Atty. Robert Reeves

Visa petitions and embassy approvals

Friday, 19 March 2010 17:52 Atty Robert Reeves & Jeff Khurgel

PETITIONING for a loved one to immigrate to the United States can be a difficult and confusing process. US immigration involves three or four different US government offices in different parts of the world, numerous government forms and dozens of supporting documents, multiple layers of discretion and protracted delays.

A good starting point is a thorough explanation of a case by an experienced immigration law firm, which is a crucial step. A US citizen or lawful permanent resident intending to immigrate his or her family member is known as the “petitioner.” Petitioners should have a full understanding of the steps to be taken and all the costs and approximate waiting time involved. Once this has been established, a petition is filed before the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to certify the relationship between the petitioner and the beneficiary (the family member whom the petitioner wants to immigrate).

Immigration options for RNs and PTs

Tuesday, 16 March 2010 21:58 Atty. Robert Reeves & Joseph I. Elias

THE immigration landscape for foreign RNs and PTs has changed in recent years due in most part to the retrogression of immigrant available visa numbers and US education requirements for these occupations. RNs and PTs must therefore adjust their strategies to allow them to immigrate to the US. There are two avenues for working in the US: the nonimmigrant and immigrant visas. The first is a temporary visa for a fixed number of years while the latter is to live permanently in the US.

Many US employers would like to evaluate a foreign PT to ensure they are a good fit with their organization before sponsoring them for immigrant visas. The nonimmigrant working visa is a good mechanism to allow for this. The most common of these is the H-1B visa. This is a working visa for occupations that require the minimum of a specialized bachelor’s degree for entry into the field. The USCIS will begin accepting H-1B visa petitions on April 1, 2010 for employment to begin on October 1, 2010.

Visa petitions and embassy approvals

Tuesday, 09 March 2010 21:14 Atty. Robert Reeves & Jeff L. Khurgel

A good starting point is a thorough explanation of a case by an experienced immigration law firm, which is a crucial step. A US citizen or lawful permanent resident intending to immigrate his or her family member is known as the "petitioner". Petitioners should have a full understanding of the steps to be taken and all the costs and approximate waiting time involved. Once this has been established, a petition is filed before the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to certify the relationship between the petitioner and the beneficiary (the family member whom the petitioner wants to immigrate).

Filing for H-1B workers

Tuesday, 02 March 2010 20:48 Atty. Robert Reeves & May Zhang

THE April 1st H-1B filing date is approaching fast. As discussed in our previous articles, the H-1B visa is subject to an annual cap of 65,000. An additional 20,000 H1B visas are allocated to alien workers who obtained their master’s degree in the US For the last several years the demand for H-1Bs exceeded the quota available, leading to a historical and unprecedented exhaustion of H-1B numbers. Despite the economic downturn and wave of layoffs in the US, the cap was reached last year and many petitions were denied after the cap was reached. Since the volume of petitions this year is expected to be greater due to the recovering economy, we again advise all employers to file H-1B visa petitions for prospective employees on April 1, 2010 or as early as possible.

Waivers for misrepresentation in immigration court

Sunday, 28 February 2010 20:16 Atty. Robert Reeves & Jeremiah Johnson

IT’S no secret that sometimes an immigrant obtains immigrant status through misrepresentations. Sometimes the misrepresentations are innocent; sometimes they are not. In either case, if the Government discovers the misrepresentation, it is likely that the Government will place the immigrant in removal proceedings. Fortunately, under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), past lies, fraud or misrepresentations can be forgiven or corrected by a waiver under INA § 237(a)(1)(H).

Unlawful presence waivers

Tuesday, 23 February 2010 20:37 Atty. Robert Reeves & Nancy Miller

GIVEN full freedom of choice, most people who are already in the United States and are eligible for a green card would prefer to complete the process without having to leave. However, that is not always possible. In order to be eligible to adjust one’s status to that of a lawful permanent resident, an intending immigrant who is in the United States, must (with two exceptions) be currently in status. The first exception is if one was inspected and admitted at the time of entry and is applying for adjustment based on being the spouse of a US citizen, parent of an over-21-year old US citizen or child (under 21 years old) of US citizens. The second exception is if one is the beneficiary of a family or employment-based petition that was filed on or before April 30, 2001 and was approvable when filed.

Unlawful presence waivers

Sunday, 21 February 2010 18:13 Atty. Robert Reeves & Nancy Miller

What you need to know about deportation

Wednesday, 17 February 2010 00:25 Atty. Robert Reeves & Jeremiah Johnson

FOR many immigrants and their families, deportation is a frightening word, and rightfully so. However, the more one knows about deportation, and how to stop it, the less scary the whole process can be. Despite years of news of raids and detention, the Immigration Service cannot simply knock on your door and physically remove a person, or "deport" them from the United States. Rather persons are protected by the law and have a right to appear before an Immigration Court. Once in Immigration Court, during a process known as "removal proceedings," a Government attorney will attempt to convince an Immigration Judge to order the alien removed.

What you need to know about deportation

Sunday, 14 February 2010 20:34 Atty. Robert Reeves & Jeremiah Johnson

(1 vote, average: 5.00 out of 5)

To begin the removal proceedings, Immigration & Customs Enforcement ("ICE") will issue a "Notice to Appear" ("NTA") charging an alien with being removable from the United States. There are many grounds for removing an alien from the United States including the commission of a crime, overstaying a non-immigrant visa, or even entering the United States without a visa. ICE may also issue an NTA if the alien misrepresented some material fact or used fraudulent documents in order to obtain an immigration benefit – even if the misrepresentation occurred many years ago. Once the NTA is filed with the Immigration Court, the alien will be scheduled to appear for what is called a "Master Hearing" to determine the next steps. This first hearing is critical for the alien and can set the foundation for either a successful defense or a disappointing result.