president.
The question remains, however, whether comprehensive immigration reform is on the horizon as President-Elect Obama prepares to take office.
“What the election showed is that the conventional wisdom on why immigration reform is too hot to handle is wrong,” said Frank Sharry of America’s Voice, a pro-immigration lobbying group. In fact, according to Sharry, Democrats need to push for an immigration overhaul to satisfy the now crucial Latino voting constituency for Obama’s reelection bid in 2012.
According to Clarissa Martinez, Senior Director of Immigration and National Campaigns for the National Council of La Raza, over the last three years in particular, immigration has been the “driving push factor” influencing the Latino vote. Statistics support Ms. Martinez’s argument. Election results indicate that a candidate’s stance on immigration reform played a pivotal role in who gained the majority vote in certain battleground congressional races and Obama greatly benefited by strong support from the Latino and immigrant communities.
President-Elect Obama has a “historic opportunity to carry out immigration reform, because he received widespread citizen support from voters, and he will have a majority in Congress and House of Representatives that can help him make the changes needed to help undocumented immigrants who work in the United States,” said José Eduardo Borunda, political science professor at the Autonomous University of Chihuahua in Juarez, Mexico. However, according to Frank Sharry, “he is going to have people in one ear who say, ‘Wait wait, it’s too controversial,’ and in the other, people will be saying, ‘But this is why you got elected.’”
Those supporting comprehensive immigration reform hope that their voice is the one that President-Elect Obama chooses to follow early in his presidency.
Keith A. Pabian, Esq. is an Immigration Attorney at Pabian & Russell, LLC. Mr. Pabian can be reached at (617) 951-3100 or by email at kpabian@pabianrussell.com if you would like to schedule a consultation or are in need of immigration assistance or advice.
Learning About the U.S. Immigration System: The K Visa
Tim and Lei Mei were married on December 31, 2008 at a beautiful New Year’s Eve service in Beijing, China. Tim and Lei Mei had been dating for three years and were extremely excited to be getting married. Lei Mei has two young children from a previous marriage. Tim has become extremely close with Lei Mei’s children and has begun to think of them as his own. Tim and Lei Mei want to live in Boston, Massachusetts where Tim has a stable job.
Even though Tim and Lei Mei were just married, they are very worried that they will not be able to live together in the coming months or possibly, even years. That is because Tim is a U.S. Citizen, but Lei Mei is a citizen of China.
Examples like Tim and Lei Mei’s situation are common for families where the husband and wife are citizens of different countries. For a couple that wants to live in the United States, the newly married couple is faced with the prospect of living apart while the husband or wife who is a U.S. Citizen applies for their spouse to become a Legal Permanent Resident of the U.S. This process can take months or even years. To help alleviate some of this stress, the U.S. government implemented the K visa.
If you are a U.S. Citizen, the K visa is a valuable tool in helping you and your spouse remain together throughout the immigration process. The K visa is available in two situations. First, the K visa is an option for a husband or wife of a U.S. Citizen if the couple was married in a location outside of the United States. Second, a K visa can be used for a fiancé of a U.S. Citizen to travel to the United States and be married in the U.S.
In addition to allowing a family to live together in the United States, the K visa has some other benefits that might make it attractive to a U.S. Citizen who married a man or woman from another country. First, the U.S. Citizen’s spouse or fiancé’s children are also able to come to the U.S. with their parent on a K visa. Therefore, in Tim and Lei Mei’s example, Lei Mei’s children are able to travel with her to the U.S. to live with her and Tim. Second, a person with a K visa is allowed to work in the United States. Therefore, the U.S. Citizen’s spouse or fiancé is able to work in the U.S. during the time that their green card application is being reviewed by the U.S. government.
