How to Make an Expedite Request with USCIS?
You may ask USCIS to expedite adjudication of a benefit request (such as an application or petition) for an immigration benefit. USCIS:
- considers all expedite requests on a case-by-case basis;
- May require additional documentation to support a request;
- Has the sole discretion to decide whether to accommodate a request.
What is PERM labor certification program: Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) is the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) labor certification process that employers must complete before sponsoring a foreign worker for certain permanent employment-based green card categories and sub-categories.
What Priority Date of green card process?
A: Priority date of greeen card process is estblished by petitions such as I-130, I-140, I-360, I-526 upon its approval. This typically meant the "date of filing" of these petition, or the date of filing of the PERM Labor Certification in case of certain I-140 petitions.
Act or INA means the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended.
INA Defines certain terms as below:
The term "administrator" means the official designated by the Secretary of State pursuant to section 1104(b) of this title
The term "advocates" includes, but is not limited to, advises, recommends, furthers by overt act, and admits belief in.
The term "alien" means any person not a citizen or national of the United States
The term "application for admission" has reference to the application for admission into the United States and not to the application for the issuance of an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa.
The term "Attorney General" means the Attorney General of the United States
The term "border crossing identification card" means a document of identity bearing that designation issued to an alien who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or to an alien who is a resident in foreign contiguous territory, by a consular officer or an immigration officer for the purpose of crossing over the borders between the United States and foreign contiguous territory in accordance with such conditions for its issuance and use as may be prescribed by regulations. Such regulations shall provide that (A) each such document include a biometric identifier (such as the fingerprint or handprint of the alien) that is machine readable and (B) an alien presenting a border crossing identification card is not permitted to cross over the border into the United States unless the biometric identifier contained on the card matches the appropriate biometric characteristic of the alien.
The term "clerk of court" means a clerk of a naturalization court
The terms "Commissioner" and "Deputy Commissioner" mean the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization and a Deputy Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization, respectively.
The term "consular officer" means any consular, diplomatic, or other officer or employee of the United States designated under regulations prescribed under authority contained in this chapter, for the purpose of issuing immigrant or nonimmigrant visas or, when used in subchapter III, for the purpose of adjudicating nationality.
The term "crewman" means a person serving in any capacity on board a vessel or aircraft.
The term "diplomatic visa" means a nonimmigrant visa bearing that title and issued to a nonimmigrant in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary of State may prescribe.
The term "doctrine" includes, but is not limited to, policies, practices, purposes, aims, or procedures.
The terms A) "admission" and "admitted" mean, with respect to an alien, the lawful entry of the alien into the United States after inspection and authorization by an immigration officer. B) An alien who is paroled under section 1182(d)(5) of this title or permitted to land temporarily as an alien crewman shall not be considered to have been admitted. C) An alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States shall not be regarded as seeking an admission into the United States for purposes of the immigration laws unless the alien- i) has abandoned or relinquished that status, ii) has been absent from the United States for a continuous period in excess of 180 days, iii) has engaged in illegal activity after having departed the United States, iv) has departed from the United States while under legal process seeking removal of the alien from the United States, including removal proceedings under this chapter and extradition proceedings, (v) has committed an offense identified in section 1182(a)(2) of this title, unless since such offense the alien has been granted relief under section 1182(h) or 1229b(a) of this title, or (vi) is attempting to enter at a time or place other than as designated by immigration officers or has not been admitted to the United States after inspection and authorization by an immigration officer.
The term "foreign state" includes outlying possessions of a foreign state, but self-governing dominions or territories under mandate or trusteeship shall be regarded as separate foreign states.
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) title 8 defines certain terms as below:
Aggravated felony means a crime (or a conspiracy or attempt to commit a crime) described in section 101(a)(43) of the Act. This definition applies to any proceeding, application, custody determination, or adjudication pending on or after September 30, 1996, but shall apply under section 276(b) of the Act only to violations of section 276(a) of the Act occurring on or after that date.
Application means benefit request.
Arriving alien means an applicant for admission coming or attempting to come into the United States at a port-of-entry, or an alien seeking transit through the United States at a port-of-entry, or an alien interdicted in international or United States waters and brought into the United States by any means, whether or not to a designated port-of-entry, and regardless of the means of transport. An arriving alien remains an arriving alien even if paroled pursuant to section 212(d)(5) of the Act, and even after any such parole is terminated or revoked. However, an arriving alien who was paroled into the United States before April 1, 1997, or who was paroled into the United States on or after April 1, 1997, pursuant to a grant of advance parole which the alien applied for and obtained in the United States prior to the alien's departure from and return to the United States, will not be treated, solely by reason of that grant of parole, as an arriving alien under section 235(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act.
Attorney means any person who is eligible to practice law in, and is a member in good standing of the bar of, the highest court of any State, possession, territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or of the District of Columbia, and is not under any order suspending, enjoining, restraining, disbarring, or otherwise restricting him or her in the practice of law.
