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Showing posts from 2016

New Uscis Filing Fee Increases Effective December 23, 2016

Attorney Robert Pascal, and the Law Office of Robert Pascal,  would like to remind you that If you planning to file a petition with the USCIS , you should be aware that there will be an increase in filing fees effective December 23, 2016.   For example, an I-130 for a family member will be increased from $420 to $535, and an N-400 Application for US citizenship will be increased from $595.00 to $640.00.    These are just a few examples of the fee increases that will virtually effect all petition filings. If you are contemplating the filing of any petition, please do so by December 22, 2016.   Any petition postmarked by the 23 rd will still be eligible for current fee schedule. Also, anyone filing after December 23, 2016,   without payment of the increased fee will have their petition rejected and mail back to them with the request for the increased filing fee. You can check out the new filing fees by following this link to the USCIS website : https://www.uscis.gov/f

An Overview of an EB-5 Invester VISA

This article provides basic information related to an EB-5 Investor visa and its benefits. For those investors with $500,000.00 US to $1,000,000.00 US, they may be able to obtain Permanent Residency in the US in less than three years. There are two monetary investment options for the investor. For those individuals willing to invest in an area defined by the USCIS as a “targeted employment area”, the required investment is $500,000.00 US. A “targeted employment area” is an area that, at the time of investment, is a rural area or an area experiencing unemployment of at least 150 percent of the national average rate. This can also include a rural area outside a metropolitan statistical area (as designated by the Office of Management and Budget) or outside the boundary of any city or town having a population of 20,000 or more according to the decennial census.   Individuals can also seek a “TEA” designation if not already defined by the USCIS. For all others investing outsi

Tips to Prepare for your US Embassy Visa Interview

Alas, for many of you, the day has arrived when you went to your mailbox or checked your email and received a letter from the US Embassy or the National Visa Center (NVC) for your scheduled interview date. You will usually be given about 6-8 weeks notice for the interview, and you will usually need this time to complete any remaining requirements, such as the medical examination or obtaining a police clearance letter, completed prior to the interview date. The requirements will differ between the types of visas you will be interviewing for, as there are significant differences in the documentation requirements between immigrant and non-immigrant applicants. The most important step is to first read the interview letter completely. The letter will not only specify the date and time of your interview, but it will also direct you to the interview requirements of that specific US Embassy.    You can locate the US Embassy of your interview using the following link  http://www.

How To Apply For the USA Green Card Lottery

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As we start moving into the fall, Law offices of Robert A Pascal begins to receive inquiries as to when the DV 2018, green card lottery, will begin accepting applications and how to apply .This article will give you a general understanding of the application process. The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is administered annually by the Department of State. Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides for a class of immigrants known as “diversity immigrants” from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. Roughly 50,000 visas are available each year. We do not expect any reduction or increase in the number of visas for the DV-2018. The DV lottery usually opens from October to November each year. To qualify for entry into this green card lottery, the entrant should first determine if they are from an eligible country. You can either visit the US State Department website at travel.state.gov or D

How to Apply For The USA Greencard Lottery

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How to Apply For The USA Greencard Lottery USA Greencard Lottery As we start moving into the fall, my office begins to receive inquiries as to when the DV-2018, green card lottery, will begin accepting applications and how to apply .This article will give you a general understanding of the application process. The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is administered annually by the Department of State. Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides for a class of immigrants known as “diversity immigrants” from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. Roughly 50,000 visas are available each year. We do not expect any reduction or increase in the number of visas for the DV-2018. The DV lottery usually opens from October to November each year. To qualify for entry into this green card lottery, the entrant should first determine if they are from an eligible country. You can either vi

E-2 Treaty Investors – A Viable Alternative to Permanent Residency

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 A Viable Alternative to Permanent Residency  A Viable Alternative to Permanent Residency An E-2 treaty investor visa is a nonimmigrant visa which allows foreign entrepreneurs from treaty nations to enter into the United States and participate in substantial trade. This E-2 visa basically allows business owners, managers and employees to remain in the US for extended periods of time to oversee their investment or enterprise. The visa is renewable every two years and there is no restriction as to the number of times the visa can be renewed. To qualify, the foreign national must be from a country that holds a bilateral investment treaty with the United States. All the EU nations, including the United Kingdom, along with the Scandinavian countries qualify. Select countries from Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East also have eligibility. You will need to check with an immigration attorney or the US Department of Homeland Security to see if you are f

How To Preserve us Permanent Residency During Extended Absences

How to Preserve Us Residency during Extended Absences with a Re-Entry Permit Attorney Robert Pascal regularly asked by his clients who are LPR’s (Lawful Permanent Residents) , how their residency status would be affected if they had to leave the US for a year or longer due to their employment, family or health issues and what they would need to do to protect their permanent residency status. This article will discuss those issues and recommendations to best protect permanent residency status. First of all, being a lawful permanent resident means you have to physically reside in the USA. You are allowed to travel outside of the US, but need to be aware that residency can be jeopardized in certain situations for absences for six months or longer. An extended absence from the US for a period of greater than six months but less than a year creates a “rebuttable presumption” that you are intending to abandon your US residency.  This means that you will need t