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| | | | | | Greetings! | | We can easily pass off each other's screen in the business of everyday life. So this newsletter will update you on general issues and keep in contact as you make each day an enterprising one.-- Walter Gleason |
| Transatlantic Services | | Give the current labor shortage in many of our industries, more than a few American businesses must overcome disadvantages in competing with overseas companies. This office can directly assist you in working with companies within the European Union.Our Irish office in Dublin offers transatlantic services for American companies interested in establishing branches in any of the twenty seven countries in the EU. |
| Why Apply for American Citizenship? | Many readers have legal permanent resident status (green card).After receipt by either by marriage or job, you wait and then file for citizenship three months before your date of eligibility. New fees on July 30, 2007 resulted in a crush of applications in late July. The process was slowed down a lot. But you may want to apply now regardless of the circumstances. Citizenship is your only absolute protection against any number of unexpected possibilities. Also,check if your home country will cancel your old passport after you accept the new American one.Slow or not, expensive or not, consider applying when you are eligible to do so.Find out more by linking to the office website at www.greencardamerica.net. |
|  | | Congressional Action | | It's mostly Congressional inaction. At the moment the numerical caps for important work visas are already met. Bills were filed to raise the numerical caps on H1Bs and H2Bs but the bills are not expected to meet with final approval this year. The only visa cap expected to pass this session is one for agricultural workers- a prime matter in the labor-starved valleys and ranches of California, Colorado, and states in the Southwest. |
| Quick Links | | Greetings! |  Immigration rules change all the time. Our expectations are high; the pressure to welcome a loved one intense; and the need for results constant.This newsletter will update you on general issues and keep in contact as you make each day an enterprising one.--Walter Gleason |
| New Passport Rules | | You have read beforehand that an American's return to the states at the Candian border is no longer a breeze. The new rules are, temporarily, interpreted with understanding but will be strictly enforced as time passes.It may be well for a new parent to apply for a child's passport in the same way one applies for a social number. The passport backlog has been greatly reduced but it remains a good idea to pay the expedite fee and receive a new passport within two weeks.If you are overseas and your passport is lost, stolen, or expires, report to the embassy immediately so that the staff can issue a temporary passport. An emergency can be fixed if you work with the embassy officials and explain how you fell into one or another circumstance. Usually the official will work with you to produce the new passport so that you can return to the states. An American must show an American passport on return to the states. |
| What If I Marry Someone Overseas? | | If an American wants to marry someone overseas, one way to bring the person here is as your fiance. The fiance is expected to marry the sponsoring person within 90 days or to go home.Understand that the 90 day limit is strictly enforced. The fiance cannot arrive and then change visas or marry someone else. There were many fake marriages in the 1980s and the strictness of these provisions was written to prevent more of the same. The American must have visited the prospective spouse overseas within two years of the filing of the visa petition. But this requirement can be waived under very narrow circumstances. If the American would suffer extreme hardship by the travel requirement or the visit would offend the local customs or the traditions of the foreigner, then the need to travel and meet may be waived. An example of the first would be a senior citizen whose health would be endangered by a lengthy trip; an example of the second would be a spouse whose tradition provides for arranged marriages, not the love marriages current in the states. Any prospective stepchildren of the American receive the same visa status at the same time as their biological parent. The varying waiting periods for fiance petitions depend on embassy processing times. |
| | | Congressional Action | No action in Congress is expected even in the summer's lame duck session. There is some evidence that partial solutions to the immigration problem are
avoided to put full pressure on a comprehensive solution. Whoever of the current three, top tier candidates wins the general election, the winner is already on record as in favor of some type of comprehensive immigration reform. In the meantime, other countries win daily the competition for the hotly contested services of many highly skilled workers. |
| | | The Problem With Notarios | | Many new immigrants to the states rely on the services of unlicensed individuals who do business under different versions of the title "notario." For immigrants from Brazil, Colombia, or other groups from Central and South America, the title of notario is understood in the states as the same as back home- a trained legal representative and someone you can rely on. But here in the states, the title is simply adopted gratis. There is a wide range of skill levels and interests. An Immigration Judge in Texas recently retired after many years of service and voiced only one regret- the influence of the notarios. Several states, including Massachusetts, have established anti-fraud departments within the state's Office of the Attorney General. If you think about contacting a notario, ask to see his or her license. An immigration lawyer will always be ready to display a license. Also, ask your friends about the notario and get opinions. Caution is the key word. At the same time, there are many reputable immigration centers that cater to one or another national group and do excellent work. If you need legal services, ask your friends and check credentials. Again, caution is the word.
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Check the office website at www.greencardamerica.net for the latest updates on a variety of topics. The website is organized in ten languages marked by the ten flags near the top of the first page. Click on your flag and the site will reappear in your own language. 306 DARTMOUTH STREET BOSTON, MA 02116 USA OFFICE TEL 617 894 1826 OFFICE FAX 617 648 3707 EMAIL wgleason@msn.com |
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| | | Had a Problem and Called Immigration? | Immigration officials for the USCIS are few and their administrative responsibilites are many. They do their jobs. But, if your case is delayed for whatever reason, there is the hotline number for direct question to the immigration service.Call 800 375 5283. Expect long waits. Follow up with your local representative in Congress. Most have legislative aides with considerable background in immigration matters. Each aide has a direct connection with USCIS's legislative aides. Progress can be made when a member of Congress calls.
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Check the office website at www.greencardamerica.net for the latest updates on a variety of topics. The website is organized in ten languages marked by the ten flags near the top of the first page. Click on your flag and the site will reappear in your own language. 306 DARTMOUTH STREET BOSTON, MA 02116 USA OFFICE TEL 617 894 1826 OFFICE FAX 617 648 3707 EMAIL wgleason @greencardamerica.net |
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TEL: (617) 753 - 9350 wgleason@msn.com