Benefit request means any application, petition, motion, appeal, or other request relating to an immigration or naturalization benefit, whether such request is filed on a paper form or submitted in an electronic format, provided such request is submitted in a manner prescribed by DHS for such purpose.
Board means the Board of Immigration Appeals within the Executive Office for Immigration Review, Department of Justice, as defined in 8 CFR 1001.1(e).
Case, unless the context otherwise requires, means any proceeding arising under any immigration or naturalization law, Executive Order, or Presidential proclamation, or preparation for or incident to such proceeding, including preliminary steps by any private person or corporation preliminary to the filing of the application or petition by which any proceeding under the jurisdiction of the Service or the Board is initiated.
CBP means U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Commissioner means the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service prior to March 1, 2003. Unless otherwise specified, references after that date mean the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as appropriate in the context in which the term appears.
Day, when computing the period of time for taking any action provided in this chapter I including the taking of an appeal, shall include Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, except that when the last day of the period computed falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, the period shall run until the end of the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday.
Department or DHS, unless otherwise noted, means the Department of Homeland Security.
Director or district director prior to March 1, 2003, means the district director or regional service center director, unless otherwise specified. On or after March 1, 2003, pursuant to delegation from the Secretary of Homeland Security or any successive re-delegation, the terms mean, to the extent that authority has been delegated to such official: asylum office director; director, field operations; district director for interior enforcement; district director for services; field office director; service center director; or special agent in charge. The terms also mean such other official, including an official in an acting capacity, within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or other component of the Department of Homeland Security who is delegated the function or authority above for a particular geographic district, region, or area.
E-filing means electronically filing or submitting a benefit request, supporting evidence, document, notice, or communication in a manner made available and approved by USCIS for that purpose, including by completing the form online, in a web portal, via an electronic interface, or by uploading a PDF of the completed form through an approved online account.
EOIR means the Executive Office for Immigration Review within the Department of Justice.
Executed or execute means fully completed.
Form when used in connection with a benefit or other request to be filed with DHS to request an immigration benefit, means a device for the collection of information in a standard format that may be submitted in paper format or in an electronic format as prescribed by USCIS on its official Internet Web site. The term Form followed by an immigration form number includes an approved electronic equivalent of such form as may be prescribed by the appropriate component on its official Internet Web site.
Form instructions means instructions on how to complete and where to file a benefit request, supporting evidence or fees, or any other required or preferred document or instrument with a DHS immigration component. Form instructions prescribed by USCIS or other DHS immigration components on their official Internet Web sites will be considered the currently applicable version, notwithstanding paper or other versions that may be in circulation, and may be issued through non-form guidance such as appendices, exhibits, guidebooks, or manuals.
ICE means U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Immigration judge means an immigration judge as defined in 8 CFR 1001.1(l).
Immigration officer means the following employees of the Department of Homeland Security, including senior or supervisory officers of such employees, designated as immigration officers authorized to exercise the powers and duties of such officer as specified by the Act and this chapter I: aircraft pilot, airplane pilot, asylum officer, refugee corps officer, Border Patrol agent, contact representative, deportation officer, detention enforcement officer, detention officer, fingerprint specialist, forensic document analyst, general attorney (except with respect to CBP, only to the extent that the attorney is performing any immigration function), helicopter pilot, immigration agent (investigations), immigration enforcement agent, immigration information officer, immigration inspector, immigration officer, immigration services officer, investigator, intelligence agent, intelligence officer, investigative assistant, special agent, other officer or employee of the Department of Homeland Security or of the United States as designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security as provided in 8 CFR 2.1.
Lawfully admitted for permanent residence means the status of having been lawfully accorded the privilege of residing permanently in the United States as an immigrant in accordance with the immigration laws, such status not having changed. Such status terminates upon entry of a final administrative order of exclusion, deportation, or removal.
Petition. See Benefit request.
Practice means the act or acts of any person appearing in any case, either in person or through the preparation or filing of any brief or other document, paper, application, or petition on behalf of another person or client before or with DHS.
Preparation, constituting practice, means the study of the facts of a case and the applicable laws, coupled with the giving of advice and auxiliary activities, including the incidental preparation of papers, but does not include the lawful functions of a notary public or service consisting solely of assistance in the completion of blank spaces on printed DHS forms, by one whose remuneration, if any, is nominal and who does not hold himself or herself out as qualified in legal matters or in immigration and naturalization procedure.
Prominence means a high level of achievement in the field of fashion modeling evidenced by a degree of skill and recognition substantially above that ordinarily encountered to the extent that a person described as prominent is renowned, leading, or well-known in the field of fashion modeling.
Recognized authority means a person or an organization with expertise in a particular field, special skills or knowledge in that field, and the expertise to render the type of opinion requested. Such an opinion must state:
(1) The writer's qualifications as an expert;
(2) The writer's experience giving such opinions, citing specific instances where past opinions have been accepted as authoritative and by whom;
(3) How the conclusions were reached; and
(4) The basis for the conclusions supported by copies or citations of any research material used.
