NY VISA LAWYER

  New Process Allows Special Immigrant Juveniles to File Form I-360 in Person Before Their 21st Birthday

 As of March 30, 2023, there are new lockbox addresses for the following forms: I-130, Petition for Alien Relative ;  I-131, Application for Travel Document ; I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant ; I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status ; and I-765, Application for Employment Authorization . The Phoenix Lockbox address has been updated too for FedEx, UPS, and DHL only (U.S. Postal Service remains the same).    See USCIS'  Lockbox Filing Locations Updates page for more information. This may affect you if you are filing any of the following: Family-based visa petition Marriage visa Advance Parole Employment Authorization (EAD) SIJS VAWA Petition Adjustment of Status (AOS) / Green Card Application

 USCIS issued a new form ( Form N-426 ) to be used for confirmation of military service for people currently serving in the U.S. armed forces and seek an immigration benefit in connection to their service. TWO CHANGES ANNOUNCED 1. New USCIS Form for applicants who have served in the U.S. armed forces. 2. Changes to questions on the Form N-400 , Application for Naturalization relating to service in the U.S. armed forces, effective March 23, 2023.  USCIS sent out an email and posted this update on the uscis.gov website stating: Effective immediately, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)  issued the new Form N-426 , Request for Certification of Military or Naval Service, and policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual stating that only applicants for naturalization under Section 328 or Section 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) who are currently serving in the U.S. armed forces are required to file Form N-426 with their Form N-400 , Application for Naturalizat

 An estimated 20,000 Ukrainians that were given special permission to enter the U.S. with humanitarian parole last year are days away from the expiration date of their status.   There is no mechanism in place at the moment for Ukrainians to renew their parole or seek an extension. The future is uncertain for Ukrainians in this situation. DHS has not provided any information on this. President Biden said he intends on extending the program which originally got them parole but so far this has not been done and there is no word as to when it is expected to be announced.  See Associated Press article detailing this situation. 

Brazil reintroduces visa requirements for tourists from US, Australia, Canada, Japan beginning on Oct. 1 Brazil is reintroducing the requirement to obtain tourist visas for citizens of the U.S., Australia, Canada, and Japan starting Oct. 1, the foreign ministry said. Former president Jair Bolsonaro had scrapped the visa requirements in 2019 to bolster the country’s tourism industry, but the four countries continued to demand visas from Brazilians. The decision to grant the visa exemptions had represented "a break with the pattern of Brazilian migration policy, historically based on the principles of reciprocity and equal treatment," the foreign ministry said in a statement released quietly late Monday. "Brazil does not grant unilateral exemption from visiting visas, without reciprocity, to other countries," the ministry said, while noting that the government is ready to negotiate visa waiver agreements on a reciprocal basis. Before the pandemic hit, Br

  G-1055, Fee Schedule New USCIS Fee Schedule (Filing Fees) March 15, 2023      Find the official USCIS Fee Schedule on their website at: tinyurl.com/2023USCISFees

  FORMS YOU WILL NEED FORM DOJ-361 Certificate of Identity EOIR-28 EOIR-27 (if with the BIA) WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD I INCLUDE? A FOIA request should reasonably describe the records sought and include identifying information. For example, if a FOIA request seeks a record of proceedings, your request, if possible, should include the alien's full name, aliases, immigration hearing location, and alien registration (A) number (if known). If the A number is not known or the case occurred before 1988, please provide the date of the Order to Show Cause, the country of origin, and the location of the immigration hearing. HOW DO I REQUEST RECORDS ABOUT MYSELF? To ensure that privacy protected information is not improperly released, a request seeking records regarding yourself must verify your identity. The FOIA Service Center recommends submitting an originally signed and dated DOJ-361 Form Certification of Identity .  Alternate Certification: when you are requesting your own records, you m

Can I Travel Once My U Visa is Approved?  Once you receive the I-918 approval notice indicating you are in U nonimmigrant status, can you can travel outside of the United States? Technically, individuals in U nonimmigrant status are eligible to apply for a U visa  abroad at a U.S. consulate and may be able to use that visa to reenter the United  States after a trip abroad. While theoretically possible, it would not be advisable.  There are also two serious concerns that would arise relating to unlawful presence bars and the continuous physical presence requirements for U nonimmigrants to be able to adjust status and obtain a green card after three years in U status. 

 Waiving visa interviews in the U.S. and at consulates, more H2B visas, and more visas being processed at the consulates by fewer consular officers.  USCIS & DOS claim to be taking major steps to reduce visa wait times in 2023.  They recently announced the following new steps in an "update bulletin" on the @USCISImmigrationUpdates (not official) Youtube channel : USCIS is going to waive visa interviews whenever possible.  Processing more H2B an Student Visas, to help stabilize migration patterns. Processing more visas with fewer consular officers, waiving interviews for those who aren't first time visa applicants when possible. These update videos are NOT posted by USCIS or affiliated with any Government agency. I'm do not know how accurate this is, so do your own research regarding this channel yourself.  https://www.youtube.com/@USIMMIGRATIONUPDATES/about Disclaimer: This channel is not owned by an any US Government Agency or an Immigration attorney. The cont