US naturalization-How it can help you and your family
There is one step that, if taken together, could have the power to protect our families and move our communities forward. More than 8 million immigrants in the United States have green cards and are eligible to become U.S. citizens. Yet only 8 percent of eligible immigrants naturalize each year. Imagine what would happen if the millions of us who are eligible to become citizens actually took that step. We would be able to vote. But the benefits of citizenship don’t end there. We would be able keep our families together. As naturalized U.S. citizens, we could petition for our…
Canada Immigration Opportunities: Skilled immigrants to be offered ‘express entry’ to Canada in 2015
The Canadian government is forging ahead with a new immigration system that will offer “express entry” to qualified immigrants starting in 2015 as a way to help fill open jobs for which there are no available Canadian workers. Express Entry, formerly known as Expression of Interest, will be “a swifter path to Canada that will select immigrants based on the skills and attributes that Canada needs based on those identified by government but also by employers,” said Immigration Minister Chris Alexander during a news conference in Richmond Hill, Ont., on Tuesday. While the change in the name of the program…
Spouses of Some H-1B Visa Holders to Be Allowed to Work in US
Spouses of H-1B visa holders being sponsored for a green card by their employers will be allowed to work in the U.S. as part of a new initiative by the Obama administration to attract high-skilled foreign workers. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker announced Tuesday that the administration plans this and other revisions to regulations for the H-1B and other skilled-worker visas. Mr. Mayorkas said the goal was twofold: to “encourage highly skilled, specially trained individuals to remain in the United States” and to maintain U.S. “competitiveness with other countries that attract skilled foreign…
Green Card Lottery, 2015 Diversity Visa Program: Results to be Announced on May 1
DV-2015 entrants may enter their confirmation information through the official website of the Electronic Diversity Visa Lottery starting at noon (EDT) on May 1, 2014 to find out if they were selected to continue with DV processing in order to receive a United States Permanent Resident Card, according to the Department of State. The Diversity Immigrant Visa program, which is also known as the Green Card Lottery, is a United States congressionally mandated lottery program. Accordingly, the U.S. government is allowed to give away 55,000 Permanent Resident Cards to applicants from countries deemed to have low rates of immigration to…
Four Kenyans sentenced to prison for marriage fraud in Houston, Texas
HOUSTON (KTRK) — Four Kenyan nationals living in Houston have been sentenced for conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, marriage fraud and visa fraud, according to United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Herman Ogoti, 53, Alfonso Ongaga, 36, Andrew Mokoro, 36, and Rebmann Ongaga, 33, were all convicted following a seven-day trial on Nov. 14, 2013. Ogoti and Alfonso Ongaga were also convicted of unlawful procurement of naturalization. On Wednesday, US District Judge Melinda Harmon sentenced Alfonso Ongaga and Andrew Mokoro to 16 months in federal prison, while Ogoti and Rebmann Ongaga each received six-month terms. Judge Harmon also signed an order revoking…
Obama endorses House Dem immigration effort to introduce vote on house
President Barack Obama formally endorsed a long-shot legislative gambit from House Democrats aimed at forcing a vote on comprehensive immigration reform as he blamed House Republicans for stalling an overhaul. In a three-paragraph statement, Obama said he “applauds” the strategy from Democrats to use a discharge petition to get a vote on immigration reform legislation. A successful petition needs 218 signatures — a threshold all but certain to not be reached. “Immigration reform is the right thing to do for our economy, our security and our future,” Obama said. “A vast majority of the American people agree. The only thing…
Obama Orders Review Of Deportation Practices, Looks For More Humane Options
WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking to pacify frustrated immigration advocates, President Barack Obama is directing the government to find more humane ways to handle deportation for immigrants in the U.S. illegally, the White House said Thursday. With prospects for an immigration overhaul in Congress appearing ever dimmer, immigration advocates have been ramping up pressure on Obama to halt all deportations — a step Obama has insisted he can’t take by himself. By announcing he’s open to changing how the U.S. enforces its current laws, Obama is signaling he may be growing more inclined to test the limits of his authority in…
House GOP Passes Immigration-Related Bill That Goes After Dreamers
WASHINGTON — House Republicans addressed immigration on Wednesday — sort of — by passing a bill that would take aim at President Barack Obama’s policy that allows young undocumented immigrants to stay in the United States. The ENFORCE Act, which passed 233 to 181, isn’t about immigration exclusively. Instead, it goes after Obama for alleged overreach on a variety of issues, including Obamacare, education and drug laws. The bill would allow Congress to sue the executive branch for allegedly failing to enforce the law, and it could lead to the dismantling of a key policy protecting some undocumented immigrants. The…
US Immigrants sue USCIS to speed up citizenship applications
Mohammad Barikbin came to the USA in 1988 and says he has spent every day since then fulfilling the American dream. The Iranian immigrant started a catering business in Philadelphia, then a taxi company and a taxi call center, all while investing in real estate. His 26-year-old son, Mehrdad, is a Marine. His 16-year-old son, Bijan, plays high school football. But there’s a critical piece missing from Barikbin’s American dream: He’s not an American yet. Barikbin, 57, is a legal permanent resident, known as a “green card” holder. He is among nearly 68,000 legal immigrants whose citizenship applications have been…
Have you applied for a Green Card for your spouse and kids and are waiting over a year? Here’s why
Many thousands of Americans seeking green cards for foreign spouses or other immediate relatives have been separated from them for a year or more because of swelling bureaucratic delays at a federal immigration agency in recent months. The long waits came when the agency, Citizenship and Immigration Services, shifted attention and resources to a program President Obama started in 2012 to give deportation deferrals to young undocumented immigrants, according to administration officials and official data. The trouble that American citizens have faced gaining permanent resident visas for their families raises questions about the agency’s priorities and its readiness to handle what…
