Articles Posted in Foreign nationals

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If you are interested in applying for the Diversity Visa Lottery program now is the perfect time. Online registration for fiscal year 2026 is now open until Tuesday November 5th at 12 noon Eastern Standard Time.

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains everything you need to know about your eligibility for the Diversity Visa lottery, how to apply, and useful tips for how to maximize your chances at selection.

Want to know more? Just keep on watching

Overview

What is the Diversity Visa Lottery program?

Every year, the U.S. government makes available up to 55,000 immigrant visas as part of its Diversity Visa Lottery program (also known as the green card lottery). This program is meant to offer green cards to individuals who are from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States to promote diversity.

To participate in the program, you must meet the DV lottery requirements and submit a free online registration during the registration period running from now until Tuesday November 5th at 12 noon Eastern Standard Time.

Winners for the DV lottery for FY 2026 are expected to be announced starting May 3, 2025, through September 30, 2026. Participants can check whether they have been selected on the DOS Website by selecting DV Entrant Status Check.

Entrant Status Check is the ONLY means used by the Department of State to notify selectees of their selection. The Department of State will not mail notification letters or notify selectees by email.

DO NOT BE SCAMMED: There is NO FEE to complete the online registration.

Who is Not Eligible?

Not every country is eligible to participate in the Diversity Visa lottery. For instance, countries like Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Mainland China, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Venezuela, Vietnam, etc. are NOT eligible to participate.

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Have you applied for an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa and received a notice of 221(g) administrative processing after your Consular visa interview? If so, then you won’t want to miss this important video explaining what administrative processing is all about and what you can expect during this process.

Overview

What is 221(g) Administrative Processing?

A visa refusal under section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) means that an applicant has not established eligibility for their visa to the satisfaction of the Consular officer.

Administrative processing is not a denial. It simply means that your visa has been temporarily refused by the Consular officer, because further review is needed before your visa can be approved. While a 221(g) refusal means that you are not eligible for a visa at this time, it is not the end of the road.

In fact, the majority of cases placed in administrative processing are released from administrative processing and are approved within 60 days of the visa interview. Often, a Consular officer may simply be waiting for the results of the applicant’s background check before they can provide clearance for the visa to be issued.

But for other more complicated cases, including those where concerns relating to fraud, criminal history, or national security concerns are involved, it can take several years before a case can be resolved. The timing of administrative processing will therefore depend on your individual circumstances and other complications rooted in your immigration history.

How do I know if I have been placed in 221(g) Administrative Processing?

Applicants who are placed in 221(g) administrative processing following their visa interview will typically receive a 221(g) notice from the Consular officer at the conclusion of the interview. The notice will indicate that further review is necessary before a final decision can be made, and in some circumstances the notice may request for an applicant to provide additional information or documentation such as travel history.

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If you are applying for an employment-based immigrant visa, you won’t want to miss this important update regarding visa availability. In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses some new information released in the Department of State’s September Visa Bulletin which impacts most employment-based preference categories.

Want to know more? Just keep on watching

Overview

Recently, the U.S. Department of State published a new update in its September Visa Bulletin, which warns applicants that due to a steady increase in demand for employment-based visas in fiscal year 2024, the annual numerical limits have been reached for all employment-based preference categories.

As a result, no further immigrant visas or green cards will be issued for the remainder of the fiscal year which ends on September 30, 2024. This means that if your case is currently waiting for interview scheduling with USCIS or the National Visa Center, no further action will be taken on your case until the new fiscal year begins and new final action cutoff dates are issued.

However, the good news is that the new fiscal year will begin on October 1st and a new allocation of visas has been made for the month of October. The October Visa Bulletin was released several weeks ago and has shown great progress.

For the month of October, the Final Action Date for EB-1 Worldwide remains current; EB-3 Worldwide will advance by nearly 2 years to November 15, 2022; and EB-5 Worldwide will remain current. The Final Action Date for EB-5 India will also make significant advancement of 13 months to January 1, 2022, and China will advance by 7 months to July 15, 2016.

Unfortunately, EB-3 China’s Final Action date will retrogress by 5 months to April 1, 2020, and in the Dates for Filing Chart, EB-3 China will retrogress by 7.5 months to November 15, 2020, and EB-5 China will retrogress by 3 months to October 1, 2016.

For more information about the October Visa Bulletin’s advancements, please click here.

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Are you waiting for your priority date to become current on the visa bulletin? Then you won’t want to miss this blog post covering the release of the October 2024 visa bulletin.

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what you can expect to see in terms of the movement of the family-sponsored and employment-based visa categories in the month of October.

USCIS Adjustment of Status

For employment-based preference categories, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed it will use the Dates for Filing chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of October.

For family-sponsored preference categories, USCIS will continue to use the Dates for Filing chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of October.

