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Things to Know Before Applying for an O1 Visa

By | Blog | No Comments

An O1 Visa or artist visa is for the non-immigrants who are extraordinarily exceptional in the field of arts. In addition to this, it is also available for the ones who have showcased their talents in the television industry or motion pictures. What you must know about this visa is that you must be nationally or internationally recognized as an extraordinary artist. For this recognition, there a set of guidelines provided. In this article, you will find all you need to know about the O1 visa.

O-1 Visa – What is it?

The O-1 Visa provides with a temporary allowance of working to those who have extraordinary skills or talents. If you really have the skill to go for the job, getting this visa is not a very difficult task for you.
Moreover, if you work in the U.S. through this visa, you can also ask for the Green Card for the time being. Isn’t that amazing?

How to Get an O-1 Visa?

The field required for this visa can be entertainment, art, business, athletics, education, medicine or science. Nevertheless, you will have to prove to them that your talent is great and different from others. To qualify the O-1B visa, i.e., a visa for the artists, the following are likely to help:-

1. A noteworthy financial success or salary.
2. Significant recognition from experts in the same field in writing.
3. A reputation for major success.
4. A critical role in an organization of high reputation that is related to the applicant’s field.
5. Recognized nationally from major critics.
6. A lead role or starring in a major event or production.

If in your case, at least one of the above applies, you can get your visa easily.
Period of an O-1 Visa

It all depends on the job you are applying for. The O-1 visa can last for a very short period or an ever-lasting one. Generally, its period is 3 years and can be extended as many times as you wish. However, in case the job is temporary, the visa will last as long as the job does.

One essential thing to know about this visa is that even if you are willing to change your job and get hired at a different place with the same job description, you will have to get another visa.
Either way, the visa ends with the job and so does the relationship with the visa sponsor.

Hiring a Visa Lawyer

For your application, it would be great to consult an artist visa lawyer to find out if you would be able to qualify or not through the supporting documents. This way, you will save money and time of hiring a professional.
Even though it is a bit tedious process, if you think you have the right skills and talent, you can get the O-1 visa in time without hassle.

How can you choose the best immigration lawyer?

By | Blog | No Comments

The immigration process for the US can be complicated and highly taxing. When you are stuck in this challenging process, you would want an immigration lawyer by your side. If you are deciding to move to NYC, the immigration process can be a long and complex journey. A lot of people find it confusing to understand the entire process and choose the right program. This is one of the main reasons why people decide to work with an experienced and qualified immigration lawyer. But how can you know that the one you are working with is the best lawyer for you? Given below are a few tips that might help you in shortlisting the best immigration lawyer:

The focus should not be on bargaining

One should not be in a rush, and blindly choose a lawyer. You never know how many terrible immigration lawyers are out there who are ready to bargain with you and work at lower prices. The prices might be tempting for you, but this is exactly what you have to avoid. Take your time before you choose a lawyer because some might be managing multiple cases at the same time and would not be able to dedicate quality time to your lawsuit. Yao Law Group is considered among the best immigration lawyers.

On the other hand, others might not be that qualified and experienced in areas of immigration. These lawyers might only be looking to make as much money as they can. This is the reason you should do your research correctly and look into the experience and reputation of the lawyers.
Seek for referrals

Before you start the search for immigration lawyers in NYC, make sure to ask your friends and acquaintances if they have any suggestions. Word of mouth is the best referral and will help you in getting the insights of a firm. It will allow you to get first-hand information about their services and how efficient they are in delivering customer satisfaction.

Understands your language

When it comes to immigration for artists, language can be a big issue. Language barrier will not allow you to communicate with your lawyer properly. Hence, you should pick a lawyer who understands and speaks in your language. This will make it easy for you to streamline the process and ensure that you both are on the same page. He will also be able to make sure that the translation of the documents from your native language to English is done correctly and has no mistakes whatsoever.
It is important to build a good relationship with your immigration lawyer so that he delivers efficient services and keep your best interests at heart. Taking the above tips into account will help you find a qualified attorney who will skillfully handle your case.

Workload Transfer Between Service Sites

By | Uncategorized | No Comments

The Service Center Operations Directorate (SCOPS) consists of five service centers which process and adjudicate certain authorized immigration applications and petitions. The five service centers are located in California, Nebraska, Potomac, Texas, and Vermont. Applications and petitions can only be received through the mail, filed online or filed with a USCIS Lockbox. On occasion, cases are transferred between service centers in an attempt to balance the workload and ensure timely processing. Recently, USCIS has transferred case work from the Vermont Service Center to the California Service Center after it experienced an excess of workload.

