Category: U.S.imm

U.S.openness to foreign visitors

Posted on by tiger40490

— https://sg.news.yahoo.com/singapore-overtakes-japan-most-powerful-passport-094952622.html

Henley & Partners also researched the relationship between 1) a country’s openness to foreign visitors and 2) its citizens’ travel freedom to other countries.

The Henley Openness index ranks each country based on the number of nationalities it allows entry to without a prior visa. Small island nations and African states dominate the top 20 most open countries, while Afghanistan, North Korea, Papua New Guinea and Turkmenistan score zero, allowing no visa-free entry by any foreigner.

The US, with its (excellent) visa-free access to 184 destinations, ranks poorly on the Henley Openness Index, occupying the 78th position. This suggests that it does not reciprocate the same level of openness despite its citizens’ travel freedom.

Experts warn that the US’s limited extension of visa-free access and challenges in the visa system, including processing delays and high refusal rates, could impact its global competitiveness. The country may experience a decline in soft power, affecting business partnerships, tourism and its reputation as a world leader.

H1B issuance stats #outsourcing shops

Posted on by tiger40490

In 2020, Infosys’ 3,528 H-1B visas placed it second on the list of the companies that had the most H-1B visas approved. The company in first place, Amazon, is an American tech company, but “more than half” of the top 30 H-1B sponsors were outsourcing firms that competed with Infosys, according to one report.

“There certainly was a lot more scrutiny being applied to H-1B applications, and that was particularly true of some of the outsourcing firms,” said one observer.

deportation: removed^returned

Posted on by tiger40490

Based on https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54638643

I usually think of deportation as removal, but U.S. official statistics on deportation includes two categories:

  1. removed .. People are said to be “removed” if they are taken out of the country under the authority of a court order,
  2. returned .. people are “returned” if they are refused admission while trying to cross the border, or asked to leave the country. Notice the “asked” not “ordered”, because there is no court order.

Being removed has a lasting legal consequence, making it much harder to gain re-entry to the country. But many people who have been returned across the US-Mexico border simply tried to enter the US again at a later date.

President Obama escalated a policy enacted by his predecessor, President George W Bush, to step up removals – particularly of those who had been accused or convicted of criminal offences.

U.S.where immigrants come from #vaccination

Posted on by tiger40490

U.S. attracts immigrants from latam, India, SEAsia… not really rich countries like SG, Europe, Australia.

Hongkong and Taiwan are two special cases .. affluent but … In contrast, I see declining attraction for the mainland Chinese as China living standard improves.

— https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54638643 plots the trend of Chinese/Indian/… immigrants into U.S.

The number of foreign-born people living in the US was 45Million at a 2019 snapshot. Based on a US Census Bureau survey, how reliable is this estimate?

Of the total, close to half (about 22M) has come from Latam including Mexico.

Over his 4 years President Trump has allowed more people to come to the US temporarily for work, but made it harder for people to settle permanently in the US. The reduction in permanent visas, from about 1.2 million in 2016 to about 1 million in 2019, has primarily affected family members of US citizens (and residents) hoping to join their relatives, with the number of permanent visas sponsored by employers largely unchanged.

About 75% of surveyed public believe immigration is a good thing for the U.S.
About 20% of surveyed public believe immigration is a _bad_ thing for the U.S.

— relative size of various visa pools

  • 4m temporary work visas
  • 2m student visas
  • 1m family-based GC visas as mentioned above

— Why Latinos are so keen?  ‘Want the COVID-19 vaccine? Have a US visa?’ Latinos travel north for the shot contrasts the vaccination rollout of U.S. vs Latam, even though U.S. public healthcare is not ideal (private^public healthcare #US++), the vaccination rollout demonstrates financial and technological strengths.

By May 2021, The United States has administered nearly 262 million vaccine doses, some 2.3 times the number of shots given in all of Latin America, which has roughly twice the U.S. population.

“When they give you the vaccine it’s like you almost cry. It’s a relief: it gives you hope,” said one Mexican.

An advertisement in Buenos Aires details the estimated cost of getting vaccinated in Miami: air ticket US$2,000, hotel for a week US$550, food US$350, car rental US$500, vaccine US$0. For a total of US$3,400.

adjustment-of-status, basics

Posted on by tiger40490

http://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/us-immigration/visa-expires-leave-wait-for-green-card.html explains the basics of adjust-of-status:

Most GC applicants (probably family-based) are required to apply for the actual GC in an consulate, outside US….

Some lucky people are allowed to stay in the United States and apply for their green card here, using a procedure called “Adjustment of Status.” You’d know you’ve applied for Adjustment of Status if the primary form you filled out was an I-485.

