Tag: immigrants

美国签证申请人须提交社交媒体网站平台的用户信息

U.S. visa applicants required to provide social media information

2019年5月31日，美国国务院更新了移民和非移民签证申请表的申请信息，包括社交媒体网站平台的用户信息。此更新仅适用于新的签证申请。

美国政府宣称收集这些额外的信息将将便于国土安全局审查申请人并确认他们的身份。社交媒体“用户信息”是个人在社交媒体网站平台上使用的任何名称，包括但不限于Facebook，Twitter和Instagram。如果申请人在过去五年中使用了签证申请中列出的任何社交媒体平台，签证上将需要相关的社交媒体“用户信息”。领事官员将用签证面谈和签证申请表格上面采集的社交媒体信息来确定申请人是否合格。

申请人必须提供列出的社交媒体网站平台上使用的所有的用户信息。如果签证申请人没有社交媒体帐户怎么办？签证申请人将需要回答与社交媒体相关的问题。 该表格允许申请人回答“无”。从未使用社交媒体的签证申请人不会因未能提供社交媒体而被拒绝。 申请人应尽可能完整和诚实地完成申请，以避免任何延迟处理。 如果未能在签证申请或签证面谈中提供准确和真实的答复，可能会导致拒绝签证。

本部门更新仅适用于签证申请人，而不适用于免签证的个人。领事官员将不会要求用户密码。领事官员不能根据申请人的种族，宗教，种族，国籍，政治观点，性别或性取向拒绝签证。 以下是所有社交媒体网站平台的清单

  • Ask.FM
  • Douban 豆瓣
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Myspace 我的空间
  • Pinterest
  • QZone(QQ) QQ空间
  • REDDIT
  • SINA WEIBO 新浪微博
  • TENCENT WEIBO 腾讯微博
  • TUMBLR
  • TWITTER 推特
  • TWOO
  • VINE
  • VKONTAKTE(VK)
  • YOUKU 优酷
  • YOUTUBE

What Does the Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy (RAISE) Act Seek To Do

There had been many talks around the Republican-backed proposal: Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy (RAISE) Act. In a nutshell, it will significantly reduce the number of people allowed to legally immigrate to the United States. Although unlikely to pass Congress, what changes does the RAISE Act seek to bring exactly?

First, the RAISE Act seeks to eliminate the Diversity Visa Program. The Diversity Visa Program gives immigrant visas to nationals from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. For a list of countries/areas by region whose natives are eligible for DV-2018 and DV-2017, please refer to the DV Instructions.

Second, the RAISE Act seeks to cap the number of refugees who may be admitted in any fiscal year to 50,000 and requiring the President to “annually enumerate the number of aliens who were granted asylum in the previous fiscal year.” Limiting refugee numbers has always been President Trump’s priority, and it is no surprise the RAISE Act mentions it.

Third, in the family-sponsored immigration arena, the RAISE Act wants to change the definition of “Child” at INA §101(b)(1) from an unmarried person “under age 21” to an unmarried person “under age 18,” and change the definition of “Immediate Relative” at INA to include only children and spouses of U.S. citizens (removes parents of adult U.S. citizens). Similarly, it seeks to only allow children and spouses of LPR (green card) holders to immigrant to the U.S. This will effectively eliminate the following current available categories: (1) unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens (FB-1); (2) unmarried sons and daughters of LPRs (FB-2B); and (3) married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens (FB-3); and (4) brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens (FB-4). Parents of U.S. citizens will remain unaffected because under the new legislation, a new category for parents of USC citizens above the age of 21 will be created. The legislation seeks to cap the worldwide level of family-sponsored immigrants  admissions to 88,000 per fiscal year. The effort will significantly reduce the number of family based immigration and make many ineligible to reunite with their families in the United States.

All the above are part of the administration’s efforts to limit the number of immigrants to the U.S. Further, it seeks to replace of Employment-Based Immigration Categories with Immigration Points System. On the numbers, it seeks to limit the number of points-based immigrants to 140,000 (including spouses and children) per fiscal year. This so-called Points-Based System comes with an online portal and a required fee of $160. President Donald Trump has already announced his support for a the points system.

