Lawyer Linh

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  • Employment,  Employment-Based Immigration,  Green Card

    The Green Card Process for Foreign Workers

    October 28, 2022 /

    I’ve met with many employers with the same issue – they are having a hard time finding workers. One potential solution is petitioning for foreign workers to fill those jobs. The process works and can fill a range of jobs from landscapers to cooks to hotel workers to tech jobs and everything in between. However, the caveat is that it will take time, and it can take even longer depending on where the foreign worker was born (nationals from India can end up waiting almost 10 years for a green card through an employer). My answer to employers who say that they need workers now and cannot wait long is…

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    Linh

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    Department of Homeland Security Announces Final Rule For H-1B Processing for FY 2020

    February 18, 2019

    Overview of the L-1A Visa – Intracompany Tranfers

    September 21, 2018

    A TN Visa Overview: A Possible Alternative to the H-1B

    January 23, 2019
  • Green Card,  Policy Change

    USCIS Extends Green Card Extensions to 24 Months For Green Card Renewals

    September 28, 2022 /

    On September 28, 2022, USCIS announced effective September 26, 2022, they will automatically extend green cards for an additional 24 months for those who have filed for a renewal. Green card holders who have applied to renew their expired or expiring green cards will receive a 24-month extension notice, which used to be 12 months. For those who applied for renewal prior to September 26, USCIS should be sending new receipt notices to reflect the 24-month extension. To renew a green card, the earliest a renewal can be sent is within 6 months before the current green card expires. Almost all green card renewals are never approved within 6 months…

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    Linh

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    Which One Processes Faster? A Fiance(e) Visa or Spouse Visa?

    September 23, 2022
    Violence Against Women Act

    Obtaining a Green Card Under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)

    October 5, 2018

    The Green Card Process for Foreign Workers

    October 28, 2022
  • Family-Based Immigration,  Green Card,  Lawful Permanent Residency,  Marriage

    Which One Processes Faster? A Fiance(e) Visa or Spouse Visa?

    September 23, 2022 /

    I meet with many people who ask me if they should do a fiance visa or spouse visa if their significant other is not in the U.S. and will process at a U.S. consulate. Generally speaking, the fiance visa will be faster if the goal is to be together in the U.S. as soon as possible. Remember that once your fiance comes to the U.S. with the fiance visa (K1 visa), you must get married within 90 days of your fiance entering. Once you are married, the green card application can be filed, and your fiance would remain in the U.S. while that is processed. Eventually, an interview will be…

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    Linh

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    COVID-19 Vaccines Will Be Required for Green Card Applicants Starting October 1, 2021

    September 2, 2021

    Why Could Your Case Be Taking So Long? USCIS Processing Delays Remain at Crisis Level

    September 24, 2021

    What You Need to Know About the New Public Charge Rule Effective 10/14/2019

    September 3, 2019
  • Green Card

    My Green Card Will Expire Soon, but I Filed for a Renewal. What Happens if I Don’t Get My Green Card Before My Current One Expires?

    September 12, 2022 /

    If your green card is going to expire soon, and you have already filed for renewal, what happens once your current green card does expire and you don’t have your new green card yet? Fortunately, you’ll be just fine. When you send in your renewal application, USCIS will send you a receipt notice confirming they have received the file and it’s processing. That receipt notice will also serve as an automatic 12-month extension of your current green card. If the expiration date on your green card shows October 1, 2022, that notice autonomically extends it for another 12 months. If you are in this situation and need to show proof…

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    Linh

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    USCIS Updated Policy on the 3-Year and 10-Year Unlawful Presence Bars

    September 6, 2022

    If You Are A Restaurant Owner, Petitioning for A Specialty Chef Is An Option

    November 12, 2018

    The Green Card Process for Foreign Workers

    October 28, 2022
  • Green Card,  Policy Change

    USCIS Updated Policy on the 3-Year and 10-Year Unlawful Presence Bars

    September 6, 2022 /

    On June 24, 2022, USCIS issued new guidance on the 3 and 10-year bars and green cards, but this new policy will only apply to a limited group of people. You can go read my post here that goes into detail about these unlawful presence bars. A brief summary of the 3 and 10-year bar is this – if a person has been in the U.S. beyond their authorized period of stay for more than 180 days but less than a year and they leave, they will be barred from coming back to the U.S. for 3 years. If the person stays for more than 1 year beyond their authorized…

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    Linh

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    Why Could Your Case Be Taking So Long? USCIS Processing Delays Remain at Crisis Level

    September 24, 2021

    The I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions Explained

    June 28, 2018
    fiancee visa spouse visa adjustement of status

    Understanding the Spouse Visa and Fiancé(e) Visa

    July 23, 2018
  • Employment-Based Immigration,  Family-Based Immigration,  Green Card,  Lawful Permanent Residency,  Policy Change,  U.S. Citizenship

