http://www.cftienlaw.com/blog Immigration, Real Estate and Commercial Litigation Law Practice Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:50:05 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en On January 15, 2010, the Department of Homeland Security said it would offer Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) for 18 months to Haitian nationals, who were already here in the United States when the earthquake struck in Haiti. This means that during the period of time that the TPS program is in ... http://www.cftienlaw.com/blog/2010/01/tps-status-granted-for-haiti/ Employment-based Green Cards: There are a limited number of green cards available each year to foreign nationals who possess the skills needed to fill the employment gaps and/or needs of US employers. There are five (5) types of preference categories for employment-based green cards (also known as an “employment-based permanent residence”): EB-1: Priority ... http://www.cftienlaw.com/blog/2010/01/getting-a-green-card-part-2-employment-based-green-cards/ The H1B cap for FY 2010 was reached on December 21, 2009. Final FY10 cap announcement was made by USCIS on December 22, 2009.  Any cap-subject cases filed after December 21, 2009 will be returned to the filer. For those of you who missed the FY2010 H1B cap, it is ... http://www.cftienlaw.com/blog/2009/12/h-1b-cap-reached-for-fy2010/ In our last post, I introduced the different categories of Family-Based Residency. To review the different categories, you may click here for the post http://www.cftienlaw.com/blog/2009/12/getting-a-green-card-series-part-1/. Today, we will discuss the quota system and how it affects the Family-Based Green Card petitions. First, if you’re an immediate relative of a U.S. Citizen, ... http://www.cftienlaw.com/blog/2009/12/getting-a-green-card-part-1b/ This is the first post in the “Getting a Green Card Series”, where I will review the green card application process.  As I mentioned in one of my previous posts (http://bit.ly/2EHFpt), the Green Card is a registration card that is issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") ... http://www.cftienlaw.com/blog/2009/12/getting-a-green-card-series-part-1/ As of 11/20,  approximately 56,900 H-1B cap-subject petitions have been filed.  You can read more about it here: http://bit.ly/7yx0Ev. http://www.cftienlaw.com/blog/2009/11/updated-cap-counts-for-h1b-h2b-and-h3b/ During these tough economic times, layoffs are common and employers who hire (or have hired) foreign nationals must be aware of recent actions taken by the USDOL, as well as the decisions by the US Department of Labor. Employers are permitted to hire foreign national workers in certain occupations under the ... http://www.cftienlaw.com/blog/2009/11/h1-b-employees-benched-due-to-lack-of-work/ Permanent Green Cards issued after 1989 usually have 10 year renewal cycles. The expiration date of your Green Card is printed on the front of the card. If your card is expiring, then you can go to the USCIS website (www.uscis.gov) and download Form I-90 (along with its instructions).  You ... http://www.cftienlaw.com/blog/2009/11/expiring-green-card-how-do-i-apply-for-a-new-card/ Click here to read more of my Twitterview with @22twts about my practice: http://22tweets.com/index.php/2009/08/20/jeantien/ http://www.cftienlaw.com/blog/2009/11/my-twitterview/ Let's start with basics: an Affidavit of Support is a legally required document to be completed by the petitioning sponsor in most Family-Based Green Card cases.  A “petitioning sponsor” is a person who has filed an USCIS-approved immigrant petition.  If an Affidavit of Support is required for your application, then ... http://www.cftienlaw.com/blog/2009/10/who-can-sponsor-andor-co-sponsor-an-intending-immigrants-green-card-application/