K-1 Visa and Employment: Understanding Your Rights and Restrictions

 

Ever dreamed of starting a new life in the U.S. with your American fiancé(e)? The K-1 visa, also known as the fiancé(e) visa, offers a pathway to make that dream a reality. But amidst the excitement of wedding bells and new beginnings, a crucial question often arises: can I work with a K-1 visa?

The answer, like many things in immigration law, isn't a simple yes or no. While the K-1 visa doesn't automatically grant work authorization, there's a path to legally secure employment during your 90-day stay. Understanding your rights and restrictions on this journey is crucial, and this blog post is your comprehensive guide.

Imagine Sarah, a talented architect from Spain, eager to join her American fiancé, Mark, in California. Sarah dreams of contributing her skills to a local firm, but the complexities of K-1 visa employment leave her confused. This blog post empowers Sarah, and countless others like her, with the knowledge to navigate this crucial step towards their American dream.

So, can you work with a K-1 visa? Here's what you need to know:

1. Employment Authorization is Key: While the K-1 visa allows entry for marriage purposes, it doesn't grant automatic work authorization. To legally work in the U.S., you'll need to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). This separate application, known as Form I-765, requires additional fees and processing time.

More information https://inmigracionyvisas.com/a5967-k-1-visa-and-employment-understanding-your-rights-and-restrictions.html

New Leadership Strikes a New Tone for America

 

By: American Immigration Council - www.immigrationimpact.com

America turned a corner today. We not only installed new leadership, but these leaders set a distinctively new tone for the next four years.

A president is a political and policy leader, but he or she is also our conductor-in-chief, coordinating the timing and performance of government agencies and setting the direction and tempo of our public discourse.

On January 20, Joe Biden, the freshly inaugurated 46th president of the United States, spoke with a dramatically different timbre than his predecessor—one filled with humility, empathy, and commitment to service and country. He acknowledged the many challenges we face and asked for our help to rise to meet them.

“We must end this uncivil war that pitches red versus blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal,” Biden said, because we have “much to repair, much to restore, much to heal, much to build, and much to gain.”

More information https://www.inmigracionyvisas.com/a5043-Joe-Biden-New-Leadership-for-America.html

Premium Processing Begins For Remaining H-1B Cap-Subject Petitions

On June 10, we will begin premium processing for all remaining FY 2020 H-1B cap-subject petitions. Starting on that date, petitioners may file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, with the USCIS service center that is processing their petition.

On March 19, we announced that we would offer premium processing in a two-phased approach during the FY 2020 cap season to best manage premium processing requests without fully suspending it. In the past few years, we suspended all premium processing for H-1B petitions due to high demand. Based on feedback from the public, we are using this phased approach to benefit petitioners and ensure efficient premium processing. The first phase, which started on May 20, included FY 2020 cap-subject H-1B petitions requesting a change of status and the second phase includes all other FY 2020 cap-subject petitions.

At this time, premium processing for H-1B petitions that are exempt from the cap, such as extension of stay requests, remains available.


Pre-paid Mailer Temporary Suspension 

Starting on June 10 and continuing through the end of June 24, we will not use pre-paid mailers to send out final notices for premium processing for FY 2020 cap-subject H-1B petitions not requesting a change of status. Instead, we will use regular mail. We will be doing this due to resource limitations as we work to process all premium processing petitions in a timely manner.

The process for printing approval notices and sending them by regular mail is fully automated, whereas using pre-paid mailers requires a separate and more time-consuming manual process. As such, and given the initial surge of premium processing requests for H-1B cap petitions and its impact on USCIS resources, using pre-paid mailers may actually delay the issuance of an approval notice compared to the standard process, or otherwise negatively affect our ability to timely process premium processing petitions. After the two-week period, we intend to resume sending out final notices in pre-paid mailers provided by petitioners, when operationally feasible.

Fuente: El Servicio de Ciudadanía e Inmigración de Estados Unidos (USCIS) 

https://www.inmigracionyvisas.com/a4224-Premium-Processing-Begins-For-Remaining-H-1B.html

Statement of Donald Kerwin, Executive Director of the Center for Migration Studies, on the US Border and Border Wall

The President Trump addressed the nation from the Oval Office, asserting that there exists a crisis on our southern border which necessitates the construction of a border wall. 

Despite the president’s claims that a crisis exists on the border, the facts demonstrate otherwise. The Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) has released several reports which show that border crossings have dropped significantly over the past several years. 

A 2016 CMS report showed that net migration from Mexico between 2010 and 2016 dropped 11 percent. The undocumented population from Mexico dropped by an additional 400,000 from 2016 to 2017. Migration from other parts of Latin America, save the Northern Triangle, also dropped significantly. The report’s overall conclusion was that the number of undocumented in the nation had dropped to 10.8 million, a new low. The report can be found at https://cmsny.org/publications/warren-undocumented-2016/ 

CMS also issued a report which found that the number of persons who have overstayed their visas between 2008 and 2014 had exceeded the number of border crossers. In 2014, overstays represented two-thirds of those who joined the undocumented population. The report can be found at https://cmsny.org/publications/jmhs-visa-overstays-border-wall/ 

A recent study by several immigrant rights organizations, entitled Death, Damage, and Failure: Past, Present, and Future Impacts of Walls on the US-Mexico Border, details the damage caused to border communities by already existing walls and fencing along the border, and how the extension of a wall would cause economic, environmental, and human harm moving forward. 