My i-140 approval notice (i-797 document) clearly states the petition indicates the alien is in U.S. and will apply for Adj of Status.

i485 process(GC 3rd stage), basics

Posted on by tiger40490

i-485 application is a process (not a milestone, not a document or a stamp) i.e. the 3rd stage of GC. It means applying for the actual green card.

In contrast, the previous 2 stages are preparing for the actual application.

“file your green card application (I-485 Application)”

3Y H1-extension based on i-140

Posted on by tiger40490

https://www.klaskolaw.com/faq/green-card-quota-backlogs/ says

If you have an approved I-140 and you are unable to proceed with the I-485 due to quota backlogs, the company is eligible to apply for extension of H-1B time, in increments of three years, on your behalf. Your dependent’s H-4 status may also be extended.

If i-140 not approved, you may still be able to obtain extensions, in one year increments, as long as the labor certification or I-140 petition have been pending more than 365 days.

priority date: 2moving dates@bulletin

Posted on by tiger40490

See also

When your PD falls BEFORE the moving cutoff date you can file application for EAD + AP and become “free” to change job. There are 2 cutoff dates in the visa bulletin (like Jan 2012 and Dec 2013), so which one to look at?

Which one do you wish to be the cutoff date? The Later date i.e. the date closer to now! (To figure out, just imagine your PD happens to be between the two cutoff dates.)

Yes. The change by Obama (might be removed  by Trump?) is helping the foreigner. So the later date, so-called filing date, is the cutoff date to look at. If you PD falls Before that, you can “file” you application for EAD card.

Note in the Dec 2016 visa bulletin, China-born EB3 has a better (Later) cutoff date than EB2, so perhaps the EB3 backlog is now shorter.

🙂 Trump is determined to cut the backlog, by hiring more judges, but Deepak believes the real bottleneck is the 9000/country/year quota

— my experience: In Oct 2020, DateForFiling cutoff moved quickly to mid 2018. My priority date is Nov 2017 and is now current.

— explanation of two cutoff dates

FinalActionDate cutoff is the one to track, according to Sean Wang, but I think DateForFiling cutoff is more relevant. http://lhscimmigration.com/immigration-news/news/date-for-filing-vs-final-action-date-the-department-of-states-new-two-tiered-visa-bulletin/ shows:

After a case is submitted (“filed”), it can be many months before USCIS can start processing it.

Suppose the moving DateForFiling cutoff is now before your PD, so you can file your case immediately. There are two main “benefits of a pending adjustment”.. see EAD/AP(documents) #basics

A few months later your case will be picked up and processed by USCIS as a visa number becomes available. Without an available immigrant visa number, USCIS can’t process your case.

Q: can leave U.S. with non-current priorityDate

Posted on by tiger40490

http://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/us-immigration/must-you-leave-wait-green-card.html says

“Unless you already have a visa or status that allows you to remain in the U.S. legally, you must (as a preference beneficiary whose Priority Date isn’t current) leave the U.S. and wait to apply for your green card. If you don’t leave, and you spend time in the U.S. unlawfully, you put your very right to receive the green card at risk.”

So it’s fine (at least for family-based) to wait for GC outside the US, but the employment basis of the EB2 process might be broken. However, https://www.quora.com/What-happens-to-your-green-card-priority-date-if-you-leave-the-US-for-a-few-years says

If it is an employment-based petition with a non-current priority date then you will maintain your eligibility for permanent residency if both you and your employer/petitioner intend for you to resume your US employment upon the granting of your permanent residency.

——-I asked on Avvo:

What restrictions on priority date retention?

* I received my H1b (not H1b1) visa stamp in early 2017. My Singapore passport expires in Sep 2019, and my H1b visa expires at the same time.
* I first used it to enter U.S. in Apr 2017. Now I’m in the early stages of GC. I hope to get my PERM approved in mid-2018, under my current employer P. Once I get my priority date, I plan to relocate to Singapore for 2 to 3 years, where I will get a new passport. I will need a new visa stamp — is it hard? I assume it’s not hard in Singapore.
* When I re-enter U.S. to work, perhaps 2021, on the new H1b visa stamp, I will probably work for the same employer P, or possibly a different employer. Will I keep my priority date? Friends tell me to beware of risks and complications. Are there?

Here’s one answer:

The company’s immigration lawyer should be able to help you get a new visa stamp.

Yes, there are risks/complications … the biggest one being that, if you don’t come back to work for company P … the PERM will be no good and a new employer will need to spend thousands of dollars trying to get a new PERM and have the Priority Date transferred.

PROFESSOR OF IMMIGRATION LAW for 10+ years