The immigration point system seeks to prioritize immigrants based on their degrees and skills. If they have equal points and equal educational attainment, they will be further ranked according to their (1) English language proficiency test scores; and (2) age, with applicants nearest their 25th birthdays ranked higher. And every 6 months, USCIS is said to invite the highest ranked applicants to file a petition for a points-based immigrant visa. If you want to see if you qualify to immigrate to the U.S., test your scores from Times.com here: http://time.com/4887574/trump-raise-act-immigration/.

Last but not least, the RAISE Act will prohibit naturalization of an individual if the person who submitted an affidavit of support on his or her behalf failed to reimburse the federal government for all means-tested public benefits received by the individual during the 5-year period immediately after the individual became an LPR. It therefore seems that, at no fault of the individual seeking naturalization, she or he might be barred from it. It is unclear whether the individual seeking naturalization is allowed to reimburse the government.

The Act does not mention temporary work visas such as H-1B and H-2 or temporary visitor (B-1/B-2) or student visas (F-1). Its focus remains on the number of available immigrant visas.

Read the full RAISE Act here: https://www.cotton.senate.gov/files/documents/170802_New_RAISE_Act_Bill_Text.pdf If interested, you can read this excellent summary of each section from American Immigration Lawyer’s Association (AILA): 17080732

 

 

 

 

Parole for International Start-Up Entrepreneurs Delayed and May be Rescinded

International entrepreneurs who are ready to file for parole status will now be delayed until March 14, 2018. DHS further believes the IE final rule may be rescinded.

The International Entrepreneur Final Rule (IE final rule) was initially published at at 82 Federal Register 5238 on January 17, 2017 with an effective start date of July 17, 2018. Unfortunately for the ones who really want to take advantage of this new opportunity, the effective date is now delayed until March 14, 2018. The Department of Homeland Security cites President Trump’s January 25, 2017 Executive Order to improve border security and immigration enforcement as the reason of the delay. DHS is required to exercise parole authority with caution.

The IE final rule provides USCIS with a case-by-case discretionary parole authority. International Entrepreneurs who can demonstrate their parole to the U.S. would provide a significant benefit to the U.S. will be allowed an initial stay of 30 months (with the option for extension for 30 months).

USCIS Implements New Interpreter Policy – Form G-1256 Declaration for Interpreted USCIS Interview Must be Signed

USCIS Policy Memorandum: The Role and Use of Interpreters in Domestic Field Office Interviews, will be implemented starting May 1, 2017.

USCIS is introducing a “Declaration for Interpreted USCIS Interview” form (Form G-1256). The “Declaration for Interpreted USCIS Interview” informs the interviewee about the importance of using a competent interpreter, and includes an attestation that all parties understand the guidelines that apply to interpretation, including that the interpreter must accurately, literally, and fully interpret for both the interviewee and the interviewer/officer. USCIS requires that the interpreter provide consecutive interpretation to ensure that the interpretation is as close to verbatim as possible.

Form G-1256 must be signed by both the interviewee and the interpreter at the beginning of the interview. The Declaration form reminds the interviewee that the use of an interpreter may expose the interpreter to the confidential information discussed at the time of the interview. It also requires the interpreter to agree to not disclose or share any of the information discussed or learned as a result of serving as the interpreter during the interview.

Attorneys may not serve in their roles as an attorney, accredited representative, or associated representative for the party to the case while simultaneously serving as an interpreter for the interviewee. Further, witnesses are restricted from serving as interpreters, unless the officer determines that there is an exception for good cause.

