Critics say US visa program for wealthy foreigners is 'immigration reform for the 1 percent'

With immigration a hot topic on the U.S. presidential campaign trail, unions and immigrant advocates are focusing attention this week on a federal visa program that they deride as “immigration reform for the 1 percent.”
The target of a series of news conferences in a half-dozen cities is the EB-5 immigrant investor program, which allows foreigners to get green cards by investing at least $500,000 in U.S. businesses, as long as the money creates at least 10 jobs. Read more: http://www.ticotimes.net/2015/08/28/critics-say-u-s-visa-program-for-wealthy-foreigners-is-immigration-reform-for-the-1

Contact Darrenn Heyman, Immigration Attorney Las Vegas, for more information.

Moscow outraged as US restricts Russian upper house chair’s visa for intl conference in NYC

Washington has derailed Russian plans to take part in an inter-parliamentary conference at UN headquarters by issuing a highly restrictive visa to the head of Russia’s delegation, upper house chair Valentina Matviyenko, the Foreign Ministry said.

Matviyenko, who is the chair of the Federation Council, Russia’s upper house of parliament, and the country’s highest-ranking female politician, was invited to attend the Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) – an international group founded in 1889, which closely works with the UN. She was also going to take part in the IPU’s 10th Meeting of Women Speakers of Parliament that precedes the event, scheduled for August 31 – September 2. Read more: http://www.rt.com/news/313572-russia-us-visa-matviyenko/

Contact Darren Heyman, Las Vegas Immigration Attorney, for information on immigration matters.

Department Of State Releases September 2015 Visa Bulletin

The US Department of State (DOS) has released its September 2015 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 US embassy or consulate abroad, provided that their priority dates are prior to the respective cutoff dates specified by the DOS.
Read more: http://www.natlawreview.com/article/department-state-releases-september-2015-visa-bulletin

Contact Darren Heyman, Las Vegas Immigration Attorney, for more information. 

U.S. EB5 Investor Immigration Program: Does It Have A Future?

Earlier this year, Brian Ross of ABC News wrote a series of stories attacking the U.S. EB5 investor immigrant program alleging it was rife with fraud and corruption. As an indication of how wide-spread the problems were, ABC News later revealed that a federal Government Accountability Office report found, 

“…(F)or the first time … between January 2013 and 2015, the SEC received more than 100 ‘tips, complaints and referrals of possible securities fraud’ connected to the EB-5 program, and there are currently 59 open investigations by various agencies into alleged EB-5 scams.”

 Read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/andyjsemotiuk/2015/08/17/u-s-eb5-investor-immigration-program-does-it-have-a-future/ 

Contact Darren Heyman, Immigration Attorney Las Vegas, for more information. 

Tougher Standards Set for U.S. Visa Waivers, Citing Militant Threat

WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security has toughened air travel requirements on foreign governments in response to what it believes is the growing threat from fighters who have gone to Syria and Iraq to join the Islamic State and other groups, senior American officials said Thursday.

The changes will be applied to the so-called visa waiver program that the United States has with 38 countries. The program allows citizens of those countries to enter the United States on visits of fewer than 90 days without being interview

ed for visas at American consulates and embassies. Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/07/world/middleeast/us-visa-waiver-program-europe-radicalization-isis-syria-iraq.html?_r=0

Contact Darren Heyman, immigration attorney Las Vegas, for more information.