The EB-1A Criteria Analysis - Alien's Membership in Associations in the Field

The EB-1A Criteria Analysis - Alien's Membership in Associations in the Field To satisfy this EB1 extraordinary ability criterion, the submitted evidence should establish that the alien applicant’s significant achievement in the field is the basis for the alien’s membership in the association. It is not sufficient for this criterion if the membership is based on education level, or is based on years of experience in the field. To satisfy this criterion, alien applicant's membership in associations should require outstanding achievements of their members, as judged by national or international experts in their fields. Also, USCIS believes that the membership fee payment or an association’s publication subscription is not sufficient for this criterion, because membership in some associations can be a requirement of an occupation, such as union membership or guild affiliation for actors. Furthermore, a compulsory membership in an association is not indicative of the alien applicant’s achievements in the field. Therefore, for example, a membership in a State Bar, in American Bar Association (ABA), or in American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) will not be considered sufficient for this criterion by USCIS. Because lawyers are required to be members of a State Bar, most members of the bar can become ABA members, and most immigration lawyers could be eligible to become AILA member. To satisfy this criterion, the petitioner should show that the membership of an association is exclusive, which means that membership is limited only to those who have been attained outstanding achievements in the field as judged by their peers. For example, an alien’s membership in the National Academy of Sciences and Engineering would satisfy this criterion, because it is an honorific society, and its membership nominations are based on original research and accomplishment in the field, and and membership is granted based upon recognition of the individual’s distinguished achievements in original research. Also, to meet this criterion, the petitioner should provide evidence to confirms that the association requires outstanding achievements of its members. To assist the USCIS in determining that the beneficiary’s membership satisfy this criterion, the petitioner may submit the section of the association’s constitution or bylaws which discuss the criteria for membership for the beneficiary’s level of membership in the association. www.greencardapply.com/ea/extraordinary-ability-criteria.htm www.greencardapply.com/ea.htm

ICE Field Representatives for Monitoring SEVP Schools and Students Question, As a designated school officials for F-1 international students in a small college, please provide more information for ICE's field representatives program for monitoring SEVP certifies schools and F-1 students. Thank you. Answer, Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) is part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and it is responsible for monitoring F-1 and M-1 students, and administering the SEVIS (The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System). SEVP is also responsible for the screening process required of U.S. schools seeking certification to participate in the F-1 and M-1 student programs. With specially trained field representatives, SEVP has representatives throughout the United States. The field representatives work directly with the education school officials in their assigned areas. These representatives are involved with the F-1 and M-1 school certification process. They also play a key role in assuring school compliance with F-1 and M-1 related requirements. The field representatives are responsible for acting as a resource to schools seeking SEVP initial certification or recertification. They are also involved in educating designated school officials, on foreign student related laws and regulations, and to ensure the integrity of the student data in the SEVIS system. The field representatives will provide assistance to designated school officials who face the complexities of the SEVIS system and F-1/M-1 student related requirements. As part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, SEVP is used to monitoring and enforcement. The field representatives will help in the identification of schools engaged in practices that violate U.S. immigration law. http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question16/SEVP_Field_Representatives_011916.htm http://www.greencardapply.com/index.htm

P-1 Visa for Entertainer and Application Evidences Question: As an entertainer, I will join a circus group with sustained international recognition to perform in the United States for 12 months. Do I qualify for a P-1 visa? and how to provide the application evidence? Answer, The P-1 visa is the good choice of visa application for athletes and entertainers who do not meet the “extraordinary ability” standard required for an O-1 visa. The P-1 visa is not available to an individual person or entertainer. The P-1 visa is only available to members of a group entertainers or athletes that have an international reputation. This group should perform regularly for at least 1-year, and the most of the members should perform with the group for at least one year. U.S. employer should file the P-1 visa petition to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) with the proof of the group’s sustained international recognition, such as nomination or receipt of significant international awards/prizes, or at least 3 of the following evidences: 1) proof that the group has or will star or take a leading role in productions or events with distinguished reputations; 2) reviews or published material showing that the group has achieved international recognition and acclaim for outstanding achievement in the field; 3) proof that the group has and will star or take a leading role in productions or events for organizations with distinguished reputations; 4) proof of large box office receipts or ratings showing the group has a record of major commercial or critically acclaimed successes; 5) proof that the group has received significant recognition for achievements from organizations, critics, government agencies, or other recognized experts, or 6) proof that the group commands a high salary or other substantial remuneration. For circus performers and essential personnel, they do not need to have been part of the group for at least 1-year to get a P-1 visa, if the circus has a nationally recognized outstanding reputation. http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question16/P1_Visa_Entertainer_011816.htm http://www.greencardapply.com/pvisa.htm

