Immigration Law The Basic Basics Diane Butler, Lane Powell PC Franco Capriotti, Capriotti

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Immigration Law The Basic BasicsDiane
Butler, Lane Powell PC Franco Capriotti,
Capriotti Associates International Law
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• Whos in Charge?
• Homeland Security
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
  (USCIS)
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
• State Department
• Department of Justice/Executive Office of
  Immigration Review (EOIR and the Courts)
• U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)

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• Presumptions of Immigration Law
• Security issues
• Immigrant intent
• Not everybody needs a visa
• The Visa Waiver Program
• Canadian Citizens

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• Temporary, nonimmigrant status

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• B-1/B-2 for business visitors and tourists
• Purposes for which the status is available
• Limitations
• Application procedure

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• H-1B for positions requiring at least a
  bachelors degree
• Purposes for which the status is available
• Limitations on length of stay
• Procedure

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• E-3s for Australians
• Comparison to H-1B
• Purposes for which the status is available
• Limitations
• Procedure

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• TNs for Canadian and Mexicans
• Comparison to H-1B
• Purposes for which the status is available
• Limitations on length of stay
• Procedure

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• L-1 Intracompany transfer
• Purposes for which the status is available
• Limitations on length of stay
• Procedure

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• E-1/E-2 Treaty traders and Investors
• Purposes for which the status is available
• Limitations
• Procedure

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• F-1 Students
• Purposes for which the status is available
• Limitations
• Procedure

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• Trainee and education alternatives
• M-1 vocational training
• J-1 trainees
• H-3 trainees

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• O-1 for extraordinary ability
• P-1, P-2, P-3 for performers and athletes
• Q-1 for cultural exchange visitors

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• H-2B Temporary Workers
• Purposes for which the status is available the
  four temporaries
• 1. one-time occurrences (e.g. foreign
  professional needed to train U.S. workers)
• 2. recurring seasonal jobs (e.g. ski instructor)
• 3. peakload demands (e.g. special expertise or
  additional positions on one-time complex or
  large-scale projects)
• 4. intermittent/occasional jobs (e.g. technicians
  upgrading foreign machinery)
• Limitations
• Procedure labor certification

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• Immigrant or Permanent Resident Status and
  Green Cards

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Sample Green Card                               
                                                  
                      
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Employment Based (EB) Permanent Resident Status

• EB-1 Priority workers
• EB-2 Professionals with advanced degrees or
  persons with exceptional ability
• EB-3 Skilled or professional workers
• EB-4 Certain Special Immigrants
• EB-5 Employment Creation

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EB-1 Priority Workers

• Extraordinary ability
• Outstanding researcher
• Multinational executive and manager

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EB-2 Members of the Professions Holding Advanced
Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability

• EB-2 Advanced degrees -- Labor Certs required,
  minimum requirement for the position of a
  Masters degree or a Bachelor's degree plus five
  years of progressively responsible experience
• EB-2A Aliens with Exceptional Ability in the
  sciences, arts or business.
• EB-2B Aliens whose services in the sciences,
  arts, professions or business are of such high
  importance that they are entitled to a National
  Interest Waiver of the labor certification
  requirement.

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EB-3 Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other
Workers

• Professionals, who have Labor Certs filed on
  their behalf, with a minimum requirement of at
  least a Bachelors degree
• Skilled workers where at least two years of
  experience is required
• Other workers where fewer than two years of
  experience is required

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• EB-4 Certain Special Immigrants
• religious workers, U.S. citizen widows or
  widowers, court dependents, returning residents
  and others
• EB-5 Employment Creation
• investor green card

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• State Department Priority Date Chart for March
  2007
• All Chargeability
• Areas Except
• Those Listed CH IN ME PH
• Employment-Based          
• 1st C C C C C
• 2nd C 22APR05 08JAN03 C C
• 3rd 01AUG02 01AUG02 01MAY01 15MAY01 01AUG02
• Other Workers 01OCT01 01OCT01 01OCT01 01OCT01
  01OCT01
• 4th C C C C C
• Certain Religious Workers C C C C C
• 5th C C C C C
• Targeted Employment C C C C C
• Areas/Regional Centers

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Family-Sponsored Permanent Resident Status

• Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens (exempt from
  preference categories)
• Spouse
• Children
• Parents
• 1st Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Citizens
• 2nd Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and
  Daughters of Permanent Residents
• 2A Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents
• 2B Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age
  or older) of Permanent Residents
• 3rd Married Sons and Daughters of Citizens
• 4th Brothers and Sisters of Adult Citizens
• No parents of permanent residents, and no aunts,
  uncles or cousins of anyone

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• Government-sponsored Categories
• Asylum/refugee
• Cancellation of removal
• Legislation, 245i, and LIFE
• Private bill
• Diversity lottery