Passing U.S. citizenship requirements a difficult challenge for older refugees

Khin Shwe, a refugee from Burma, now called Myanmar, was 68 when she was resettled by the U.S. State Department to the United States in 2008. She first lived in Ohio but later moved to Fort Wayne to join her daughter, who is married with three children. She has been trying to learn English since she arrived.

“It is very hard,” Shwe said through an interpreter, Nyein Chan, who is refugee resettlement coordinator for the Fort Wayne office of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. She is working now on learning the alphabet.

Read more: http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20150512/NEWS/150509683/1005

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

DOS June 2015 Visa Bulletin - Department of State

The Department of State’s June Visa Bulletin on a whole brought relatively few changes of note.

Progress was made in the EB-2 category, where priority dates for Indian nationals advanced six months from April to October 1, 2008. Similarly, Chinese nationals experienced forward movement of one year in priority dates, with the Department of State (DOS) now processing cases with priority dates of June 1, 2013 or before. 

Read more: http://www.natlawreview.com/article/dos-june-2015-visa-bulletin-department-state

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

Immigration Reform: When Deporting Felons Breaks Families Apart

Raquel Garay lives just a few minutes’ walk from the U.S.-Mexico border, the line that has separated her from her family for more than two years. Since being deported from the U.S., where she lived for more than 40 years, in 2013, she lives alone in a country that feels foreign to her while her husband, children and grandchildren remain just a few hours away, across a border bridge she can’t cross.

The story is familiar for many deported immigrants, potentially hundreds of thousands, who have been torn away from their families in the United States. It’s what spurred President Barack Obama to pledge last year a smarter immigration policy that focuses on deporting “felons, not families.” While he has pushed executive action to shield those with strong family ties in the U.S., he has also touted an 80 percent increase in the number of immigrants with criminal convictions deported from the U.S. during his presidency. Read more: http://www.ibtimes.com/immigration-reform-when-deporting-felons-breaks-families-apart-1872214

Contact Darren Heyman, Immigration attorney Las Vegas, for a free consultation.

Homeland Security Official Defends Handling of Visa Program

The deputy secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, conceded at a congressional hearing on Thursday that his intervention in three cases of visas for foreign investors had created an impression of political favoritism, and he said he regretted fostering that perception. But he defended the results of his involvement, saying he had helped “to make sure we were adhering to the law.”

In a House Homeland Security Committee hearing, Mr. Mayorkas responded to findings in a March report by the department’s inspector general that his actions had led some employees to believe politically connected investors were given special consideration in the visa program. Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/01/us/homeland-security-official-defends-handling-of-visa-program.html?_r=0

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

U.S. citizen should petition for K-1 Fiancee visa for her same-sex fiancee and bring her to the U.S. to marry

Q: My same-sex fiancée and I want to live in the United States. How can I get her a visa? My partner and I live in Lviv, Ukraine. I am a U.S. citizen. My fiancée and I want to marry, but Ukraine does not allow same-sex marriages. We tried to get her a U.S. tourist visa, but she could not satisfy the U.S. consular officer that she would return to Ukraine. She is 22 years old, college-educated, unmarried, does not own property and has no official employment papers.
Name withheld, Lviv, Ukraine
A: You should bring your partner to the United States on an K-1 Fiancé(e) visa, then marry her in a state that allows same-sex marriages. Then, she can apply for permanent residence.http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/citizenship-now/k-1-fiancee-visa-best-option-same-sex-immigrant-partner-article-1.1459142
Contact Darren Heyman, Immigration attorney Las Vegas, for more information.

When traveling abroad would-be U.S. citizens must be aware of the physical presence and continuous residence requirements

If permanent residents spend too much time outside the United States, will that prevent them from becoming a U.S. citizen? That’s a common question asked callers at the annual Daily News/CUNY Citizenship NOW! Call-in. This year’s call-in will run from April 27 - May 1. We’ll publish the call-in numbers the week of April 20. Most travel abroad won’t keep you from naturalizing. Let’s look at the rules.
Travel abroad can impact two requirements to naturalize, the physical presence requirement and the continuous residence requirement. To meet the physical presence requirement you must have spent at least half your time in the U.S. in the qualifying years before you apply to naturalize. For most applicants, the qualifying years of permanent residence needed is five years. Three years if you are applying under the special rules for the spouse of U.S. citizen. Only religious workers and members of the military are exempt from the physical presence requirement. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/important-requirements-affect-naturalization-article-1.2175170
Contact Darren Heyman, immigration attorney Las Vegas, for more information.

U.S. runs out of investor visas again as Chinese flood program

The United States has depleted its annual supply of EB-5 immigrant investor visas for the second year in a row after a huge wave of applications from rich Chinese.

The State Department has announced that starting in May, no more spots will be available to Chinese for the rest of the U.S. government's fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

Known as EB-5, the immigration program hands out green cards to foreigners who invest at least $500,000 and create 10 jobs in the U.S. The program, which caps the number of visas issued annually at 10,000, hit its annual limit for the first time last August. Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2015/04/15/news/economy/china-us-visa-eb5-immigrant-investor/

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