Representation before DHS includes practice and preparation as defined in this section.
Representative refers to a person who is entitled to represent others as provided in 8 CFR 292.1(a)(2) through (6) and 8 CFR 292.1(b).
Respondent means an alien named in a Notice to Appear issued in accordance with section 239(a) of the Act, or in an Order to Show Cause issued in accordance with 8 CFR 242.1 (1997) as it existed prior to April 1, 1997.
Specialty occupation means an occupation which requires theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge in fields of human endeavor including, but not limited to, architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine and health, education, business specialties, accounting, law, theology, and the arts, and which requires the attainment of a bachelor's degree or higher in a directly related specific specialty, or its equivalent, as a minimum for entry into the occupation in the United States. A position is not a specialty occupation if attainment of a general degree, without further specialization, is sufficient to qualify for the position. A position may allow for a range of qualifying degree fields, provided that each of those fields is directly related to the duties of the position. Directly related means there is a logical connection between the required degree, or its equivalent, and the duties of the position.
Secretary, unless otherwise noted, means the Secretary of Homeland Security.
Service means U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and/or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as appropriate in the context in which the term appears.
Service counsel means any immigration officer assigned to represent the Service in any proceeding before an immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals.
Transition program effective date as used with respect to extending the immigration laws to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands means November 28, 2009.
USCIS means U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Other general definitions:
What Tourism and Visit (B-2) Visa Holder could do?
Ans:
- Tourism
- Vacation (holiday)
- Visits to relative or friends
- Medical treatment
- Participation in social events: for example, hosted by fraternal, social, or service organizations, and conventions, conferences.
- Short Course of Study (NOT not for credit toward a degree) (for example, a two-day cooking class while on vacation)
- Participation by amateurs in musical, sports, or similar events or contests, if not being paid for participating. A person who is an amateur in an entertainment or athletic activity is, by definition, not a member of any of the profession associated with that activity. An amateur is someone who normally performs without remuneration (other than an allotment for expenses). A performer who is normally compensated for performing cannot qualify for a B-2 visa based on this note even if the performer does not make a living at performing, or agrees to perform in the United States without compensation. Thus, an amateur (or group of amateurs) who will not be paid for performances and will perform in a social and/or charitable context or as a competitor in a talent show, contest, or athletic event is eligible for B-2 classification, even if the incidental expenses associated with the visit are reimbursed.
- Armed Forces Dependents: Dependents of the none U.S. citizen member of any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces temporarily assigned for duty in the United States.
- Dependents of Crewmen: Alien dependents of category “D” visa crewmen who are coming to the United States solely for the purpose of accompanying the principal alien.
- Visitors under Special Circumstances:
- Fiancé(e) of U.S. Citizens or U.S. Permanent Resident who intends to a residence abroad soon after the marriage. Under B-2 visa they may come for to meet the family of his or her fiancé; to become engaged; to make arrangements for the wedding; or to renew a relationship with the prospective spouse.
- Fiancé(e) of Nonimmigrant visa holder (such as F, H, J, L, M, O, P, or Q status etc.) who intends to return Alien in United States, however, if he/she apply soon after the marriage to the USCIS to request a change in nonimmigrant status to that of the spouse who is the nonimmigrant visa holder. B status is not appropriate if the fiancé(e) intends to remain in the United States after admission and adjust status to immigrant status, or intends to abandon the residence abroad after marrying and change to a non-immigrant status that does not require such a residence such H-1 or L-1.
- Proxy Marriage Spouse: A spouse married by proxy to an alien in the United States in a nonimmigrant status may be issued a visitor visa in order to join the spouse already in the United States. Upon arrival in the United States, the joining spouse must apply to the USCIS for permission to change to the appropriate derivative nonimmigrant status after consummation of the marriage.
- Spouse or Child of U.S. Citizen or U.S. Permanent Resident: A foreign spouse or child, including an adopted none U.S. citizen child, of a U.S. citizen or resident alien may be classified as a nonimmigrant B-2 visitor if the purpose of the travel is to accompany or follow to join the spouse or parent for a temporary visit.
- Cohabitating Partners, Extended Family Members, and Other Household Members not Eligible for Derivative Status
- Aliens Seeking Naturalization (for the Citizenship) because of U.S. military service during Hostilities
- Children or adopted children of U.S. citizen parent who is seeking Expeditious Naturalization under INA 322
- Dependents of Alien Members of U.S. Armed Forces Eligible for Naturalization under INA 328
- Foreign citizen destined to an Avocational or Recreational School
- Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) Issued Nonimmigrant Visitor Visa for Emergency Temporary Visit to United States
- Adoptive Child Coming to United States for Acquisition of Citizenship
This is where you should answer the most common questions prospective customers might have. It’s a good idea to cover things like your return policy, product warranty info, shipping and returns, etc. Check out the examples below.