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When To Use Comparable Evidence in EB-1A cases

By | comparable evidence, EB-1, policy, RFE, Trump, Uncategorized, USCIS | No Comments

There are many interpretations of “comparable evidence.” Some immigration attorneys interpret this alternative criterion to mean that it is only applicable if the profession, not the particular type of evidence, doesn’t fit into the other criteria. For documentary evidence submitted for a particular EB-1 regulatory criteria, as outlined in Policy Memorandum PM-602-0005.1, USCIS recognizes that, “In some cases, evidence relevant to one criterion may be relevant to other criteria set forth in 8 CFR 204.5(h)(3).” (PM-602-0005.1 at page 6).

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What’s a 601A Provisional Waiver

By | 601A provisional waiver, bars re-entry, immediate relatives, inadmissible, inspected, Uncategorized, unlawful presence, waived, waiver | No Comments

If someone entered the U.S. without being inspected by an immigration official, that person has been present unlawfully and accruing unlawful presence from the day they entered. That person becomes “inadmissible”. For as long as someone is deemed “inadmissible” that person cannot be granted a visa or a green card in the United States. However, because the law bars re-entry for so many years (10 years if the person has accrued unlawful presence of more than 180 days), many individuals do not feel safe leaving the U.S. even if they are otherwise eligible for a green card. Fortunately, such individuals may be eligible for a 601A provisional waiver. 

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WHAT DOES THE RAISE ACT ENTAIL FOR IMMIGRANTS IN AMERICA

By | RAISE act, Reforming America’s Immigration for Strong Employment, Uncategorized | No Comments

The RAISE act is a bill that focuses on a skills based immigration system in America. RAISE stands for Reforming America’s Immigration for Strong Employment. The two republican politicians that co-sponsored were Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton and Georgia Senator David Perdue. This bill’s goal is to cut the percentage of legal immigration in the United States by 50% each year over the next 10 years by reducing the number of green cards issued. Hopefully, the bill will face opposition in congress from Democrats and some Republicans as  well. This act will greatly impact the United States’ immigration system, which currently gives green cards to more than a million people a year. This bill would attempt to cut this number in half to become about 500,000 people a year.

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USCIS Site Visits

By | Department of Homeland Security, H-1B, I-129, site visits, Uncategorized, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) | No Comments

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) works to deter and detect fraud in all immigration programs. The H-1B visa program helps U.S. companies recruit highly skilled foreign nationals when there is a shortage of qualified workers in the country. Since 2009, USCIS has been increasing targeted inspections and anti-fraud site visits in regards to the H-1B visa, to ensure that employers and foreign workers are complying with the requirements of the H-1B nonimmigrant classification. These compliance review site visits are conducted to review foreign national employees specifically to ensure that the employer is complying with claims made in the I-129 petition, and specifically that they are authorized to work in their current positions.

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USCIS Increases Premium Processing Fee

By | Department of Homeland Security, DHS, Form I-129, Form I-140, Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), premium processing, Uncategorized, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), USCIS | No Comments

Effective October 1st, U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) has increased the premium processing fee from $1225 to $1410 for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker and Form I-140, Immigration Petition for Alien Workers.

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THE FUTURE OF DACA

By | DACA, deferred action, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, DREAM act, DREAMers, Obama, President Barack Obama, Uncategorized, undocumented | No Comments

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), also was formed through executive order by former President Barack Obama in 2012 and allows certain people, called Dreamers, who come to the United States illegally as minors to be protected from immediate deportation. Recipients are able to request “consideration of deferred action” for a period of two years which is subject to renewal.

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The End of DACA

By | Advance Parole, BRIDGE Act, BRIDGE Act (also known as “Bar Removal of Individuals Who Dream and Grow Our Economy”),, DACA, deferred action, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DREAMers, New York, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, Obama, Trump, Uncategorized | No Comments

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (also known as DACA), ordered by the Obama administration in 2012, is a program that has offered temporary protection from deportation to nearly 800,000 people who were brought to the country illegally as children, allowing them to obtain work permits, be eligible for driver’s licenses, and complete schooling.

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The Diversity Green Card Lottery

By | Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery Program, Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, President George Bush, President Trump, Reforming America’s Immigration for Strong Employment (RAISE) Act, Uncategorized | No Comments

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program was first created in 1980, mainly to benefit Irish immigrants. Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Representative Bruce Morrison of Connecticut, both Democrats, invoked a “diversity” rationale in noting that the program would help the many Irish in the United States who had overstayed their temporary visas. The program was then changed to accept anyone from countries that don’t send many immigrants to the United States. In 1990, the program was passed through a bill signed into law by former President George Bush. This program gives individuals from select countries the opportunity to win a visa by random selection. It is managed by the State Department and has been functioning since 1995.