最新国防局备忘录将对美国移民系统带来巨大变化

国土安全部秘书约翰·凯利本周发布了两份备忘录，执行川普总统关于边境安全 border security (memo-1) 和 境内执法 interior enforcement (memo-2) 的行政命令。除了川普总统承诺建造的边界墙以外，我们在未来几个月可能会看到大规模的执法行为，并扩大拘留和加速递解出境的过程。

以下是我总结的几点：

  1. 国土安全部（DHS）将试图驱逐任何“对公共安全或国家安全构成威胁”的人，但DHS没有明确定义这两个术语，理论上讲，DHS可以说某人是“公共安全隐患”，即使他或者他没有因犯罪被起诉或被定罪。
  2. DHS将重点关注那些（1）已被定罪或甚至被指控犯有刑事犯罪，这其中可能包括只受到过轻微交通违规的无证移民，（2）滥用任何与接受公共福利相关的计划，包括获得任何政府援助，如果你在美国没有身份但享受过政府福利，你可能面临一定风险，（3）如果你在和政府机构打交道有任何的欺诈或故意的失实陈述，包括使用虚假的社安号码在工作的I-9表格上对你的移民身份撒谎。
  3. 国土安全部备忘录还说，将延长加速遣返期限。从2周扩大到2年，并取消了移民在边境100英里内被捕的要求。现在来说， 如果你是新到美国两年以内，都有可能加速遣返。加速遣返的人不会通过遣返程序，涉及在移民法官面前举行听证会。所以说，我建议大家保持两（2）年的在美国生活的记录，以便您不被加速遣返。
  4. 对没有美国签证或没有资格获得签证的人来说， 之前当局允许使用的假释过程将受到极大的限制。
  5. 国土安全部将寻求遣返所有无证外国到达者，包括无人陪伴的儿童。如果他们从毗邻美国的外国土地进入，当局会把他们送回他们来到的地方。这意味着，不论他们的国籍，如果他们从墨西哥进入，DHS将返回他们到墨西哥。
  6. DHS将雇用另外10,000名移民执法官员。我们很可能在全国看到更多的驱逐出境和拘留。
  7. DHS希望扩大继续并增加州和地方执法机构在边境地区的参与，从而帮助移民执法。

Maya King 律师事务所将随时通知您美国移民制度的最新变化。如果您或您的家人需要任何建议或帮助，请致电（913）717-7112 与我们联系，免费咨询。

DHS Memos Bring Huge Changes to the U.S. Immigration System

Department of Homeland Security Secretary, John Kelly, releases two memorandums this week implementing President’s Trump’s executive orders on border security (memo-1) and interior enforcement (memo-2). Besides the border wall President Trump promised to build, we will likely to see massive enforcement effort in the upcoming months and scaled up detention and expedited removal.

Below are some of points I summarized:

  1. DHS seeks to deport anyone who “poses a risk to public safety or national security.” However, DHS did not define these two terms clearly. Theoretically speaking, DHS could label someone being “a risk to public safety” even if (s)he is not charged or convicted for a crime.
  2. DHS will focus on undocumented immigrants who have been (1) convicted or even charged with a criminal offense, including minor traffic infractions, (2) abused any program related to receipt of public benefits, i.e. received any government assistance, or (3) “have engaged in fraud or willful misrepresentation in connection with any official matter before a governmental agency”, including using fake Social Security numbers to work or lie on I-9 forms.
  3. DHS memos expanded the period of expedited removal from 2 weeks to 2 years after people enter the country, and eliminated the requirement that the immigrants be caught within 100 miles of the border. People in expedited removal will not go through the removal proceedings, which involve a hearing before an immigration judge. It is extremely important to keep records of two (2) year presence so you are not put in expedited removal.
  4. The use of parole authority to allow immigrants, who are not in possession of visas or not eligible for visas, to come to the U.S. will be extremely restricted.
  5. DHS seeks to return aliens, including unaccompanied children, who entered from a foreign land contiguous to the U.S. to where they arrived, meaning if they entered from Mexico, DHS will return them to Mexico, regardless of their nationality.
  6. DHS will hire an additional 10,000 ICE agents and officers to carry out enforcement priorities. We will likely to see more deportation and detention nationwide.
  7. DHS wants expand to continue and increase state and local law enforcement involvement in border areas, so they can aid in immigration enforcement.

The Law Office of Maya King will keep you informed about the newest changes in the complicated U.S. immigration system. If you or your family needs any advice or help, please call us at (913) 717-7112 for a free consultation.