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Interviews for Green Card Process Will be More Frequent

August 29, 2017

Interviews for Green Card Process Will be More Frequent

Author: New York Immigration Attorney Alena Shautsova

Several months after President Trump took office, it can be said that Immigration enforcement is steering in the direction of tightening the rules and enforcement. So far, the regulations and laws have not been changed much, but  was is changing is the way the laws and regulations are administrated.

For example, USCIS has recently announced that it will start calling for interview all employment based green card applicants, as well as derivative asylum applicants ( form I 730). Previously, such applications were decided on paper without meeting of the applicants. Now, an interview will be a must. In addition, USCIS stated that it will also expand the interview for other types of permanent resident applications.

Another change that came is that now, advance parole (form I 131) has to be applied for and received in the United States. If a person leaves the United States prior to receiving the approval, such an application will be considered abandoned.

President Trump administration is also likely to end DACA program. It is unclear how this program will be ended: with or without a grace period, with or without referring all beneficiaries to ICE…

It means, that now then ever, an applicant will have to gt prepared for the interview to make sure that he/she will be able to overcome any and all doubts an officer have and prove his/her eligibility. A preparation for an interview starts with reviewing of the eligibility requirements, documents, and of course, a consultation with an attorney who will try to foresee and prevent likely issues.  It is important to choose an attorney who is familiar with the recent USCIS “trends” and who can advocate for her client zealously.

U.S. Immigration Fingerprints Abroad

April 25, 2016

U.S. Immigration Fingerprints  Abroad

Author: US Immigration attorney Alena Shautsova

Almost all immigration applications require that an applicant comply with the biometrics requirement and appear for a fingerprinting procedure in the US.  Previously, U.S. Immigration fingerprints were not collected abroad.

This is especially true for such important applications as Re-Entry Permit for lawful permanent residents , Advance Parole and Refugee/Asylee Travel documents. All these applications should be submitted to USCIS using form I-131. After the submission, according to the instructions, the approved documents (that look almost like passports) can be shipped overseas. For example, due to an urgent travel an applicant cannot remain in the US and have to leave before he/she receives the document. In such cases, USCIS can send the document either to the overseas consulate or a specified address abroad. What the instructions do not say is that prior to departure, the applicant must appear for fingerprinting appointment in the US. For years, there was no exception to this rule, and one would miss such an appointment and depart the US, would face significant difficulties coming back as there was no way for the applicant to comply with the biometrics procedure overseas.

Recently, USCIS allowed applicants to comply with the biometrics requirement outside the US. Biometrics collection for certain applications, such as a Form I-131, Application for Reentry Permit, may be taken at a USCIS office abroad, even if the collection was originally scheduled at an ASC office in the United States. This is available to residents of countries where USCIS has an international office. For example, Russia, Germany.

Only those can demonstrate urgent and severe circumstances will be allowed to comply with the procedure overseas. In addition, the applicant would have to demonstrate that he/she tried to expedite or reschedule the fingerprinting appointment.  It means that one who has I-131 pending and has to leave the country urgently, still has to show his/her attempts to comply with the regular procedure.

Examples of urgent circumstances may include: an urgent job assignment, a need to take care of a family member that requires urgency, etc.

The new procedure will help thousands who previously did not have a choice and had to either miss an important presence overseas or forego US immigration benefits or jeopardize their status to comply with U.S. Immigration fingerprints abroad.