VISA WAIVER TRAVELERS MUST APPLY FOR ADVANCE PERMISSION TO TRAVEL   Before traveling to the US using a Visa Waiver, the traveler must supply biographic and other information through an official website established by the US Government. Visa Waiver travelers must use an "e-passport" having an embedded electronic chip. Some older passports can still be used without the chip.

Citizens of the following countries can travel to the USA without a visa. The entry will be for a maximum of 90 days and cannot be extended. The countries are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom,

FILING FEE INCREASES   In 2007, the fees charged by USCIS (immigration service) to accept and process applications and petitions were increased. In some cases the new fees were several times greater than the previous fees. The highest fee is for an Application to Remove the Condition on an investor's resident status. This fee increased from $475 to $2,850, an increase of $2,375!

Other increases, while not as large, are substantial. The new fee for Adjustment of Status for one adult almost tripled, going from $325 to $930. Be sure to check the latest filing fee information. Be aware that some fees include the fingerprint fee (Biometrics) while other fees are "package" fees that include several applications in one fee.

Read the fine print. Papers submitted with an incorrect fee will be returned.

NEW CITIZENSHIP EXAMINATION   Every applicant for Naturalization is tested on knowledge relating to US culture and history. The applicant must correctly answer 6 out of 10 questions. An applicant who fails, can ask to be retested.

The old test was mostly trivial facts such as the colors of the US flag; the names of the two US Senators from the applicant's state; why we celebrate July 4th as a holiday; and similar.

A new test is now being used. It is intended to test the applicant's understanding of the basic features of the US goverment; democracy; and related institutions and concepts; asking "why" and "explain" rather than merely state simple facts.

The passing grade will still be 6 out of 10 and a re-test will be possible.

Here is a link to the new test questions and answers. If you use the Link, use the Back Button on your browser to return here. Let us know if the link does not work.

Link to current (2009) Naturalization test

PERM Labor Certificate Procedures   In March 2005 the PERM Labor Certificate regulations went into effect. (PERM is an acronym for the name of the program. Don't try to figure out what it means.) PERM shifts the burden of supervising recruiting (testing the labor market and looking for qualified US workers) from the Department of Labor (DOL) to the employer.

The PERM system wwas supposed to result in faster approval of Labor Certificates. It has not lived up to its promise. It can take two years or more to get a PERM Labor Certificate with a further delay of several more years on the Immigrant Visa Waiting list. Most of those in the US who are out-of-status will not be able to apply for Adjustment of Status for a green card in the US unless they are covered under Section 245i, are the eligible spouse of a US Citizen, or are otherwise qualified to apply in the US.

H-1B Professional Work Visa Limit Reached for Fiscal Year 2009   H-1B visas are in short supply. An H-1B visa allows the holder of a Bachelor degree to work for up to 6 years in a professional job. About 65,000 H-1B visas are available each Fiscal year. The demand for these visas in good economic times is so great that all available visas are used up on the first day they become available. In ailing economic times, some H-1B visas are available for a few month longer. H-1B Visas are always available for those already in H-1B status who transfer directly to another employer or extend current H-1B status.

An H-1B petition can be submitted 6 months before a job is to begin. The first day to apply for an H-1B visa is 01 April for a jobs starting the following 01 October or later.

Visas Cannot Be Re-Issued (Renewed) in the US.   The US State Department no longer renews visas in the US. Previously, H, E, L and a few other visas could be re-issued while in the US by sending the passport to the State Department. This is no longer possible except for specified diplomatic visas. Visas renewals will be processed at US Consulates outside the US.

Change in Approval Time for I-130 Family Petitions.   Relative petitions I-130 will be approved only when the petition becomes "Current". Previously, a petition was approved when it was reached in the processing backlog even if it would not be "Current' for several years. A petition is "Current" when the Visa Bulletin shows that the petition receipt date ("Priority Date") has been reached. The Visa Bulletin is available on this website.

Under the rules now in affect, Relative petitions with waiting lists including Family 1st, Family 2A and 2B, Family 3 and Family 4 will all be held until they are "Current". Approvals will not be issued before that time. This means that a petition filed for person with a waiting list date, say 5 years in the future, may not be approved for 5 years.

Since petitions for Immediate Relatives of US citizen do not have waiting lists, these petitions will continue to be approved as they are reached in the processing backlog.

Other Changes  

Visitors cannot change to Student Status (F-1) while in the US unless they inform the US Airport/Border Inspector of the possible plan to attend school here. It is probably better for person to apply for a student visa at a US consulate or inform the consul that they might want to go to school so the visit visa can be marked "Potential Student"

Law to Help Some Children Over 21. Some over 21 year old children can keep benefits of their parent's petitions. Previously when a child becamne 21, the child was dropped from a parent's case. The rules and Regulations implementing are complicated but allow some children to benefit even after they turn 21. This is called the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)

Spouses of Persons in the US In E Treaty or L Intra-Company Status Can Apply for Work Authorization.   The law now allows the spouse of person in the US in E-1, E-2, or L-1 status to apply for work authorization. This applies to spouses in the US in E-1 or E-2 Dependent status or in L-2 status. These spouses will be required to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). The EAD is a photo ID card verifying the right to work in the US. Children will not be authorized to work.