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The Dark Side of Living as an Undocumented Immigrant

By | 10-year ban, 1996 welfare law, deferred action, deportation, foreign, Government Benefits, Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA)., lifelong ban, New York, passport, social security, Uncategorized, undocumented | No Comments

Approximately 43.3 million foreign-born people live in the United States, which includes 20.7 million naturalized U.S. citizens and 22.6 million noncitizens. Of the noncitizens, 13.1 million are lawful permanent residents, 11.1 million are unauthorized migrants, and 1.7 million hold temporary visas. There were 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. in 2016. Six states account for 59% of unauthorized immigrants: California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey and Illinois.

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Should I file my O-1 visa with an Agent-Petitioner or an Employer-Petitioner

By | Agent, agent agreement, Employer, employer-petitioner, extraordinary ability, itinerary, O, O-1, O-1 visa, Uncategorized | No Comments

The O-1 nonimmigrant visa is for the individual who possesses extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or who has a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry and has been recognized nationally or internationally for those achievements.

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R.I.P Yates Memo_ 2004-2017

By | deference, extension, extensions, maintenance of status, policy, Uncategorized, USCIS, Yates Memo | No Comments

The Yates Memo, published in 2004, entitled The Significance of a Prior CIS Approval of a Nonimmigrant Petition in the Context of a Subsequent Determination Regarding Eligibility for Extension of Petition Validity, instructed immigration officers to give “deference” to the findings of a prior approved visa petition when adjudicating petition extensions (i.e. visa renewals), as long as the key elements were unchanged and there was no evidence of a material error or fraud related to the prior determination.

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Increase in Deportation and Arrests

By | deportation, Deportation Defense, executive orders, ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Operation Cross Check, President Trump, Uncategorized, undocumented | No Comments

President Trump’s Administration has prioritized immigration by implementing executive orders that could go after every undocumented immigrant in the US.

Since President Trump has assumed office, there have been immigration raids enforced by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents assigned to regional offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, San Antonio and New York. The raids were part of a nationwide immigration roundup named Operation Cross Check, which accounts for a small portion of the 21,362 immigrants the Trump administration took into custody for deportation proceedings from January through mid-March. As a result, there has been a 32% increase in deportation arrests over the same period last year. Most have criminal records but many were not criminals.

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Inconsistent Conduct Within 90 Days of Entry

By | 30/60 day rule, 90 days, 90 days of entry, 90-day rule, Adjudicator’s Field Manual, Adjustment of Status, Board of Immigration Appeals, change of status, conduct inconsistent, Consular officers, F (Student) status, Foreign Affairs Manual (“FAM”), Immigration and Nationality Act, immigration benefit, Inconsistent Conduct, LPR, misrepresenting a material fact, nonimmigrant B (Visitor), port of entry, unauthorized employment, Uncategorized, Willful Misrepresentation | No Comments

Effective as of September 1, 2017, The Foreign Affairs Manual (“FAM”) now has an updated subsection titled “Inconsistent Conduct Within 90 Days of Entry” which states:

“If an alien violates or engages in conduct inconsistent with his or her nonimmigrant status within 90 days of entry, as described in subparagraph (2)(b) below, you may presume that the applicant’s representations about engaging in only status-compliant activity were willful misrepresentations of his or her intention in seeking a visa or entry.”

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I Married a Foreigner

By | Adjustment of Status, after inspection, Consular Processing, foreign national, Green Card, immediate relatives, immigrant petition, immigrant visa interview, maintain status, National Visa Center (NVC), permanent residency, priority date, Uncategorized, USCIS | No Comments

If a foreign national marries a U.S. citizen, the foreign national becomes an immediate relative of the U.S. spouse and may be able to apply for U.S. permanent residency as a result of the marital relationship.

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Harlem’s Thriving Immigrants

By | Harlem, immigrant, international, Uncategorized | No Comments

Harlem’s reputation as an international neighborhood is unrivaled by any other neighborhood in Manhattan. Immigrants from around the world settled in Harlem and their children have made significant contributions that have greatly impacted politics, commerce, and the arts. Since the first advent of Spanish, Italian, and Jamaican immigrant to the flourishing Senegalese, French, and Dominican communities present all over Harlem, Harlem has become synonymous with diversity, inclusion, and acceptance.

