On January 6, 2012, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted a notice of intent to change the procedure for I-601 waivers that currently require foreign nationals seeking an I-601 waiver to apply at the consulate and and wait in their home country. This caused many foreign nationals to separate from their families for up to a year while the waiver was being adjudicated.
USCIS stated "Currently, spouses and sons and daughters of U.S. citizens who have accrued a certain period of unlawful presence in the United States, and have to leave the country as part of the legal immigration process, are barred from returning to their families for as long as 3 or 10 years. They can receive a waiver to allow them to return to their families by showing that their U.S. citizen family member would face extreme hardship as a result of the separation."
As a result, USCIS is proposing that the applicant be allowed to apply for the waiver while in the United States, thereby eliminating the need to wait outside the country while a decision is made on the waiver.
THIS IS EXCELLENT NEWS!
However, this rule is not yet in effect. IT WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT UNTIL 2013 and at first, it will only apply to MEXICAN NATIONALS. Also, the spouse or children of the United States citizen who are using this waiver for unlawful presence ONLY will be allowed to apply while still in the United States. If someone is applying for the waiver for some other reason besides unlawful presence, this change is law will not apply to them.
USCIS stated "With the change outlined in the notice, individuals who currently qualify for a waiver of inadmissibility under the existing eligibility standards, and who can demonstrate that separation from their U.S. citizen spouse or parent would cause extreme hardship to that relative, would be allowed to apply for a waiver while still in the U.S."
The notice can be found at: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=95356a0d87aa4310VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=8a2f6d26d17df110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Temporary Protected Status for Syrian Arab Republic
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a status that the United States Government allows people from certain counties to apply for while their home country (or country of residence) is too dangerous for them to return to or the country is unable to handle the return of its citizens. There are currently seven countries, listed below, that are designated TPS countries. Syria was added to the list on March 23, 2012 due to the extraordinary violence that the government of Syria is inflicting on it's own people. The details of applying for such status are below in a press release from Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.
Press Release and Designation of TPS for Syrian Nationals
On March 23, 2012, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano
announced her intent to designate Syria for TPS for eighteen months.
The
TPS designation for Syria is effective today and will remain in effect
through September 30, 2013.
The designation means that eligible Syrian
nationals will not be removed from the United States, and may request
employment authorization.
The 180-day TPS registration period begins
today and ends on September 25, 2012.
TPS Eligible Countries
Currently there are seven countries that are eligible for TPS.
These are:
- El Salvador
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Nicaragua
- Somalia
- Sudan
- South Sudan
- Syria
See: http://worldpittsburgh.wordpress.com/2012/02/24/syria-resources/ for more information on the problems in Syria and for credit on the picture above.
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services announced the release of three new practice tests for English portion of the Naturalization Test.
The US Naturalization test is made up of two parts: and English Exam and a Civics Exam. Not everyone applying for naturalization may have to take the English and Civics Exam. There are exceptions to the English portion of the exam. These include if you are :
over age 50 and have been a green card holder for 20 years
OR
over age 55 and have been a green card holder for 15 years.
You may not be required to take either exam is you hare physically or developmentally disabled. A form documenting these disabilities must be filed by your treating doctor.
General information regarding the exam can be found here: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=dd7ffe9dd4aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=dd7ffe9dd4aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD
Practice Tests for the English Portion of the Naturalization Test
The Office
of Citizenship recently introduced three new practice tests to help
permanent residents prepare for the naturalization interview. The first
activity helps you with some general commands you may hear from an
Immigration Services Officer during the naturalization interview. You
can download self-study flash cards and review a practice exercise
before taking the practice test called "Understanding Commands for the
Naturalization Interview." There are two other activities that focus on
vocabulary words that you may hear in your interview or read on the
Application for Naturalization, Form N-400. You can find all three
activities on the Study Materials for the English Test section of the
Citizenship Resource Center.
For Educators: Classroom Materials for Teachers Accompany Practice Tests for Naturalization Preparation
To help
students learn and practice commands that an applicant may hear during
the naturalization interview, the Office of Citizenship has developed 8
½" x 11" visuals and flash cards for teachers to accompany the practice
test called "Understanding Commands for the Naturalization Interview."
These materials include suggestions for using the visuals and flash
cards for games and small-group activities in the classroom. A
downloadable practice exercise is also available for students to read,
listen, and review the sentences before taking the interactive practice
test. The other two practice tests for students focus on vocabulary
words that applicants may hear in their interview or read on the
Application for Naturalization, Form N-400. These materials can be found
on the Educational Products section of the Citizenship Resource Center.
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