It Is Very Importance to Double Check All Information on the ETA Form 9089 Question: My employer made mistake on the ETA Form 9089, therefore the PERM Labor Certification was denied for a small error. What could we do thereafter? Answer: When alien workers apply for a U.S. Green Card through the employment in the United States, in most cases, they rely on the U.S. employer's job offer to successfully complete the PERM Labor Certification. The PERM Labor Certification process requires the U.S. employer to conduct recruitment, place advertisements for the alien worker’s job position, and submit the ETA Form 9089 to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and attest that no qualified, willing U.S. workers are available for the offered position. After receiving the U.S. employer's submitted ETA Form 9089, the U.S. Department of Labor will either approve the Labor Certification application, or simply deny the Labor Certification application. After the DOL approves the application, the U.S. employer can complete the second step in the Green Card application process, which is to fill an immigration visa petition on Form I-140 with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The ETA Form 9089 is submitted online by U.S. employer on the U.S. Department of Labor's website. The most common mistake that U.S. employers make when completing the ETA Form 9089 is not double checking that every information they have supplied in the form is correct. After the form submission online, to correct any errors on the form, the only solution is to withdraw the application and refile it. The employers are allowed to send corrected ETA Form 9089s to the DOL by mail. Also, sometimes, the solution of withdrawing and refiling is not possible online, because allowed advertisements time period have expired by the time the U.S. employer notices the mistake. The U.S. Department of Labor may deny an ETA Form 9089 for trivial errors, such as spelling mistakes in the employer’s name or the alien worker’s home address. In this situation, the employer needs to restart the process again which may take long time. Therefore it is very importance that U.S. employers double check all information on the ETA Form 9089. http://www.greencardapply.com/perm.htm http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question16/Check_ETA_Form_9089%20_010616.htm

How to Get the Immigrant Visa after Form I-130 Approval for Brother/Sister Immigration? Question: My sister is a U.S. citizen who submitted the Form I-130 to USCIS for my immigration. After it's approval, how could I get the immigrant visa or get Green Card to enter United States? Answer: After USCIS approved the sibling (brother or sister) immigrant visa petition of Form I-130, the U.S. citizen's brother or sister will receive a "priority date," based on the day USCIS first received the Form I-130 petition. Then, the long waiting for immigrant visa will begin. If the brother or sister has children who want to come along to U.S. on this immigrant visa, these children must not get married before entering the United States with the immigrant visa. Because turning 21 years old will make them ineligible for the immigrant visa. U.S. citizen petitioner then should start tracking the progress of priority dates in the family-based 4th preference immigration category, by monitoring the U.S. State Department's Visa Bulletin. When the dates shown on the family-based immigrant visa chart for the 4th preference category start to get close to your sibling's priority date, then U.S. citizen petitioner should look for letters coming from the National Visa Center (NVC), or contact the National Visa Center if you forgot to send them a change of address form. If your sibling is in the United States on a valid visa, such as H-1B visa, J-1 visa, or F-1/J-1 visa, when the priority date becomes current, he or she should be able to adjust status inside the United States, to get the green card without leaving the United States. But if your brother or sister has only a tourist visa, such as B visa, and hope of adjusting status in the United States, it may constitute a fraudulent use of the tourist visa, and potentially lead to the green card application being denied. For most cases, the U.S. citizen's brother or sister needs to go through the "consular processing", by having an immigrant visa interview at a U.S. consulate in his or her home country. If the interview goes well, he or she and family members will be issued immigrant visas to the United States. After entering the U.S., they will become permanent residents of United States, and receive their actual Green Cards a few weeks later. http://www.greencardfamily.com/question/question2015/Sibling_Green_Card_090815.htm http://www.greencardfamily.com/sibling.htm

Staying in U.S. for Additional Time - Grace Periods for F-1 and J-1 Visa Holders

Staying in U.S. for Additional Time - Grace Periods for F-1 and J-1 Visa Holders Question: I am an J-1 Exchange Visitor. I will finish my research program within one month. What is the Grace Period do I have for me to stay in the United States for additional time? Answer: The misunderstanding for "grace period" is common. A common misconception is that a grace period will allow alien students or visiting scholars to remain in U.S. after their education or after the denial of their immigration petitions. But in most situations, the grace period is very limited after their education to stay in United States, or even there is no such legal grace period after denial of their immigration petitions. By definition, the grace period in the context of visa or immigration is a continuation of valid nonimmigrant status in the United States. For most cases, the term of grace period is used to refer to the continuation of F-1 student or J-1 exchange visitor status after the completion of the F-1 or J-1 study/research in the United States. Therefore, the alien students or visiting scholars who are present in a proper grace period are considered to be in a lawful nonimmigrant status in U.S. For an international student, a "grace period" of 60 days of valid F-1 student status is added upon the completion of the F-1 study or F-1 post-completion practical training (OPT). During the 60 days grace period, a F-1 student may change status, transfer to a different study program, or prepare for departure from the United States to their home countries. For J-1 exchange visitors, there are generally 30 days of "grace period", following the completion of their J-1 programs or research. http://www.greencardfamily.com/question/question2016/F1_J1_Grace_Periods_011916.htm http://www.greencardfamily.com/index.htm