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If You Have Been a Victim of a Crime, You May Qualify for a U Visa
When I first started practicing immigration law, U visa cases were one of the first kinds of cases I handled. I still handle a lot of these types of cases now. U visas (aka U nonimmigrant status) are for victims of certain types of crimes who have been affected physically and emotionally, they reported the crime to law enforcement, and they were helpful to the investigation/prosecution of the crime. One of the most common ones I see is domestic violence crimes. Congress created this visa in the year 2000 as part of legislation focused on strengthening the investigation of certain crimes to encourage people to report crimes regardless of their…
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Overview of the L-1A Visa – Intracompany Tranfers
The L-1A Intracompany Transferee nonimmigrant visa classification allows a U.S. employer to transfer an employee in a managerial or executive position from a foreign office to the United States. This can also include a foreign company that doesn’t have a U.S. based company yet but wants to set up an office in the U.S. The foreign company can send an executive to the U.S. under the L-1A visa with the purpose of establishing a U.S. based company. L-1 visas are only for transfers within the same company but are good options for foreign companies to expand into the U.S. Often, after the seven-year limit, many L-1A employees apply for permanent…
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An Overview of What You Need to Know About the EB-3 Category
An EB-3 is another immigrant visa preference category in the United States for employment-based permanent residency. This is another category that allows for employers to petition for foreign workers to get their green cards. An EB-3 is intended for “skilled workers,” “professionals,” and “other workers.” An example of a “professional” in the EB-3 category would be a profession that normally requires at least a U.S. bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. An example of a “skilled worker” would be a position that requires at least 2 years of training. For example, if a restaurant is looking for a specialty chef who has at least 2 years of chef experience, the employer…
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What You Need to Know About Your Social Media Accounts and Your Immigration Case
If you don’t think what you post on social media has any relevance to your immigration case, think again. Immigration officers/officials, ICE agents, and government attorneys in immigration removal cases can easily look up someone’s social media accounts just like anyone. In fact, it is something they do. They want to see if they can find evidence that supports your application for whatever immigration benefit you are applying for, or if there may be any incriminating evidence that can be used against you. To emphasize how much social media matters to immigration officials, on March 30, 2018, the Department of State published a notice about revising the DS-260 immigrant visa…