U.S. Visa Program Attracts 11 Million Applicants

 Read more at: http://online.wsj.com/articles/u-s-visa-program-attracts-11-million-applicants-1415250362

An annual U.S. visa lottery program that offers immigrants a chance to become permanent residents drew more than 11 million applicants this year, as lawmakers appear poised to end it.

The so-called diversity visa program attracted 21% more entries this year than last year, according to the State Department, which means less than 0.5% of applicants will receive visas distributed by sheer luck of the draw.

The program, created in 1990 to promote diversity in the immigrant pool, has drawn as many as 14.8 million applicants in a year. But its fate is unclear.

Under a Senate immigration bill that passed last year, the lottery would be eliminated, and analysts say it is unlikely to survive if lawmakers pass a broad overhaul of the immigration system.

To find out more about the DV Lottery application process, contact Darren Heyman, Immigration Attorney Las Vegas.

After Obama’s Immigration Action, a Blast of Energy for the Tea Party

WASHINGTON — In all its fury and unanimity, the response from the right to President Obama’s decision to change immigration policy without the consent of Congress was the manifestation of a major transformation within the Tea Party. 

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/26/us/obamas-immigration-action-reinvigorates-tea-party.html?_r=0

What started five years ago as a groundswell of conservatives committed to curtailing the reach of the federal government, cutting the deficit and countering the Wall Street wing of the Republican Party has become a movement largely against immigration overhaul. The politicians, intellectual leaders and activists who consider themselves part of the Tea Party have redirected their energy from advocating fiscal austerity and small government to stopping any changes that would legitimize people who are here illegally, through granting them either citizenship or legal status. 

Ask Las Vegas Immigration Attorney, Darren Heyman about updates on immigration reform.

Department of State Releases December 2014 Visa Bulletin

The Bulletin shows that cutoff dates in the EB-2 India category remain severely backlogged, cutoff dates in EB-3 for the Rest of the World and China advance by five months, and EB-3 China is now ahead of EB-2 China.

Read more: http://www.natlawreview.com/article/department-state-releases-december-2014-visa-bulletin

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released its December 2014 Visa Bulletin. The Visa Bulletin sets out per-country priority date cutoffs that regulate the flow of adjustment of status (AOS) and consular immigrant visa applications. Foreign nationals may file applications to adjust their statuses to that of permanent residents or to obtain approval of immigrant visas at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad, provided that their priority dates are prior to the respective cutoff dates specified by the DOS.  

If you are interested in learning more about the visa bulletin dynamics and how it affects your case, please contact
Las Vegas immigration attorney, Darren Heyman.

US, China agree to expand validity of business, tourist visas to 10 years

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/11/10/us-china-agree-to-expand-validity-business-tourist-visas-to-10-years/
BEIJING –  Putting a bright face on the future of U.S. ties to China, President Barack Obama announced Monday that the two countries would start granting visas to each other's citizens valid for up to a decade. Yet thorny issues like human rights and trade lurked just under the surface, reflecting the tough road ahead for the two economic powers as Obama began a weeklong trip to the region.

Obama, addressing Asian business leaders at a high-level summit, sought to dispel the notion that America's interest in Asia should be a cause for concern for China's leaders. Beijing has viewed Obama's engagement here with trepidation, suspecting the U.S. wants to limit China's rise, but Obama insisted that "one country's prosperity doesn't have to come at the expense of the other."

If you are looking to apply for a tourist visa to the US, please contact Las Vegas immigration attorney, Darren Heyman for a legal advice.

Talking Past Each Other on Immigration Reform

Everybody's talking about immigration reform, but with the Congressabout to switch from divided control to two Houses united under Republican leadership, it's not really clear that anybody even knows what it means anymore.

The point was hammered home on Sunday morning in an exchange between Tea Party favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) who appeared on a panel during CNN's State of the Union.

Coons complained that after the Senate passed a bipartisan package of comprehensive immigration reforms in 2013, the House of Representatives did nothing. Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/id/102169801 

Contact Darren Heyman, Immigration Attorney Las Vegas for immigration reform updates.

A U.S. citizen's criminal record won't affect his wife's chances for permanent resident status

Q: I am a U.S. citizen. I want to marry my longtime girlfriend and get her a green card. Presently, I am in jail, but I am fighting the criminal charges against me. Once we marry, will my criminal record be a problem when my wife applies for permanent residence?

F., Rikers Island

A: Your criminal record won’t impact your wife-to-be’s green card rights.

Immigration likes to interview a couple together. The law doesn’t require that, but part of your struggle will be to get the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to approve your petition for your wife without a joint interview.

If you petition for your wife after you get out of jail, her case becomes the same as for most other spouses of a citizen. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/citizenship-now/criminal-record-deterrent-fiancee-green-card-article-1.1997862