RapidVisa Blog

The poverty guidelines are the other version of the federal poverty measure. They, too, are issued every year, generally in the winter, but by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in the Federal Register. The guidelines are a simplification of the poverty thresholds created for administrative use, such as determining financial eligibility for certain federal programs. They are adjusted for families of different sizes and by geographic location (with different guidelines for the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia; Alaska; and Hawaii).

The Affidavit of Support is legally required for the petitioning sponsor for many family-based and some employment based immigrants to show the intending immigrant will have adequate means of support, when planning to immigrate to the U.S. The purpose of the process is to prove that the intending immigrant has adequate means of financial support and is unlikely to become a public charge. 

As “petitioning sponsor” this means you have filed an immigrant petition, which has been approved by USCIS. You have paid your Affidavit of Support processing fee and you have been contacted by the Department of State, National Visa Center (NVC) with instructions. You are ready for the next step in the immigration process, which is submit the I-864 Affidavit of Support and required supporting documents for the purpose of sponsoring the intending immigrant. 

Some visa applications require further administrative processing, which takes additional time after the visa applicant’s interview by a Consular Officer. Applicants are advised of this requirement when they apply. Most administrative processing is resolved within 60 days of the visa interview.


Reference: http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/a_zindex/a_zindex_4353.html

There are 37 countries in the Visa Waiver Program as of October 2012.

The DS-160, Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application, is a fully integrated online application form that is used to collect the necessary application information from a person seeking a nonimmigrant visa for temporary travel to the United States. Form DS-160 is submitted electronically to the Department of State website via the Internet. Consular Officers use the information entered on the DS-160 to process the visa application and, combined with a personal interview, determine an applicant’s eligibility for a nonimmigrant visa. Reference: http://travel.state.gov/visa/forms/forms_4230.html ...

The USCIS assigned your immigrant visa petition a Priority Date when you filed it with USCIS. If you are unsure of your Priority Date, you should refer to the Approval Notice that you received from the USCIS.

Reference: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1309.html#prioritydate2

Effective April 13, 2012 the Department of State will be reducing it's processing fees for all immigrant visas plus the K-1 Fiancee visa.  The price of a Tourist Visa along with other nonimmigrant visa types will be going up. Type of Visa Previous Fee New Fee K-1 Fiancee $350 $240 K-3 Spousal $350 $240 CR-1/IR-1 Spousal $330 $230 IR-5 Parent $330 $230 Tourist $140 $160 Reference...

The National Visa Center (NVC) assigns each immigrant petition a case number. The NVC case number has three letters followed by ten numbers. The three letters are an abbreviation for the overseas embassy or consulate that will process the immigrant visa case (for example, JAK for Jakarta, MNL for Manila).

24-Hour Information
An automated recorded message system is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to answer case status inquiries (603) 334-0700.

The National Visa Center is located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and you can call the National Visa Center at 603-334-0700.

You will get an automated system, not a live person.  You can call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  To get an update on your case you will enter the receipt number from you I-797 (NOA1 or NOA2), or if you have a National Visa Center case number you can enter that. If your case number is not recognized it means that your case has not yet been received by the NVC.  Just try again every few days.

International travelers who are seeking to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) are now subject to enhanced security requirements and will be required to pay an administrative fee. All eligible travelers who wish to travel to the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program must apply for authorization and then pay the fee using the Electronic System for Travel Authorization Web Site.

In 2008, households headed by persons naturalized in the 1980s had a higher median income than those headed by persons naturalizing later (see Table 2). Median incomes of families headed by naturalized citizens show a similar pattern.

Persons naturalized in the 1980s were more likely to hold a college degree than those naturalized in the 1990s or 2000–2008. Over 40 percent of all natural-ized citizens from each naturalization period had a high school education or less in 2008.

The number of persons naturalizing in the United States increased from 2.1 million during the 1980s to 5.0 million during the 1990s and 6.1 million during 2000–2008.

