The National Visa Center just announced a work-around for same-sex couple fiancé visa applicants who are afraid to be interviewed in their home countries due to attitudes about gay people. The NVC already provides a process for same-sex couple immigrant visa applicants to request to be interviewed in a third country if their home country is inhospitable. Now this same protection is offered in the fiancé visa context, provided applicants plan in advance.
As of November 12, 2014, the NVC has agreed to accept photocopies of the civil documents (such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, police certificates and criminal dispositions) rather than the originals. We believe this is a positive change for two reasons. First, it saves time, which is of the utmost importance to our clients. Second, visa applicants will keep custody of their own original documents at all times and will no longer have to ask consular officers to return their documents if they want them back.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Department of State announced an addition to the immigration jargon definition of “parent” on October 28, 2104.
From now on, the term “natural parent,” might include three people, as follows:
The Department of State’s December 2014 Visa Bulletin was published late last week. These are the highlights:
Clients frequently ask if we believe there will soon be changes to the immigration system. The following is an update based on news about immigration following the election.
Honduras and Nicaragua have been designated for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) 12 times since their initial designation in December 1998 after Hurricane Mitch ravaged Central America. This year, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has extended the program from January 6, 2015, when it was set to expire, through July 5, 2016, for an additional 18 months.
Many people think of the U visa as an option that only applies to undocumented people. However, anyone who lives in the United States and who is not currently but would like to be a permanent resident should consider this option. It provides a potentially much faster route to permanent residence than several employment-based immigration routes, for example.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Windsor decision last year, immigration benefits are now open to engaged and married couples regardless of sexual orientation. This applies to benefits sought by people who are already in the United States, as well as people who are waiting in their home countries for visas to travel to the U.S. And attitudes towards same-sex marriage are provoking nuanced questions for the government about visa processing.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals was announced in June 2012, and many of the young people who first registered for the program known by its initials as DACA are now up for renewal. The immigration service released a new form that can be used both for first-time applicants and renewals, and has clarified certain points unique to renewals.
The immigration service announced on October 3, 2014 that the agency will soon delete E-Verify records that are more than 10 years old. Any companies that have been using E-Verify for more than ten years should immediately take note.
