Category: Immigration

Dear Atty. Gurfinkel: I am out of status, but my employer filed a labor certification for me in 2006. The I-140 petition was approved, and the priority date is now…

Due to demand stemming from aging demographics, the number of foreign-trained physicians practicing in the US continues to grow. According to the American Medical Association, International Medical Graduates (IMGs) comprise…

“The L-1 Visa category is available to individuals seeking to take up employment in the United States as “intra-company transferees” of multinational companies.  In order to qualify as an intra-company…

Several Filipino teachers, especially on the East Coast, have come to me for consultation, after the USCIS denied their national interest waiver (NIW) petitions. Apparently these teachers were initially petitioned…

THE US House of Representatives has ignored a call to pass immigration reform over the past two years, opting to politicize the issue. As a result, the Boehner-led House has…

Most visitors to the US enter without any problems. However, some encounter more scrutiny and are denied admission due to violation of immigration laws. In this article, we’ll examine different…

BY RATING Decision dated January 8, 2014 (mailed March 13, 2014), the US Department of Veterans Affairs, through its Pension Management Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, granted a Marine Corps…

THE H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows business professionals to work in the United States for a specific amount of time. The purpose of the H-1B visa is…

USCIS recently informed representatives of the American Immigration Lawyers Association that about 40,000 asylum cases are currently pending at its asylum offices throughout the US An estimated 28,000 of those…

EVEN as the Obama Administration has espoused some more lenient policies toward persons who have violated their immigration status in the US, such as prosecutorial discretion, USCIS over the past…

Dear Atty. Gurfinkel: Years ago, I entered the US under a different name but have been law-abiding and paying my taxes since then.  My child, who was born in the…

A CRIMINAL conviction for domestic violence might affect an alien’s eligibility for immigration relief or benefit. This conviction might qualify as a ground for inadmissibility under crime involving moral turpitude…

ONCE again, the USCIS has announced that the H-1B cap has been reached within one week of opening on April 1, 2014.  Even though we are talking about visas that…

The May 2014 priority dates indicate that the F-2A priority date still remains at September 8, 2013, which is almost the same as being “current.”  It is phenomenal news for spouses…

Even as the Obama Administration has espoused some more lenient policies toward persons who have violated their immigration status in the US, such as prosecutorial discretion, USCIS over the past…

A criminal conviction for domestic violence might affect an alien’s eligibility for immigration relief or benefit. This conviction might qualify as a ground for inadmissibility under crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). It might also qualify as a ground for deportability under aggravated felony or domestic violence. Grounds for inadmissibility disqualify an alien who is trying to enter the US from getting a visa or admission. Grounds for deportability make an alien who has already been admitted into the US susceptible to removal.

IF the Department of Homeland Security has initiated Removal Proceedings against you, an Immigration Judge will preside over your case in Immigration Court and a government attorney will seek your…

Although some same – sex couples, like many opposite sex couples, may think they can file and handle the case on their own, I would strongly suggest they seek the…

ALTHOUGH attorneys take an oath upon admission to the bar to zealously advocate on behalf of their clients, I have heard an overwhelming number of stories in which potential clients…

Dear Atty Gurfinkel: My American Citizen sister would like to petition me, but it would take many, many years to get a green card through a family petition.  She also…

As this year’s H-1B filing season comes to a close, employers not able to submit their applications on time or those whose cases are not chosen in the H-1B lottery…

IN accordance with the US Supreme Court’s 2011 decision in Judulang v. Holder, the BIA issued a decision on February 28, 2014 that makes Section 212(c) relief available to thousands…

Drug trafficking crimes are aggravated felonies. There are two distinct aggravated felonies under INA 101(a)(43)(B), illicit trafficking in drugs and drug trafficking. In Matter of Sanchez-Cornejo, 24 I&N Dec. 273…

REPUBLIC Act No. 10175, known as the Philippine Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, is caught in a time warp. Its provisions on cybercrime offenses in Chapter 11 are copied from…

Employees of an international company that are transferred into the US temporarily to work for the company’s parent, branch, affiliate or subsidiary enter the US on an L-1 Intra-company Transferee…

Many people may be guilty of attempted “alien smuggling” and not even realize it. They may also be totally unaware of the harsh or drastic consequences to themselves and the…

THE debate over the United States economy and dearth of high-tech workers has spotlighted the H-1B professional working visa in the press.  Nonetheless, Congress has been slow to respond in…