Atty. Joel Bander

Getting a green card without going through labor certification

Sunday, 02 November 2008 20:20 Atty. Joel R. Bander

Extraordinary individual petitions (EB-1) are an extremely quick route to a green card. Petitioners need not go through the labor certification process, and the category is current for all countries, allowing all beneficiaries worldwide to apply for a green card simultaneously with the filing of the immigrant petition. Moreover, aliens with extraordinary ability may self-petition and do not need an employer or specific job offer.

EB-1 refers to the first preference employment-based immigrant worker category and applies to aliens with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics, outstanding professors and researchers, and certain multinational executives and managers

When moral character is an issue in naturalization

Saturday, 25 October 2008 13:12 Atty. Joel Bander

Most people apply for a green card with the ultimate goal of becoming a US citizen someday. Certain benefits are granted to citizens that are not available to green card holders, such as the right to vote in federal elections, right to obtain citizenship for children born abroad, eligibility for federal jobs, and right to become an elected official.

The process of conferring citizenship on a person is called naturalization. To be eligible for naturalization, the following requirements must be met: (1) must be a lawful permanent resident for five years, or three years if applying based on marriage to a US citizen; (2) must be physically present for at least one-half of the five-year or three-year period; (3) must be 18 years or over; (4) must have resided for at least three months in the state where the application is filed; and (5) must meet the good moral character requirement for five years prior to filing the application.

‘How do I bring my family to the US?’

Friday, 24 October 2008 10:18 Atty. Joel Bander

You can bring your family to the United States if you are a US citizen, legal permanent resident (LPR) or US non-immigrant.

A US citizen or LPR needs to file Form I-130 immigrant petition for the alien relative. Visas are immediately available for the parents, spouses and unmarried minor children of a US citizen. Any unmarried son or daughter of a US citizen 21 years of age and above will have to wait 6-16 years (depending on your country of chargeability) before visas become available. For the married son or daughter and siblings of a US citizen the waiting period may even take longer.

‘How do I bring my family to the US?’

Wednesday, 22 October 2008 11:18 Joel Bander

You can bring your family to the United States if you are a US citizen, legal permanent resident (LPR) or US non-immigrant.

Getting a Green Card without Going through Labor Certification

Thursday, 09 October 2008 12:10 Atty. Joel Bander

Changing Jobs While on Pending Form I-485

Saturday, 04 October 2008 10:39 Atty. Joel Bander

(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

With the current unavailability of EB-3 visas until October 2008 and the slow processing of applications for adjustment of status (Form I-485), those with pending Form I-485 are faced with seemingly endless waiting for their green cards. This is problematic especially for those whose petitioning employers have shut down their businesses or at the brink of doing so due to the present economic situation. Fortunately, with the portability of employment-based immigrant petition (Form I-140), those with approved Form I-140 can avail of the opportunity to change to a new employment provided certain requirements are met.

Get Your Green Card Quicker through EB-2

Friday, 26 September 2008 10:13 Atty. Joel Bander

(2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)

If you are aiming to get a green card through employment-based petition, it is relatively faster to do it through EB-2 category than the most commonly sought EB-3 category. EB-2 category is “current” for beneficiaries born in the Philippines. This means visa numbers are readily available for EB-2 beneficiaries, allowing them to apply for a green card immediately after approval of the labor certification application and simultaneously with the filing of the employer’s immigrant petition (Form I-140). In contrast, the waiting time to apply for a green card under EB-3 can be as long as four years after approval of the labor certification.

EB-2 stands for second preference employment-based immigrant petition covering professionals with advanced degrees or equivalent and individuals who possess exceptional ability in the sciences, arts or business.

EB-3 Visas Now Available!

Wednesday, 17 September 2008 08:15 Atty. Joel Bander

Visas are now available for EB-3 employment-based petitions based on the recently issued October 2008 visa bulletin. EB-3 visas have been unavailable since July 2008. The July 2008 visa bulletin reported that the priority date for EB-3 category is expected to return to the June 2008 level in October 1, 2008. However, for the Philippines, the priority date retrogressed further to January 1, 2005 from the June 2008 priority date of March 1, 2006.

For beneficiaries of EB-3 petitions, this means a longer waiting time to adjust to lawful permanent resident status. For some people, this may even present or aggravate problems concerning maintenance of status in the United States.

Moving to the US: The L-1 Visa

Thursday, 11 September 2008 07:43 Atty. joel Bander

If you are working abroad and your company has an office in the US or is planning to expand its operations into the US, the L-1 visa may be available to you.

The L-1 visa is a nonimmigrant visa designed to facilitate temporary transfer of foreign companies’ managers, executives, and specialized knowledge workers to the US to work in the same capacity with an office of the same employer, its parent, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate. Also known as Intracompany Transferee visa, this visa may be used not only by already established US companies, but also by start-up, establishing companies petitioning for foreign employees to open and develop a new business in the US.