Highlights of the October 2024 Visa Bulletin

At a Glance

Employment-Based Categories

  • The Final Action date for China EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers will retrogress by five months, to April 1, 2020. The Date for Filing will retrogress by almost 8 months, to November 15, 2020.
  • The Final Action date for EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers Worldwide will advance by almost two years, to November 15, 2022. The Date for Filing will advance by one month, to March 1, 2023.
  • The Final Action date for China EB-5 Unreserved will advance by seven months, to July 15, 2016. The Date for Filing will retrogress by three months, to October 1, 2016.
  • The India EB-5 Unreserved Final Action date will advance by more than one year, to January 1, 2022. The Date for Filing will remain at April 1, 2022.

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In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses the process of applying for a green card via “consular processing” for individuals residing outside of the United States.  Additionally, in this video you will learn how long it is taking for an immigrant visa interview to be scheduled as of September 2024.

Please note that the green card application process will differ for individuals applying from inside the United States (this process is known as Adjustment of Status).

For the purposes of this video, we will focus solely on consular processing for applicants applying for their green card from outside the United States via a U.S. Consulate or Embassy overseas.

Steps Involved in Applying for a Green Card via Consular Processing

There are multiple steps involved when applying for a green card visa consular processing. To understand this process, here is an overview of what lies ahead:

Step 1: The first step to begin consular processing is for your qualifying relative to petition for your visa by submitting Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Step 2: After submitting the immigrant petition, it takes USCIS several months to approve the petition. The time it takes for this petition to be approved depends on several factors including the workload of the service center processing your petition and current USCIS backlogs.

Step 3: Once your petition is approved by USCIS, you must check the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin to see whether a green card is available for you based on your priority date as listed on your I-130, I-140, or I-360 approval notice. For PERM applications, the priority date is the date when the PERM was filed with the Department of Labor. Please note that immediate relatives of U.S. Citizens have a green card immediately available, and they do not need to wait in line. However, other green card applicants are subject to numerical quotas.

Step 4: Once your priority date is current on the Visa Bulletin, and a green card is available, USCIS will forward your petition to the National Visa Center (NVC) for further processing. It takes approximately 90 days for the NVC to receive your case from USCIS. The NVC is an intermediary between USCIS and the Department of State, responsible for preparing your application to be sent to the U.S. Consulate or Embassy abroad where you will be interviewed at the end of your application process.

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In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses the current status of parole in place applications under the Keeping Families Together program and how a new lawsuit will impact the approval of applications under the program.

To learn more, please keep on watching this video.

What is Keeping Families Together?

The Keeping Families Together program was recently established by presidential executive order to create a pathway to permanent residency for undocumented spouses and stepchildren of U.S. Citizens, who entered the country without inspection, and have been continuously present in the United States since at least June 17, 2024.

Those granted parole in place under Keeping Families Together are given three years to apply for temporary work authorization and permanent residency from inside the United States. At least 500,000 spouses, and about 50,000 of their children are set to benefit from this program.

Parole in place simplifies the green card application process by eliminating the need for spouses to apply for an extreme hardship “waiver,” and to depart the United States to attend a visa interview at a U.S. Consulate abroad.

In doing so, this process prevents prolonged family separation and enables applicants to obtain permanent residency without departing the United States.

Federal Judge Temporarily Halts Parole in Place Program

On August 19, 2024, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began accepting online applications for parole in place, using a new electronic form called Form I-131F, Application for Parole in Place for Certain Noncitizen Spouses and Stepchildren of U.S. Citizens.

Several days later, the state of Texas along with 15 other states filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the program.

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In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses the new parole in place program for undocumented spouses and stepchildren of U.S. Citizens recently announced by the Biden administration.

In this video you will learn about the parole in place application process, who is eligible to apply, and what will happen to those with pending extreme hardship waivers with USCIS.

Overview

On August 19, 2024, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began accepting applications for parole in place for undocumented spouses and stepchildren of U.S. Citizens under a new program called Keeping Families Together.

Applications for this program may now be submitted online using a new online electronic form called Form I-131F, Application for Parole in Place for Certain Noncitizen Spouses and Stepchildren of U.S. Citizens, by creating a myUSCIS online account. Paper filings sent by mail will not be accepted by USCIS.

The fee to apply for parole is $580. No fee waivers or fee exemptions are available for this process at this time.

What is parole in place?

Parole in place is a discretionary authorization issued for a 3-year period, that allows certain noncitizens who are present in the United States without admission or parole to become “applicants for admission.”

If granted parole, these individuals may apply for adjustment of status to lawful permanent residence (green card holder) during the parole period, without being required to leave the United States and be processed by a U.S. consulate overseas.

Previously, undocumented spouses of U.S. Citizens who entered without inspection, were required to travel outside the United States to legalize their status through an extreme hardship “waiver” process which required a face-to-face interview at a U.S. Consulate abroad. This process has been very challenging on families because approval of the hardship waiver can take several years and lead to prolonged family separation.

It is estimated that as many as 500,000 noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens could be eligible for parole in place, and an additional 50,000 noncitizen stepchildren of U.S. citizens.

What are the eligibility requirements for parole in place?

