Earlier this year, our office sent an advisory to clients, friends and community members on our email list to inform them of a scheduled increase in immigration filing fees. We encouraged anyone thinking of filing for naturalization (citizenship) in particular to file if they were eligible. We submitted many petitions and applications for our clients just before the July 30, 2007, deadline. Because of the increase in applications, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released an advisory stating that the tremendous increase in applications has created a backlog in their ...

NOTE: After you read this post, see the February 2009 update with current wait times from the Visa Bulletin.   The answer depends on whether you are a permanent resident (green card holder) or a U.S. Citizen. U.S. Citizens can sponsor additional family members that green card holders cannot sponsor. Additionally, U.S. Citizens can petition for a fiance/fiancee to come to the U.S. to be married, while a green card holder is not given the same privilege. The person filing the petition is called the Petitioner. The person you are filing for is called the Beneficiary. Your ...

Why Become a U.S. Citizen? Some permanent residents have held their green cards for decades and for various reasons have not applied for citizenship through the process known as naturalization. One client had been wavering back and forth for about 30 years as to whether or not he should apply. When he came to meet me for his immigration consultation he brought in the various versions of the forms that changed over the decades and showed me a history of the fee increases over time. He had finally felt it was time to become a citizen after seeing how the forms had only gotten longer and ...

The deadline to have the opportunity to apply for permanent residence under the 2009 U.S. visa lottery program is less than two weeks away on Sunday, December 2, 2007; 12 noon Eastern Standard Time (11 a.m. Central Standard Time). The visa lottery is formally known as the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. The U.S. government makes available up to a maximum of 55,000 diversity green cards annually. 5,000 of these visas are reserved for a visa program for certain Central American nationals, leaving 50,000 visas available to be drawn at random from a pool of applicants who meet specific ...

Buying your first home can be an exciting experience. It can also be a stressful experience, but it doesn't have to be. Understanding how the process works, can help make the process a smooth one. Here are some tips and information regarding the closing process for the first-time home buyer (or a short refresher for those who haven't bought real estate in a while). The Offer and Acceptance Assuming that you are working with a real estate agent or realtor, after you find a property that you like, your agent or realtor can help you write up an offer on the house or condo. Typically a ...

Winning the visa lottery would be the equivalent to some as winning a multi million dollar jackpot. Just with any other type of lottery though, as the saying goes, "you gotta play to win..." Find out about how to apply for the 2009 visa lottery. The visa lottery is formally known as the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. The U.S. government makes available up to a maximum of 55,000 diversity green cards annually. 5000 of these visas are reserved for a visa program for certain Central American nationals, leaving 50,000 visas available to be drawn at random from a pool of applicants ...

The nonimmigrant classifications and visa categories are often referred to as an "alphabet soup". For example visitor visas are known as "B" visas, fiance(e) visas are known as K1 visas, and temporary workers in specialty occupations are known as H1B visas. But there many types of visas that may not be as well known which may be a viable option for those that qualify. Below is a list of nonimmigrant classifications.   Nonimmigrant Visas General Information on Nonimmigrant Benefits   Nonimmigrant Classifications and Visas Government ...

This is the launch of my first blog on my new website www.vidagolaw.com. I'm looking forward to posting helpful tips, new changes in the law and general community information. I hope that you will find something of interest. ...