    Why Could Your Case Be Taking So Long? USCIS Processing Delays Remain at Crisis Level

    September 24, 2021 /

    Nationwide, you and millions of families, businesses, and individuals applying for immigration benefits are waiting longer for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to process and approve applications and petitions. Based on previously available USCIS data, in Fiscal Year (FY) 2014, an average case took about five months to process. In FY2020, an average case took more than nine months. Anyone who files applications or petitions with USCIS is affected. You and other people applying for family-based benefits, employment-based benefits, naturalization, travel documents, and employment authorization are all experiencing delays. Between FY2017 and FY2019, USCIS’s processing times for all petitions and application form types rose more than 37%. The dramatic…

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    Linh

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    COVID-19 Vaccines Will Be Required for Green Card Applicants Starting October 1, 2021

    September 2, 2021

    Overview of the L-1A Visa – Intracompany Tranfers

    September 21, 2018

    Overview of the H-1B Visa and Why They May Be Getting Harder to Get

    July 5, 2018
  • Employment-Based Immigration,  Family-Based Immigration,  Green Card,  Lawful Permanent Residency

    The 3 Agencies Involved in Immigrant Visa Cases: USCIS, NVC, and the U.S. Consulate/Embassy

    September 14, 2021 /

    I want to preface this post by saying that all three of these agencies are involved when a family member or employee is being petitioned for, and that person is not currently in the U.S. and will be processing at a U.S. consulate/embassy abroad. However, there are instances when a person is going through the immigration process that involves the I-601A stateside waiver process (you can read more about that process on this blog post), and dealing with these three agencies would also apply in those cases. For anyone who wants to be petitioned for, or if the person is self-petitioning, to become a green card holder in the U.S.,…

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    Linh

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    Why Could Your Case Be Taking So Long? USCIS Processing Delays Remain at Crisis Level

    September 24, 2021

    COVID-19 Vaccines Will Be Required for Green Card Applicants Starting October 1, 2021

    September 2, 2021

    If You Are A Restaurant Owner, Petitioning for A Specialty Chef Is An Option

    November 12, 2018
  • Policy Change

    Public Charge Rule Updates and Other U.S. Immigration Changes Due to COVID-19

    August 18, 2020 /

    No one can deny that this year has been full of uncertainty and changes because of the pandemic. I cannot think of one sector or industry that has not been affected in one way or another, including our U.S. immigration system. Many changes have happened and as attorneys, we have had to navigate our way through these unprecedented times staying up to date on current events and how they will be affecting our clients’ cases. Within our immigration system, there are many different areas. For example, we have the immigration courts, the U.S. Department of State, USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services), and the National Visa Center (NVC). Because of…

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    Linh

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    COVID-19 Vaccines Will Be Required for Green Card Applicants Starting October 1, 2021

    September 2, 2021

    New Policy for the I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions

    December 17, 2018

    Important Information on the Public Charge Rule Effective 2/24/2020

    February 7, 2020
  • News

    The Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the Impact on U.S. Immigration

    March 6, 2020 /

    The coronavirus has been a top news story for the past several weeks, and it has had an impact on many things such as travel, people buying supplies in anticipation of having to be quarantined that would keep them from work and school, shortage of masks, the impact on the economy, and many more things. It has also had an impact on U.S. immigration. This week, the local Seattle USCIS office (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) closed because an employee had visited a family member at the Life Care Facility in Kirkland, WA, where there was a coronavirus outbreak. That closure affects cases that are being processed at that office…

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    Linh

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    Ukraine Designated for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 Months

    March 8, 2022

    What President Biden Said About Immigration In His State of the Union Speech

    March 2, 2022

    The First 100 Days of the Biden Administration – Immigration Edition

    February 3, 2021
  • Visa Bulletin

    October 2019 Visa Bulletin

    September 19, 2019 /

    The U.S. Department of State publishes a visa bulletin every month that shows where they are in the process of issuing green cards. This bulletin allows people to see how long it could be before a visa becomes available for them to be able to apply for their green cards. Here is the October 2019 visa bulletin.  You can also click here to see it. FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES Final Action Dates Dates for Filing Family-Sponsored Visa Applications EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCES Final Action Dates Dates for Filing of Employment-Based Visa Applications The reason that this bulletin exists is that there is a cap on the number of green cards that are issued each…

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    Linh

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    December 2018 Visa Bulletin

    November 29, 2018

    Specialty Chefs and Green Cards

    June 17, 2019

    March 2020 Visa Bulletin

    March 9, 2020
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