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Fraudulent Marriages for a Green Card

By | adjustment, Board of Immigration Appeals, bona fide, fraud, Green Card, immediate relatives, immigration benefits, marriage, marriage-based green card, notaries, permanent residents, spouses, Stokes interview, U.S citizen spouse, Uncategorized, US citizens | No Comments

US citizens and permanent residents can sponsor foreign national spouses through a petition for a Green Card by marriage. US citizens can sponsor spouses as “immediate relatives.” For immediate relatives, visa numbers are available immediately, which means that there is no need to wait for a visa number to become available. As soon as the U.S citizen’s petition is approved, a visa number is made available and the foreign spouse can apply for a US Green Card.

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DHS to Collect Social Media Information on all Immigrants

By | citizens, foreign visitors, naturalized, permanent residents, Privacy Act of 1974, Secretary of State, social media, Uncategorized, visa application, visitors | No Comments

On September 18, 2017, in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed to modify a current Department of Homeland Security system of records titled, “Department of Homeland Security/U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection-001 Alien File, Index, and National File Tracking System of Records.” The new rule will be implemented on October 18, 2017 after a public comment period.

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DHS Proposes New Rule

By | Adjust Status, Department of Homeland Security, Form I-485, Green Card, Uncategorized | No Comments

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed a new rule, suggesting a series of changes to be implemented during the processing of Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. Based on the 2017 Data Set for Form I-485, released by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), there was a total of 164,012 new applications received during the reporting period. As of the end of the reporting period, only 152,008 were approved, 15,364 were denied, terminated, or withdrawn, and 682,619 were still awaiting a decision.

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Constitution Day and Citizen Day

By | Citizenship, U.S. Constitution, Uncategorized | No Comments

We must live and remember the legacy of our founding fathers, “to establish a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity”. Americans all over the country celebrate Constitution day and Citizenship day each year on September 17th, as well as Constitution week on September 17-23. The U.S. Constitution was signed in Philadelphia by delegates to the Constitutional Convention from 12 states September 17th 1787.

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Ciao Tutti! Mollo Tutto e Vado in America!

By | America, Artisti, CV, E-2, F-1 Visa, H1-B, J-1”Exchange Visa”, M Visa, O-1A, O-1B, Uncategorized | No Comments

Il format Americano del CV è ben diverso da quello Europeo.  L’America è un paese con più di 300 milioni di abitanti e quindi puoi immaginare quanti CV le aziende ricevono ogni giorno. Il tuo CV deve essere interessante,  creativo, diverso e incisivo. Importante non appesantirlo con informazioni inutili come : data di nascita, nazionalita, indirizzo, informazione sulla patente, ecc.

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Check Your Notices to Appear in Court for Defectiveness

By | Cancellation of Removal, continuous physical presence, Department of Homeland Security, deportable, deportation cancellation, DHS, immigration court, Immigration Courts, inadmissible, Notice To Appear, Pereira, Pereira motions, Pereira v. Sessions, removal hearing, removal proceedings, removed in absentia, Supreme Court, Uncategorized, undocumented, USCIS, waivers | No Comments

On June 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Pereira v. Sessions in favor of Wescley Pereira, a Brazilian immigrant, in a significant recent decision that opens new options to apply for relief from deportation.

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Are you Extraordinary

By | extraordinary ability, O-1, O-1 visa, Uncategorized | No Comments

The O-1 nonimmigrant visa is for the individual who possesses extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or who has a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry and has been recognized nationally or internationally for those achievements.To qualify for an O-1 visa, the beneficiary must demonstrate extraordinary ability by sustained national or international acclaim and must be coming temporarily to the United States to continue work in the area of extraordinary ability.

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A Brief Overview of the Current Executive Orders

By | Executive Order 13767, Executive Order 13841, immigration policy, President Trump, Uncategorized, undocumented, Zero Tolerance Policy | No Comments

In response to gang related violence and drug cartels, thousands of families have fled their countries to seek refuge in the United States. This shift in immigration is known as the Central American Refugee Crisis. U.S. Federal Bureau Investigation indicates that El Salvador leads with a homicide rate of 60% while Honduras following with a rate of 42.8%, and Guatemala with rate of 26.1%.  In addition to the dangerous journey, many days without water, and gun fire, President Trump’s Zero Tolerance Policy may be the most concerning obstacle families must overcome.

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I want to become a U.S citizen

By | Constitution, continuous residence, Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, Naturalization, Naturalization Act, naturalization ceremony, U.S. citizenship, Uncategorized | No Comments

Naturalization is the legal process of obtaining U.S. citizenship after birth. A naturalized citizen is allowed all the rights and privileges of natural born citizens, including the right to vote, serve on a jury and participate in government and the political process. The Naturalization Act was the country’s first law which regulated the naturalization of foreign born Americans passed by the United States Congress on March 26, 1790. Now, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 governs naturalization.

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