Immigration Law Newsletter

Grounds for Inadmissibility - Public Charge

Certain people are "inadmissible" for purposes of entry into the United States, either as an immigrant or as a visitor. There are many reasons why a person could be considered inadmissible to receive a visa and enter the United States, including that the person is or would become a "public charge." More...

Immigrant Visas - Employment-Based Visas

A legal immigrant is a citizen of a country other than the United States who has received the permission of the U.S. government to reside and work permanently in the U.S. The U.S. has an annual cap on the number of immigrants, excluding certain types of immigrants, who may receive immigrant visas each year. The law then creates preferential classes of immigrants. More...

Lists of Alien Passengers

Section 231 of the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA) sets forth the requirements for commercial ships and aircraft to keep records of its passengers. The term "ship" in this article is intended to cover any type or size of sea-worthy vessel. A designated person on each transportation craft must maintain lists with information on each passenger, crew member, or other category of occupant who is transported on a ship or aircraft. The designated list-keeper may be the craft's master or commanding officer, authorized agent, or owner, for example. The information must be given to a United States border official both when the ship or aircraft is arriving at a U.S. port of entry and when it is departing from a U.S. port. As of January 1, 2003, the provision of such information must be transmitted electronically from the designated list-keeper to the U.S. border official.More...

Immigrants - Employment-Based Visas -EB-4/Special Immigrant Religious Workers

United States immigration law uses an annual limitation on the number of most permanent admittees, that is, immigrants, who may enter the country. Central to the U.S. immigration system is the use of a preference system to allocate the available visas. One of the predominant types of visas issued to permanent immigrants is known as an employment-based visa. More...

Grounds for Inadmissibility - Labor Certification Issues

Certain people are "inadmissible" for purposes of entry into the United States, either as an immigrant or as a visitor. There are many reasons why a person could be considered inadmissible to receive a visa and enter the United States, including that there were problems with the person's labor certification. More...