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Jacob Sapochnick appeared on the popular Radio Show Midday Edition with host Maureen Cavanaugh discussing the new I-601A waiver policy.

A change in immigration policy that may seem minor to most Americans, is likely to have a major impact of tens of thousands of families across the nation.

The new rule, that takes effect this March, will make it easier for undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens to wait for green cards here in the U.S., rather than back in their home country.

Jacob Sapochnick, a San Diego immigration attorney, says in order to obtain a waiver, the applicant must demonstrate their absence would cause “extreme hardship” to a qualifying relative such as a spouse or parent who is a U.S. citizen.

The policy is designed to help keep families together, while the often long process of documentation is completed.

Click here to listen to the show on the left of the page there is a player

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Our segment starts at 0:51. Attorney Jacob Sapochick appearing on KUSI Evening News December 28, 2012 discussing the US Adoption ban by Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a measure that bans the adoption the Russian children by U.S. families effective January 1.

The Russian measure also bars any political activities by nongovernmental organizations receiving funding from the United States, if such activities could affect Russian interests, Russia’s semiofficial RIA-Novosti news agency said.

And it imposes sanctions against U.S. officials thought to have violated human rights.

The law envisions the drafting of a list of U.S. citizens who will be prohibited from entering Russia, and will suspend the activity of any legal entities controlled by them in the country.

The law is named after a Russian orphan adopted by a family from Purcellville, Virginia who died of heat stroke after being in a parked car for nine hours. The law is described as a response to the Magnitsky bill in the United States, which places sanctions on Russian officials who were involved in a tax scandal exposed by Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.

More on our website https://www.h1b.biz

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In this segment of AskMyLawyer we address issues relating to Green Card holders trying to immigrate their spouse. t is possible to immigrate a foreign spouse even if you are a permanent resident of the U.S. However, there will be a 3 year hold placed on the case currently, plus processing time of several months. The Wife in this case will need to maintain her student status while the application, i-130 is pending.

lawful permanent resident or a Green Card holder is a foreign national who has been granted the privilege of permanently living and working in the United States of America.

If you are a lawful permanent resident in the United States, you can apply a green card for your relative (spouse and unmarried children) to become a lawful permanent resident.

There are two subcategories in this immigration preference known as “second preference”. Preference 2A is for spouses or unmarried children under age 21 of permanent residents, and preference 2B is set aside for unmarried children of 21 years of age or older.

Watch our video for more answers:

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Unlawful presence is the period of time an individual is in the United States without being admitted or paroled, OR after the expiration of a period of stay granted by DHS. Unlawful presence is relevant for the purpose of determining whether the inadmissibility bars (3 year or 10 year bars) apply to an individual who departs the United States and afterwards tries to reenter.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program allows certain individuals who entered the United States as children to remain in the United States and continue their education or work legally for a two-year period (and possibly longer depending on politics and renewals). DACA is not a “legal status.” However, it does stop the accrual of “unlawful presence.” This is especially important for those who have not yet turned 18. If you are under 18 and want to apply for DACA, then you should consider doing so as soon as possible to realize the full potential of the program and potentially be able to depart and return to the United States with permanent resident status or at least temporary work visa status in the future.

Watch our video for more information:

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The E-2 Investor Visa allows an individual to enter and work inside of the United States based on an investment he or she will be controlling, while inside the United States. This visa must be renewed every two years, but there is no limit to how many times one can renew. The investment must be “substantial”. Investor visas are available only to treaty countries, which include countries like Albania and Senegal, but do not include Brazil, Russia, India and China.

The dollar amount of the investment normally should exceed $200,000 depending on the type of business (new or existing), although cases have been made for smaller amounts. This is an approximated amount and applicants should consult an immigration lawyer prior to making any offers for existing business. The dollar amount should only be money spent on the business. Any expenses not directly spent on the actual business itself will not count toward the required amount.

For new startups, the investment must be large enough to start and operate the business. The amount of investment varies on the type of business. The $200,000 dollar amount would not be a substantial investment for a business such as the construction and management of a shopping center or office complex. The investment will not be considered substantial if it is not large enough to capitalize the venture. The USCIS will use an ‘Inverted Sliding Scale’ to determine whether the investment is substantial in proportion to the overall cost of the enterprise.

Upon conclusion of the business, investors must return to their countries of origin, or change their status. The holder of an E-2 visa may leave the United States at any time.

Watch our Video for more
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4s-0MyTuPU

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USCIS announces that 2014 Diversity Visa Program (DV-2014) will open at noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Tuesday, October 2, 2012, and will close at noon, EDT, Saturday, November 3, 2012.

Applicants must submit entries electronically during this registration period using the electronic DV entry form (E-DV) at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov. Paper entries will not be accepted. We strongly encourage applicants not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. No entries will be accepted after noon, EDT, on November 3, 2012.

The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is administered on an annual basis by the Department of State and conducted under the terms of Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Section 131 of the Immigration Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-649) amended INA 203 and provides for a class of immigrants known as “diversity immigrants.” Section 203(c) of the INA provides a maximum of 55,000 Diversity Visas each fiscal year to be made available to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Fifty-five thousand immigrant visas are set aside for DV immigrants; however, since DV-1999, Congress has reserved 5,000 visas from this annual allocation to be made available for use under the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA).

Our firm will able to assist in filing of the annual DV program.

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What is a Stokes interview? A Stokes Interview in a marriage based green card application process is referring to an interview when the husband and wife are questioned separately, and their answers are compared by an immigration officer to determine whether the marriage was entered into in good faith. A stokes interview (also known as “marriage fraud interview”) is usually a second interview, after the first one when the husband and wife were interviewed together raised some questions about the bona fide of their marriage. Watch the Video to learn more

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Immigrants who were brought to the United States before the age of 16, who have lived here for at least five years, are in school, have a high school diploma or GED, or were honorably discharged from the military and are younger than 30 are eligible for the “deferred action”. In addition to deferred action on deportation, many young illegal immigrants would be eligible for work permits.

Verifiable documentation must be provided, and those with felonies or extensive criminal records are not eligible. So start collecting documents now, school records, bills and other records from the past 5 years and more. Watch our video for details.