H.R.398 ammends the Immigration and Nationality Act to toll, during active-duty service abroad in the Armed Forces, the periods of time to file a petition and appear for an interview to remove the conditional basis for permanent resident status, and for other purposes. This means that people serving in an oversea military duty will not be required to follow the same time requirement to file and show up for an interview to remove their condition for permanent resident status. This law is to prevent any unfair result in missing immigration filing deadlines for active military members abroad. The bill was sponsored by Representatie Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and became law on November 23, 2011.

S.1487 is a bill to authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to establish a program to issue Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Travel Cards, and for other purposes.  S.1487 became law on November 12, 2011 as it passed House, Senate and was signed by the President. This bill was sponsored by Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA).

Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday signed the Dream Act, granted illegal immigrant students access to state financial aid at public universities and community colleges. Brown however, vetoed a measure that would have allowed state universities to consider applicants’ race, gender and income to ensure diversity in their student populations.
The public financial aid as a result of the Dream Act would allow undocumented college students to receive Cal-Grants, a public program that last year provided aid to more than 370,000 low-income students.

The Dream Act has been a hot debate topic in California, especially because it would allow California more spending of taxpayers’ money for illegal immigrants. Conversely, proponents of the Dream Act argue that since illegal immigrants are going to stay in California anyway whether they go to college or not, it is better that they stay educated, which will benefit the society. But I wonder how these college educated illegal immigrants will actually become hired by U.S. employers after graduation if their status does not allow them to work.

As a Los Angeles immigration attorney, I am aware that there are time bars that apply to immigrant applicants who overstayed in the United States for more than 6 months at least. It seems to me that there is really no way for these illegal immigrant students to take a legal course of employment life after graduation. After all, immigration law is a federal law and the state of California has no power to change or influence it. The Dream Act may just give illegal immigrant students false hope that their lives can change when the reality seems to be a harsh one nevertheless.

HR 3012, the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act would act to remove employment based per-country cap entirely by fiscal year 2015 and raise the family-sponsored per-country cap from 7% to 15%.

The Obama administration said it will review deportation cases involving 300,000 undocumented immigrants. The administration is hoping it could find ways to help low priority offenders including the elderly, crime victims and people who lived in the U.S. since childhood stay in the United States. Although Obama administration has been very harsh on deportation proceedings in the past, this new declaration gives hope to many undocumented immigrants that there may be ways to stay.

As a Los Angeles immigration lawyer, I can hardly believe that Obama administration’s intent in such efforts is nothing other than his election campaign purposes considering the timing of this contrary action from the past.

One of the key concerns of an immigration process is whether an immigrant’s dependents such as his or her children can also come to the United States with the petitioner.  In most immigration scenarios, you can immigrate or move here with your dependents because each dependent is granted a legal status upon your accepted visa application. Whether you are filing for a marriage immigration visa, fiance visa, h-1B visa, E-2 or EB-5, you can have your dependents accompany you to the United States so long as your status is granted. Your dependent’s status is conditional upon the validity of the petitioner’s status.

Family immigration can therefore arise from many different type of immigration – marriage-based or employment-based. The goal is to have your family members immigrate with you whether you are applying for your visa or green card through marriage or employment.  Immigration law is very complicated and you should have an immigration attorney in Los Angeles review your case. Often one case of immigration visa or green card can lead to multiple filings for your family members as well and that’s why you may need an immigration attorney’s help.  Talk to our los angeles immigration attorneys about your case. We can help you with your immigration matters at an affordable rate.

Los Angeles, California is one of the biggest destination for immigrants from all over the country. Los Angeles is a cultural hub and a melting pot in California embracing its diversity and cultures from all over the world. Many immigrants live here and their method of immigration varies from employment to marriage immigration. Whatever the method you choose to take legal steps to immigrate to the United States, you need to talk to an immigration attorney because immigration law is very complex and it is often very difficult for non-attorneys to file for immigration visas and green cards. Often, tiny mistakes on an application could cause a long delay in the process or even a denial of one’s case.

Our Los Angeles immigration attorneys are skilled and experienced in immigration law and would like to help you with your case. Our service rate is very affordable and you do not have to have a ton of money for you to be able to adjust your status or to file for an immigration petition.  We are here to help individuals in Los Angeles with their immigration needs and we are very serious about what we do.  Talk to us. Consultation is free.

A foreign spouse must be able to prove that either the petitioner or the U.S. citizen sponsor or permanent resident sponsor spouse can support financially the petitioner. The whole purpose of this financial requirement is to prevent government spending on welfare and poverty benefits after accepting an immigrant who cannot be supported by him or herself or by family.

What if the sponsoring spouse’s income falls below the required 125% of the Poverty Guidelines?  Remember, a sponsoring spouse must show that he or she can meet at least 125% of the poverty guideline based on the number of household members. Is there anyway the sponsoring spouse’s family can contribute to meet the guidelines?  Yes

1.    Sponsoring spouse’s own assets can be listed to fill the gap
If the sponsoring spouse was to sell own assets to fill the gap, the value of the assets must equal to three times the amount of the shortfall from the guideline.

2.    Sponsoring spouse’s household member’s assets can be listed to fill the gap
If the sponsoring spouse’s household member was to his their own assets to fill the gap, the assets must equal to five times the amount of the shortfall and the person contributing the assets must also sign a supplemental Form I-864A.

3.    Sponsoring spouse’s household member can contribute his or her income to fill the gap
Sponsoring spouse’s household members such as parents or children who work can also sign an I-864A and contribute the income to fill the gap.

Meeting the income requirement can be an issue for some families. However, like we said above, there are ways to go about this. Our Los Angeles immigration attorney is here to help you go through this process. See, an immigration application can be complicated in many cases and it’s a good idea to leave it to an immigration attorney.

Immigration process to the United States requires showing an applicant’s financial situation because the government wants to make sure immigrants can take care of themselves without becoming a public charge (i.e. going on welfare). Every U.S. fiancé or spouse petitioning for an immigrant must fill out a form called an Affidavit of Support. This form will show that your financial sponsor such as your U.S. spouse, fiancé, your family or yourself can support financially.
There is minimum income requirement based on yearly published poverty guidelines. The government requires the immigrant and the sponsor to meet at least125% of the minimum financial requirement based on the poverty guideline. Note it is 100% for members of the U.S. armed Forces when sponsoring someone for a green card. In any case, USCIS can still reject your case even if you meet the minimum if your other issues such as your health will require greater financial attention than the amount above your requirement. You will be turning in your medical examination with your immigrant application so that USCIS could make an issue of your health to determine your eligibility either financially or medically.  Our immigration lawyer Los Angeles can help you prepare for your Affidavit of Support as well your entire immigration application. Talk to us if you are currently looking for an immigration attorney in Los Angeles.

Suppose that you as a foreign national married a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident and applied for a marriage-based immigration visa or green card. At the time of the application, your child from your prior marriage was under 21. However, your child turns 21 after your application is turned in. What happens then?  Fortunately, Congress has passed a law a while ago called the Child status Protection Act (CSPA). This law allows you to subtract from the child’s age the amount of time that it took USCIS to approve your family’s immigrant visa petition. Therefore, your child is protected from even if he or she turns 21 after the application. Talk to our immigration attorneys in Los Angeles to talk about your children’s visa options along with yours. Let us help you.