Has your application for a U.S. visa been denied? There are several reasons this might happen.
To qualify for a visa, you must be eligible to enter the United States and meet all the requirements of the visa you apply for. Whether you meet the visa's requirements depends on the evidence you submit to the embassy or consulate, along with an interview with a consular officer.
In August, the Trump administration issued a new rule about which immigrants should be considered "public charges," or dependent on public benefits. Immigrants deemed to be public charges are not eligible for further visas or green cards.
Yet, when legal immigrants are hard-hit financially, they can be eligible for public assistance programs including welfare, food stamps, Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid and public housing.
If you are currently protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, you know there has been litigation about whether the program will continue. The current administration has attempted to cancel the program and leave it to Congress to address the issue.
However, several federal courts have ruled that the effort to unilaterally shut down the program was unlawful. Those courts have ordered the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to continue processing DACA renewals but not to allow new people into the program. The USCIS is, therefore, still processing DACA renewals, and you should consider renewing right away.
People navigating the immigration system in the U.S. are often told that as long as they do what they are supposed to do, their status in the country will not be an issue. However, as far too many immigrants know, this is not always the case.
This is especially true in the current political climate, as immigration laws and standards seem to change every week. What used to be a somewhat predictable system is now rife with complications and unwelcome surprises. Currently, H-1B visa holders are among those who are struggling with some unexpected barriers.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a proposal to raise the application fees for citizenship, lawful permanent residency (green card status) and many other services. The proposal is now in a public comment period until Dec. 16, after which the agency must consider the comments.
After that, however, the fees will almost certainly go up for citizenship, green cards, DACA renewals, asylum, Temporary Protected Status and other services.
In 2012, President Barack Obama implemented a program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. The program gave protection from deportation and work authorization to a particular group of immigrants: those who had been brought here as without authorization as children within a specific period.
Beneficiaries of the program, called "Dreamers," were allowed to come from the shadows and participate in American life.
The Trump administration's travel ban against passport holders from seven countries is causing problems for some travelers to the U.S. Most recently, it prevented invited speakers from attending this year's Society for Neuroscience meeting in Chicago.
Dr. Sepiedeh Keshavarzi told NPR that it was once her dream to do research in the United States. She was one of the speakers due to address approximately 25,000 brain scientists at the meeting, but she was denied a visa. She was also denied one last year.
Many people who want to live and work in the U.S. permanently are perfectly happy with their status as a lawful permanent resident (green card holder). There may be good reasons for this but, before you decide, you should be aware that there are significant advantages to becoming a citizen.
The United States is actively welcoming new citizens. Over the last decade, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) brought over 7.2 million people into citizenship through naturalization. Last year alone, 756,000 people were naturalized.
This summer, the Trump administration issued a controversial new rule that would have imposed new financial standards on immigrants who are seeking lawful permanent residency (green cards). The rule reinterprets a policy against immigrants who are likely to become a "public charge" which has been in place for over 100 years.
Under the new rule, when immigrants applied for green cards, several economic factors would be held against them. For example, earning less than 125% of the federal poverty level would weigh against an immigrant's green card application. Other factors include:
You may have heard recently about a Palestinian student who was denied entry to the U.S. when he came to join his freshman class at Harvard. It wasn't for something he had done. Customs officials scanned his phone and objected to certain social media postings the student's friends had made. The man's dreams of a Harvard education were dashed because his friends made objectionable comments.
According to officials from Cottey College in Missouri, the State Department denied student visas to two of six Ethiopian students that had been accepted as freshmen. According to the State Department, the 17- and 18-year-olds lacked sufficient ties to their home country and might not be inclined to return. But how does a 17- or 18-year-old demonstrate sufficient attachment?
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