Section 245i of the Immigration Act allows some to apply for a green card in the US even if Out of Status if papers were submitted by April 30, 2001.   Section 245i allows people with an Immigration petition or a Labor Certificate that was submitted on or before April 30, 2001 to apply for a green card in the US even if they entered the US illegally or were out-of-status in the US. This allows the beneficiary of a Labor Certificate or an Immgration petition filed on or before April 30, 2001 to apply for Adjustment of Status. They can apply even if out-of-status. Caution: anyone who is the beneficiary of a Labor Certificate or petition filed after January 14, 1998 must also prove that they they were physically present in the US on 21 December 2000, the date of enactment of the LIFE law.

Some people are confused by Section 245i of the Immigration Act. This section applies to people who are in the US and who are out of status (stayed too long, worked without permission, etc.); or who entered the US illegally. These people not usually permittted to apply for a green card in the US (some exceptions for the spouse of a US citizen) but if a person meets the requirements of Section 245i, the person can apply for the green card in the US by paying a larger filing fee. Important: to use Section 245i the applicant must have an approved immigrant petition from an employer or a qualified family member. Section 245i is NOT an amnesty, it does not create a new way to get a green card. It does allow more people to apply in the US who have an approved and current immigrant petition.

The LIFE Act Will Allow Family Members Waiting for a Green Card to Come to the US.   A new "V" visa will allow the spouse and minor children of Legal Residents (spouse and children who are under 21 and unmarried in Family 2A Preference) to come to the US if they have been waiting for a green card for at least three years.

Here is a summary of the rules for the "V" visa:

Must have filed an Immigrant Petition for FAMILY 2A Preference for the qualifying family ON OR BEFORE 21 December 2000, the date the law was signed by the President.

The petition must have been pending with the BCIS for at least three years or the family must have been waiting for the quota or for consular processing for at least three years Consuls are now issuing V visas.

More Good News: The LIFE Act allows those who were in the US and who were out-of-status will be eligible for the V visa. The law barring re-entry for these applicants will not be applied. The LIFE Act also allows eligible family members who are in the US to apply to change the new V status even if they are in the US illegally, and with the extension of Section 245(i), V visa holders should be eligible to apply for Adjustment of Status to green card status.

The LIFE Act Allows Spouses Of U.S. Citizens Waiting for an Immigrant Visa to Enter the US with a "K" Visa.   The LIFE Act enlarges the eligibility for the so called "Fiance" visa (K) by allowing the spouse of a U.S. citizen to come to the US and be authorized to work while waiting for the petition to be processed. This new visa is a K3 visa. Minor children who will accompany the spouse can also apply for K3 visas. (Caution: minor children of a US citizen's spouse usually need their own petition and cannot "accompany" a parent).

Here are the rules:

The Petitioner must be a US citizen. The US citizen must already be married to the K3 visa applicant. (Do not confuse this with the existing K visa for Fiances To be eligible for the original "K" visa the couple cannot be married.) An immigrant visa petition must be submitted before the application for a "K3" visa can be made.

The applicant for the new K3 visa must be outside the US. A spouse already in the US in unauthorized status cannot apply for a K3 visa. The K3 visa petition is filed in the US. It is NOT filed at a consulate.

  Where the marriage to the U.S. citizen occurred outside of US, the K3 visa applicant must apply for the K-3 visa at a US consulate in the country where the marriage took place.

K3 status is available those with currently pending petitions as well as those who apply in the future. A K3 visa allows a person to work in the US.

With Section 245i no longer in effect, an unauthorized person will not be issued a Diversity Lottery visa in the US.   If they go back home to apply, they are subject to the 3 year and 10 year bars to re-entry. It seems that the Lottery is no longer a possibility for those in the US in unauthorized status for over 6 months.

Summary Exclusion at the Border/Airport.   Any person who comes to the US with no passport, with fraudulent documents, or who is belived entering in violation of the type of visa they hold, can be sent back immediately unless the person can show a credible fear of persecution. Applications for asylum must be made within 1 year of entering the US.

Comments:

These are not all the provisions and are not the official wording of new laws. Some of the provisions contain waivers and exceptions not noted here. These few extracts are just to give the reader an idea of the kinds of provisions contained in some of the new laws.

Travel Permission (Advance Parole) While Waiting for Adjustment of Status Decision

Applications for Advance Parole (travel) can be filed with an adjustment application. Generally applicants who have been in the US in out-of-staus condition for 6 months or more should not travel even with Advance Parole. Even if a person has been given Advance Parole, if they travel out of the US and return in parole status, they can still be denied an Adjustment of Status if they were in the US in unauthorized status for more than 6 months before they filed the adjustment application.

Will all children born in the US be citizens at birth?

There have been several news reports that a law was passed so that children born in the US of non-citizen parents will no longer be US citizens at birth. These reports are not accurate.

There has some discussion of such a change. The right of a person born in the US to be a citizen at birth comes from the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution passed in 1868 after the US Civil War. To change this would require amending the Constitution. It could not be done by passing a law.

To amend the Constitution, a proposed amendment must be passed by both Houses of Congress then ratified by the legislatures of three-quarters of the States. It is very difficult to get 38 States to agree on anything so amendments are not common. In over 200 years since adoption of the Constitution and the original Bill of Rights, there have been only 16 amendments to the US Constitution.

The idea of having some children born here treated differently and not be Citizens at birth is not a popular idea. In this writer's opinion, it is an extreme view held by a small minority at this time with little chance of being adopted as a Constitutional amendment.

So for now at least, all children born in the US subject to the jurisdiction of the US will continue to be US citizens at birth.