The median number of years spent in LPR status by all persons naturalizing ranges from seven to nine years across naturalization periods (see Table 1). Asian-born immigrants naturalizing in the 1980s and African-born immigrants naturalizing in 2000–2008 spent the least time as LPRs (6 years). Persons born in North America naturalizing in the 1980s and 2000–2008 spent the most time in LPR status (11 years).

The following 36 countries are currently on the list of Visa Waiver countries.  Citizens of these countries don't need a visa to visit the United States:

One of the many new rules in the proposed Comprehensive Immigration Reform ASAP Act of 2009 would positively impact K1 and K3 applicants. The new rule impacts children of K1 and K3 aliens who join the beneficiary on a K2 or K3 visa.  The new rule would allow the child to use his age as of when the K1 or K3 petition was filed for purposes of getting a green card (adjusting status).

The New York Times has a very nice interactive map application on their web site that shows you where immigrants have settled in the United States.  They call it their Immigration Explorer.  You can select a foreign country and the map will graphically show you where those people have settled in the U.S. since 1880.

The K4 visa is issued to children of K3 Spousal Visa recipients and allows their unmarried minor children to accompany them to the United States. To apply for a K4 visa, a K3 visa applicant simply includes the child's name when submitting the petition for a K3 Spousal Visa. Although nearly all attorneys and other visa processors charge extra for the K4 visa, RapidVisa does not.

The final two defendants pleaded guilty Monday to charges in a Columbus-based marriage fraud scheme.

An opinion regarding a point of law from the Office of Visa Services in the Department of State, Washington, D.C. This opinion would be in answer to a question from an embassy or consulate about interpretation of immigration law or in response to a request of review of the legal correctness of a visa refusal of an applicant or his/her representative.

Naturalization is the process by which U.S. citizenship is conferred upon foreign citizens or nationals after fulfilling the requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). After naturalization, foreign-born citizens enjoy nearly all the same benefits, rights and responsibilities that the Constitution gives to native born U.S. citizens, including the right to vote.

A document promising that the person who completes it will support an applicant financially in the United States. Family and certain employment immigration cases require the I-864 Affidavit of Support, which is legally binding. All other cases use the I-134 Affidavit of Support.

Applicants may be deemed ineligible for any of the following reasons:

Health-related grounds
Criminal grounds
Security and Related Grounds
Likely to become a Public Charge
Labor Certification & Qualification
Illegal Entrants and Immigration Violators
Documentation Requirements
Ineligible for Citizenship
Aliens Previously Removed
Miscellaneous such as Practicing Polygamists, Unlawful Voters, Former citizens who renounced citizenship to avoid taxes

The concept of dual nationality means that a person is a citizen of two countries at the same time. Each country has its own citizenship laws based on its own policy.  Persons may have dual nationality by automatic operation of different laws rather than by choice. For example, a child born in a foreign country to U.S. citizen parents may be both a U.S. citizen and a citizen of the country of birth.

The date or D/S notation, shown on your Arrival-Departure Record, I-94 or I-94W is the official record of the your authorized length of stay in the U.S. Upon entering the U.S., Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials at the port of entry, places a small white card, Form I-94, Arrival-Departure Record in your passport.

For family based visas, a petition is filed either by a U.S. citizen or U.S. lawful permanent resident relative. Immediate Relatives Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens (IR): These types of immigrant visas are based on a close family relationship with a U.S. citizen, including spouses, children, and parents. Limited Family-Based Immigrants involve specific, more distant, family relationships with a U.S. citizen and some specified relationships with a Lawful Permanent Resident.


 

A major immigration law enacted on November 6, 1986, to gain control over legal immigration. It provided for the legalization of certain long-term undocumented aliens and agricultural workers, increased border enforcement, and made it unlawful to hire undocumented workers. It also required that U.S. employers verify the identity and work authorization status of all persons they hire.

Before the issuance of an immigrant visa, every applicant, regardless of age, must undergo a medical examination which must be performed by one of a panel of doctors authorized to complete the medical examination and x-ray of U.S. visa applicants. Applicants are provided instructions by National Visa Center