Posts tagged “EB-3”

By now, you may have heard of the bombshell adjustment of status memorandum released by USCIS last week. In that memo, USCIS emphasizes that the grant of adjustment of status is “an extraordinary matter of discretion” and was not meant to “supersede the regular consular processing of immigrant visas.” While it is unclear how exactly it will be implemented or whether it will be invalidated by the courts, it is clear that, as of today, there is a new calculus in determining whether one should seek to adjust status or consular process. Any nonimmigrant – a visitor (B or ESTA/VWP), student (F), exchange visitor (J-1), professional (H-1B), business executive/manager/specialist (L-1), individual with extraordinary or distinguished ability (sciences, arts, etc.…) (O-1), athletes/cultural workers (P) religious workers (R-1) – who is located in the US and has an interest in and legal basis for immigrating through a family, immediate relative, employment or diversity lottery immigration category must consider the potential ramifications of the new memo.

Consular zealotry knows no bounds. That is the impression that I am getting after conducting a flurry of consultations on visa denials related to EB-3 cases. After an EB-3 immigrant visa is denied at the Embassy, the I-140 approved petition is referred back to USCIS for review, often with an accusation against the applicant about a supposed willful, material misrepresentation. Compounding the problem, sometimes the petitioner-employer in the US decides not to continue the process or the applicant changes his or her mind and decides to pursue other immigration options (e.g., if has a US citizen adult child). But like that evil jack-in-the-box or Jason in Friday the 13th, the “bad guy” — the misrepresentation allegation in the form of a Section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) finding — pops up out of nowhere when you least expect it, years later when applying for a new, different visa. This then complicates the ability to…

On this site we list 40 reasons an applicant for a student visa can be refused; 34 reasons for a visa denial under Section 214(b); 16 reasons for a K-1 visa refusal; and 14 reasons for an EB-3 visa denial. But not to be outdone, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), in its internal training materials, lists 31 reasons to deny an EB-13 multinational executive/manager immigrant petition; 7 reasons to deny a National Interest Waiver petition; 49 reasons to deny an EB-2 advanced degree/exceptional ability petition; 46 reasons to deny an EB-3 professional petition; 41 reasons to deny an EB-3 skilled workers petition; and 29 reasons to deny an EB-3 other workers petition. These training materials, obtained as a result of filing a Freedom of Information Act request and suing USCIS, offer eye-opening details about the myriad of possible reasons that a petition can be denied. No wonder USCIS…