To be considered for a discretionary grant of parole in place under Keeping Families Together, you must meet the following eligibility criteria:

If you are the noncitizen spouse of a U.S. citizen, you must:

  • Be present in the United States without admission or parole (entered without lawful inspection);
  • Have been continuously physically present in the United States since at least June 17, 2014, through the date of filing your request;
  • Have a legally valid marriage to a U.S. citizen on or before June 17, 2024;
  • Have no disqualifying criminal history and otherwise not deemed to be a threat to public safety, national security, or border security; and
  • Submit biometrics and undergo required background checks and national security and public safety vetting.

If you are the noncitizen stepchild of a U.S. citizen, you must:

  • Have been under the age of 21 and unmarried on June 17, 2024;
  • Be present in the United States without admission or parole (entered without lawful inspection);
  • Have been continuously physically present in the United States since at least June 17, 2024, through the date of filing your request;
  • Have a noncitizen parent who entered into a legally valid marriage with a U.S. citizen on or before June 17, 2024, and before your 18th birthday;
  • Have no disqualifying criminal history and otherwise not deemed to be a threat to public safety, national security, or border security*; and
  • Submit biometrics and undergo required background checks and national security and public safety vetting.

Please read the frequently asked questions on the USCIS webpage here.

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In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses the top work visa alternatives to the H-1B visa for those who were not selected in the H-1B lottery for the FY 2025 cap season.

To learn more, please keep on watching this video.

Overview

As our readers may know, the electronic registration process for the H-1B work visa occurs every year during the month of March. During this period, U.S. employers petitioning for foreign workers must submit an electronic registration on behalf of each employee for a chance to be selected in the H-1B visa lottery.

Once the electronic registration period has closed, the H-1B lottery is conducted to select enough beneficiaries to participle in the program. Unfortunately, competition for the H-1B visa is fierce because only 65,000 H-1B visas are available each fiscal year, and another 20,000 are available for foreign workers possessing a U.S. master’s degree or higher.

Due to these numerical limits, the demand for H-1B visas far outweighs available visas, causing many to miss out on the visa.

As a result, U.S. employers and their workers should be familiar with alternative work visa options to provide relief in cases where they were not selected.

The H-1B Work Visa Alternatives

The O-1A Visa

The O-1A Visa is a nonimmigrant visa for individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary ability in fields such as the sciences, education, business, and athletics. It allows individuals with exceptional talents to work in the United States, if they can prove sustained national or international acclaim in their domain. It also enables their family members to accompany them to the United States on O-3 visas.

O-1 applicants must be petitioned for the visa directly by their employers or agents (employers are U.S. companies that direct the work the beneficiary will undertake in the U.S., while agents are individuals or entities acting on behalf of multiple employers). The employer or agent must provide an employment contract or agreement detailing the job offer, the applicant’s roles and responsibilities while in the United States, etc.

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Can you apply for a green card while you are inside of the United States on a tourist visa? In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick addresses this important topic.

Overview

B1/B2 Tourist Visa and Nonimmigrant Intent

The B1/B2 tourist visa is a nonimmigrant visa type that allows foreign nationals to visit the United States temporarily for one specified purpose, to engage in tourism or engage in permitted business activities like attending a business conference. The maximum period that a B1/B2 visitor can remain in the United States is 6 months.

Those traveling on such a visa must maintain what is called “non-immigrant” intent when arriving to the United States, meaning that travelers must intend to depart to their home country at the conclusion of their trip.

Misrepresenting your true intentions for traveling to the United States may spell disaster for you in the future and lead to serious immigration consequences including a bar on your future entry to the U.S., due to misrepresentation or fraud.

Those who intend to live or work in the United States must apply for the appropriate visa type and should not enter the United States on a B1/B2 visa.

Change in Circumstances After Arrival in the U.S.

Now let’s imagine that after your arrival to the United States on a B1/B2 visa, your life circumstances have changed. You’ve become engaged to a U.S. Citizen, you’ve secured a job offer for your dream job and your employer wants to sponsor you for a green card, what happens in these situations? Is it possible for you to change your status from a tourist to a permanent resident? The answer is it depends.

The key consideration here is whether you maintained “non-immigrant” intent at the time of your entry to the United States. Under immigration law, a temporary visa holder who enters the United States and gets married or files their green card application within 90 days of their entry, is presumed to have misrepresented his or her true intentions for traveling to the United States on a temporary visa. Such individuals are generally not eligible to apply for adjustment of status to permanent residence (a green card) from inside the United States.

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In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses a hot topic addressing what is the fastest method to immigrate a foreign spouse to the United States.

Many couples often wonder what the best option is to immigrate their foreign spouse, such as applying for an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate overseas or applying for adjustment of status from inside the United States.

To learn more, please keep on watching this video.

Overview

There are two main methods by which a U.S. Citizen can immigrate his or her foreign spouse to the United States.

The most suitable method will depend on the consideration of various factors such as:

  • Is the foreign spouse currently outside of the United States?
  • Is the foreign spouse already inside the United States in lawful status (for example are they on an F-1 student visa, B-1 business visitor visa, or some other temporary visa)?
  • Does the foreign spouse have lawful status in the U.S.?
  • Is it important for you to obtain employment authorization during the immigration process?
  • Is prolonged separation an issue for you?

These are important factors that will determine which process married couples may wish to consider.

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