While there are positive aspects of the K visa, it is also important to know about the negatives. First, the K visa application is costly. However, the K visa is unlike many other U.S. visas in that it allows the person holding the visa to work and earn money as soon as he or she enters the United States. Second, if a non-U.S. Citizen uses a K visa as a fiancé, intending to come to the U.S. to marry a U.S. Citizen, they only have 90 days from the time that the he or she enters the U.S. to be married. Therefore, be careful to plan ahead to be sure that you and your loved one meet this deadline. Third, the children of the non-U.S. Citizen must be under 21 and unmarried to be able to travel with their parent on a K visa. If they are married or over 21, other types of visas must be considered. Finally, a K visa is only available for the fiancé or spouse of a U.S. Citizen. Therefore, if you are a Lawful Permanent Resident, you must first become a U.S. Citizen before you can use a K visa for a loved one.
The K visa is something that every U.S. Citizen should consider when they marry a non-U.S. Citizen living outside of the United States. It allows families to be united in the U.S. and to live together throughout the lengthy immigration process.
Keith A. Pabian, Esq. is an Immigration Attorney at Pabian & Russell, LLC. Mr. Pabian can be reached at (617) 951-3100 or by email at kpabian@pabianrussell.com if you would like to schedule a consultation or are in need of immigration assistance or advice.
Even though Tim and Lei Mei were just married, they are very worried that they will not be able to live together in the coming months or possibly, even years. That is because Tim is a U.S. Citizen, but Lei Mei is a citizen of China.
Examples like Tim and Lei Mei’s situation are common for families where the husband and wife are citizens of different countries. For a couple that wants to live in the United States, the newly married couple is faced with the prospect of living apart while the husband or wife who is a U.S. Citizen applies for their spouse to become a Legal Permanent Resident of the U.S. This process can take months or even years. To help alleviate some of this stress, the U.S. government implemented the K visa.
If you are a U.S. Citizen, the K visa is a valuable tool in helping you and your spouse remain together throughout the immigration process. The K visa is available in two situations. First, the K visa is an option for a husband or wife of a U.S. Citizen if the couple was married in a location outside of the United States. Second, a K visa can be used for a fiancé of a U.S. Citizen to travel to the United States and be married in the U.S.
In addition to allowing a family to live together in the United States, the K visa has some other benefits that might make it attractive to a U.S. Citizen who married a man or woman from another country. First, the U.S. Citizen’s spouse or fiancé’s children are also able to come to the U.S. with their parent on a K visa. Therefore, in Tim and Lei Mei’s example, Lei Mei’s children are able to travel with her to the U.S. to live with her and Tim. Second, a person with a K visa is allowed to work in the United States. Therefore, the U.S. Citizen’s spouse or fiancé is able to work in the U.S. during the time that their green card application is being reviewed by the U.S. government.
While there are positive aspects of the K visa, it is also important to know about the negatives. First, the K visa application is costly. However, the K visa is unlike many other U.S. visas in that it allows the person holding the visa to work and earn money as soon as he or she enters the United States. Second, if a non-U.S. Citizen uses a K visa as a fiancé, intending to come to the U.S. to marry a U.S. Citizen, they only have 90 days from the time that the he or she enters the U.S. to be married. Therefore, be careful to plan ahead to be sure that you and your loved one meet this deadline. Third, the children of the non-U.S. Citizen must be under 21 and unmarried to be able to travel with their parent on a K visa. If they are married or over 21, other types of visas must be considered. Finally, a K visa is only available for the fiancé or spouse of a U.S. Citizen. Therefore, if you are a Lawful Permanent Resident, you must first become a U.S. Citizen before you can use a K visa for a loved one.
The K visa is something that every U.S. Citizen should consider when they marry a non-U.S. Citizen living outside of the United States. It allows families to be united in the U.S. and to live together throughout the lengthy immigration process.
Keith A. Pabian, Esq. is an Immigration Attorney at Pabian & Russell, LLC. Mr. Pabian can be reached at (617) 951-3100 or by email at kpabian@pabianrussell.com if you would like to schedule a consultation or are in need of immigration assistance or advice.
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