The human tragedy at our border, where thousands of children and families are fleeing persecution and violence from the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, is where this administration and Congress should focus its attention. 

A series of measures designed to deter these vulnerable populations from fleeing their countries, including family separation, mandatory detention, zero tolerance, and denial of entry at the border are undermining their legal and human rights, guaranteed under both domestic and international law. They are handing themselves over to Border Patrol agents in search of protection, not trying to enter the country illegally. The Administration and Congress should act to end these inhumane policies and provide protection to vulnerable women and children. 

The real crisis exists in the Northern Triangle of Central America, where organized crime threatens residents with impunity and there exists a lack of stability and opportunity. Instead of appropriating nearly $5.7 billion for an ineffective and damaging wall, Congress and President Trump should use some portion of this funding to address the push factors causing flight from the region. Addressing root causes of flight is the most humane and effective solution to outward migration. 

Instead of shutting down the government over a wall, President Trump and Congress also should enact a legislative package which provides permanent status to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients, immigrant populations who have built equities in our nation. CMS has issued studies on the contributions of each of these populations, which can be found at https://cmsny.org/publications/jmhs-potential-beneficiaries-of-daca-dapa/ and https://cmsny.org/publications/jmhs-tps-elsalvador-honduras-haiti/. 

Our nation deserves an immigration system which protects human rights and human dignity while upholding the rule of law. This requires immigration reform which honors our values and traditions as a nation of immigrants. Building walls only divides us as a country and does not address the sources of global migration. 

 

Fuente: www.cmsny.org/ 

https://www.inmigracionyvisas.com/a4074-border-crossings-have-dropped-over-the-past-several-years.html

Parents Risk Prosecution for Helping Children Seek Safety in the United States

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials recently confirmed their plans to initiate criminal prosecutions and deportation proceedings against immigrant parents and guardians who help bring their children to the United States through the use of smugglers or traffickers. Reports indicate that these enforcement actions are already underway. 

The ostensible goal is to disrupt smuggling networks that sometimes victimize these children by punishing the adults who may have arranged the trip. However, it’s unclear how DHS might assess whether a child’s guardian was party to the smuggling or was aware that their child was intending to migrate at all. Advocates for immigrant children are already observing new questions being asked of children during interviews with government officials including who made and paid for their travel arrangements. 

Whether the government obtains credible evidence that stands up in court remains to be seen. Yet what’s missing from this punitive approach is a nuanced understanding of the impossible choice parents often face: whether to let their child remain in a home country at grave risk of harm or help them embark on a dangerous journey in the hope that their child reaches safety. 

No parent deserves to face harsh punishment for trying to protect their child. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatricscondemned this new enforcement initiative: 

“It is difficult to imagine what it would be like to be a parent who lives in fear for their child’s life, health and safety every day. For these parents, it is not a choice to bring a child to our country, it is a last resort effort to save his or her life. Fleeing violence, persecution and brutality, even if it involves sending the child alone on a dangerous journey, is not a choice.” 

If ICE follows through on these prosecutions, the consequences could be dire with more children left in government custody at taxpayer expense. 

When children arrive at the border without a parent, they are transferred to a shelter run by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as deportation proceedings are initiated against them. 

The child remains in custody until and unless there is an opportunity to safely release them into the care of a parent, family member, or other sponsor. For those children who do not have a family reunification option, foster care is explored. 

The immigration status of the sponsor has never been a relevant factor; what matters most is the best interests of the child, which usually calls for reuniting with family who can assist them with recovering from past harm and navigating the complexities of seeking asylum or other relief from deportation. 

Thus the consequences of this policy shift are bound to be profound. If a parent or sponsor is undocumented and at risk of having their immigration status shared by HHS with the Department of Homeland Security for the purpose of deporting them or referring them for prosecution on smuggling charges, they may avoid coming forward to care for these children, leaving them to languish in shelters or be unnecessarily placed in foster care. 

The only deterrence the administration will likely accomplish is impeding parents and caregivers from coming forward to take custody of children in need of shelter. 

If a house was on fire, we would never lock the doors to keep children inside. Nor would we punish those who seek to help the victims escape the flames. And while the most important task may be to put out the fire, we wouldn’t make children stay in the house until the fire is extinguished. Why treat children fleeing violence any differently? 

Rather than punishing parents and guardians, the best solution to ending the migration of unaccompanied children from Central America is to address root causes of violence in the region. But while these systemic efforts are critical, they can’t come at the expense of those who need safety now. 

Photo by Giles Douglas 

Source: www.immigrationimpact.com 
http://inmigracionyvisas.com/a3659-Parents-looking-for-child-safety.html