Immigration USA Blog

A second passport can be one of the best things that any person may possess. There are certain advantages and disadvantages of getting a second passport whatever there people are certainly drawn at securing it for their own personal reason. Getting a second passport is not at all illegal like most of us think it is. Unless you are naturally born to set of parents with different citizenships, born in another country or by virtue of marriage it may not be that easy to secure a second passport. Getting one outside of the usual birthright or marriage claims may raise suspicion with other people even though it is completely legal. One of the best benefits of getting a second passport is legal residency in the country where you applied the passport. By this you are given the same benefits that all of it citizens enjoy like being able to live, work and even do business without having to worry about special permission. Another great reason why a second passport may be helpful is the ease of traveling. By getting a valid second passport you can travel to other countries easier. There are countries that allow only restricted entries. A valid second passport will open more opportunity to go to different parts of the world.

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Do foreign born U.S. residents need to apply for a social security number to work legally in this country? Not necessarily. In the United States a SS number is one of many forms of identification. It allows individuals to work, receive social security benefits and other social services and financial resources. Non-citizens are not required to obtain this. In fact, foreign-born residents can work legally in this country and access many benefits and resources without one. For instance legal immigrants are able to obtain a drivers license, subsidized housing, private health care and other benefits without applying for a social security card. There are situations where you may be asked to provide a social security card while living in this country. For example, banks and credit companies typically request this information, but you are not required to provide it if you do not have it. If you want to obtain one, there are two ways that you can apply. First, you can complete an application in your country of origin before actually coming to work or live in the United States. You can obtain an application for an immigrant visa through the U.S. Department of State. If you are already a resident living in the U.S., you can simply go to your local social security office to submit an application. You will need DHS documents to show your immigrant status. It’s a good idea to wait at least 10 days after coming to the U.S. to apply. This will insure that enough time has passed to allow your DHS documents to be logged into the computer database.

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Adjustment of Status is the process of changing the non-immigrant status to Permanent Residence Status without having to leave the United States. It is the final stage of the Green Card process. The status of an individual who was admitted or paroled into the United States may be adjusted to permanent residence if the individual makes an application for such adjustment, is eligible to receive an immigrant visa and is admissible to the United States for permanent residence, and if an immigrant visa is immediately available to the individual when application is filed.

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Permanent Residents or Green Card holders are authorized to live and work permanently in the United States. United States offers greencards to people in various ways and one of them is the employment based Green Card. In general, this means that an individual will be able to get a greencard based on the fact that he or she has a permanent employment opportunity in the United States. Generally, a sponsor is required to apply for an employment based green card. Wherever a job offer is mandatory for sponsoring the greencard, it is for the future job that the employee will do after he or she obtains the green card. Hence it is possible for an employer to sponsor for a green card even if the employee is not working with them currently.

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Immigration to the United States is not an easy procedure and should be passed correctly and efficiently. The outcome of immigration procedures affects not only your destiny, but also people close to you. Therefore, people very often turn to professional lawyer services. Modern immigration legal system represents one of the most complex and elaborate branches of American law. This reflects the fact United States is the world’s largest naturalized “immigration” country, which development has been associated with new settlers and the need for state regulation of this process over the centuries. Three federal Departments: US Department of State, US Department of Homeland Security and US Department of Labor govern immigration system and dozens of agencies are directly involved in their implementation and solution. Despite the fact Web pages and relevant service centers provide basic information, relying on their legal advice is not always the right decision.

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Right over the years the United States has signed treaties with many countries over the world and more in particular treaties of “Friendship, Commerce and Navigation”. These treaties were signed with the sole intention of promoting trade and investment between the United States and the contracting country which would foster good relations and peace. Quite recently the United States has entered into a number of bilateral investment treaties with communist states, designed to promote investment but not conferring any trade-related immigration privileges. Any nationals (individuals or companies) of countries which have treaties with the United States can obtain visas to work in the United States in order to develop and direct their investment inside the USA or trade with the USA. The visa related to this is the E1 visa. The E1 visa is a non-immigrant visa which would allow the foreign nationals of a treaty nation to enter into the US to carry out substantial trade through USCIS. The following people would be eligible to apply for a visa. Executives, Managers or Specialist of a treaty nation company which is operating in the United States or if the applicant is owning 50% of the share in the company. The E1 visa applicant holding a supervisory or executive position should have the skill which is essential to the successful operation of the enterprise. The applicant is a citizen of a treaty trade country and is involved in international trade The applicants immediate family members are principle E1 visa holders. The applicant should show an intent to depart the United States upon the expiration or termination of treaty trader E1 visa status. The visa is initially valid for two years with chances of it being extended indefinitely.

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Adjustment of Status is the process of changing the non-immigrant status to Permanent Residence Status without having to leave the United States. It is the final stage of the Green Card process. The status of an individual who was admitted or paroled into the United States may be adjusted to permanent residence if the individual makes an application for such adjustment, is eligible to receive an immigrant visa and is admissible to the United States for permanent residence, and if an immigrant visa is immediately available to the individual when application is filed. If you are looking forward to apply for adjustment of status then you must file the immigration form I485. You may apply for adjustment of status: You may not file this US immigration form I485 if you entered United States in transit or without a visa, your authorized stay expired before you file this application, you were not admitted into United States following inspection by an immigration officer, you were employed in United States without the authorization of the USCIS, you failed to maintain your non immigrant status and various other reasons where USCIS decides you are not eligible to apply for adjustment of status.

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If the petitioner of the fiance visa has a serious criminal background that includes violence the fiancee visa application will be denied, however if the petitioner was acting in self defense or if there was a connection between the crime committed and the petitioner having been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty an exception may be made. Other than violent crimes: If the petitioner has three or more convictions for crimes relating to a controlled substance or alcohol not arising from a single act the fiancee visas petition will be denied. For the beneficiary of a fiance visa petition: As stated above the beneficiary or fiancee can not have a serious criminal background. While there are some exceptions which we will explore in a moment, the general rule is: the crime for which the beneficiary has been convicted of or admits to can not carry a maximum penalty of more than one year imprisonment, not withstanding the actual penalty imposed. Waivers are available to beneficiary’s of fiance visas for certain types of crimes.

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If you are one among those who wish to work in the US permanently, then here we go. Not many know the fact that they can be sponsored a green card by an employer. The form I-140 is a petition filed by the US employer for a foreign national to work in the US on a permanent basis. Form I140 can also be used to self petition by some highly qualified foreign professionals. Generally Form I-140 is filed by the US employer and is usually the second step in the green card process. For most cases the labor certification must be approved. The labor certificate should certify that there are no US workers qualified to do the job where the alien is presently working and if qualified that the wages of the employed US workers will not be affected. The employer should prove that he is in good financial position and can provide enough salary as advertised for the job. The following documents should be provided along with the completed form I-140 application.

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Many people who visit the United States on a nonimmigrant visa wish to extend their stay beyond the period of time for which they have been authorized. However, staying beyond your visa limits without prior approval can have serious consequences and may even prevent you from receiving authorization to reenter the U.S. at a later date. Persons holding a non-immigrant visa who wish to extend their visit should file an Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status (Form I-539) with the U.S. Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) at least 45 days before the date their visa is set to expire.

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