Citizenship & Naturalization:
Naturalization. Acquisition of citizenship or nationality by somebody who was not a citizen or national of that country when he or she was born.
Types of Nonimmigrant Visas:
B-1. Business visitors.
B-2. Tourist visitors. (Also, tourists from certain countries are permitted to come to the U.S. without B-2 visas under what is known as the Visa Waiver Program.)
C-1. Foreign travelers in immediate and continuous transit through the U.S.
D-1. Crewmen who need to land temporarily in the U.S. and who will depart aboard the same ship or plane on which they arrived.
E-1. Treaty traders, their spouses and children.
E-2. Treaty investors, their spouses and children.
E-3. Nationals of Australia working in specialty occupation that requires a bachelor’s degree or higher education.
F-1. Academic or language students.
F-2. Immediate family members of F-1 visa holders.
F-3. Citizens or residents of Mexico or Canada commuting to the U.S. as academic or language students.
H-1B. Persons working in specialty occupations requiring at lease a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent in on-the-job experience, and distinguished fashion models.
H-2A. Temporary agricultural workers coming to the U.S. to fill positions for which a temporary shortage of workers has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
H-2B. Temporary workers of various kinds coming to the U.S. to perform temporary jobs for which there is a shortage of available qualified U.S. workers.
H-3. Temporary trainees.
H-4. Immediate family members of H-1, H-2, or H-3 visa holders.
- I. Bona fide representatives of the foreign press coming to the U.S. to work solely in that capacity, and their immediate family members.
J-1. Exchange visitors coming to the U.S. to study, work, or train as part of an exchange program officially recognized by the U.S. Information Agency.
J-2. Immediate family members of J-1 visa holders.
K-1. Fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens coming to the U.S. for the purpose of getting married.
K-2. Minor, unmarried children of K-1 visa holders.
K-3. Spouses of U.S. citizens who have filed both a fiancé visa petition and a separate application to enter the U.S.
K-4. Minor, unmarried children of K-3 visa holders.
L-1. Intracompany transferees who work in positions as managers, executives, or persons with specialized knowledge.
L-2. Immediate family members of L-1 visa holders.
M-1. Vocational or other nonacademic students, other than language students.
M-2. Immediate family members of M-1 visa holders.
M-3. Citizens or residents of Mexico or Canada commuting to the U.S. to attend vocational program.
N. Children of certain special immigrants.
O-1. Persons of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics.
O-2. Essential support staff of O-1 visa holders.
O-3. Immediate family members of O-1 and O-2 visa holders.
P-1. Internationally recognized athletics and entertainers, and their essential support staffs.
P-2. Entertainers coming to perform in the U.S. through a government-recognized exchange program.
P-3. Artists and entertainers coming to the U.S. in a group for the purpose of presenting culturally unique performances.
P-4. Immediate family members of P-1, P-2, and P-3 visa holders.
Q-1. Exchange visitors coming to the U.S. to participate in international cultural exchange programs.
Q-2. Immediate family members of Q-1 visa holders.
R-1. Ministers and other workers of recognized religions.
R-2. Immediate family members of R-1 visa holders.
T. Women and children who are in the U.S. because they are victims of trafficking, who are cooperating with law enforcement, and who fear extreme hardship (such as retribution) if returned home.
U. Victims of criminal abuse in the U.S., who are cooperating with law enforcement.
V. Spouses and minor unmarried children of lawful permanent residents who have been waiting three or more years to get a green card, whose initial visa petition was submitted to the INS before December 21, 2000.
Visa Waiver Program. Enables citizens of 35 countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa.
Consular Processing. Consular Processing is the process by which a beneficiary of an immigration petition (either family based or employment based) who is outside the U.S. applies for an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate overseas. This process will commence only when the underlying immigration petition is approved and visa numbers for the prospective immigrant’s country are available. If the beneficiary is in the U.S., he/she may apply for adjustment of status through the USCIS, or may choose to immigrate via consular processing abroad.
Asylum and Refugee. A person within the United States may be granted asylum if he or she can demonstrate a “well-founded fear of persecution” based on (1) political opinion, (2) religion, (3) race, (4) nationality, or (5) membership in a particular social group. A person who is outside the U.S. may apply for refugee status based on this same criteria.
Types of Immigrant Visas:
Immediate Relative and Family Sponsored. A lawful permanent resident is a foreign national who has been granted the privilege of permanently living and working in the United States.
- Immediate Relative: Spouses and unmarried children under 21 years of age of U.S. citizen and parents of U.S. citizen;
- First Preference: Unmarried sons or daughters over 21 years of age of U.S. citizen;
- Second Preference: Spouses and children of Legal Permanent Resident, or LPR, unmarried sons and daughters over 21 years of age of LPR;
- Third Preference: Married children of U.S. citizen; and
- Fourth Preference: Siblings of adult U.S. citizen.
Employment-Based Immigration. The Immigration and Nationality Act provides a yearly minimum of 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas, which are divided into five preference categories. They may require a labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and the filing of a petition with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security (USCIS).
- Employment First Preference (E1)- High Priority Status: Foreign nationals that possess extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics; are outstanding professors or researchers; or are managers and executives on international transfer to the U.S. on behalf of multinational business entities are eligible under the EB-1 program to file for permanent residency (green cards) and do not need to file labor certification application.
- Employment Second Preference (E2)- Professional Status: Foreign nationals who have exceptional ability in the sciences, arts or business; are advanced degree professionals; or are qualified alien physicians who will practice medicine in an underserved area of the U.S. are eligible for employment green cards under EB-2 status.
- Employment Third Preference (E3)- Skilled or Professional Status: Foreign nationals with at least two years’ experience as skilled workers; professionals with bachelors’ degrees, professionals with bachelor’s degrees who do not qualify for either categories EB-1 and EB-2; aliens with at least two years of experience as skilled workers; professionals with a baccalaureate degree; and unskilled workers who can contribute abilities unavailable in the U.S. are eligible for employment green cards under EB-3 status.
- Employment Fourth Preference (E4)- Special Immigrants: Religious workers, aliens who have worked for the U.S. government overseas and widows/widowers of U.S. citizens are among those who qualify for work-related green cards as special immigrants.
- Employment Fifth Preference (E5)- Immigrant Investors Visa: An immigrant must invest between U.S. $500,000 and $1,000,000, depending on the employment rate in the geographical area, in a commercial enterprise in the United States which creates at least 10 new full-time jobs for U.S. citizens, permanent resident immigrants, or other lawful immigrants, not including the investor and his or her family.
Labor Certification. A person whose occupation requires a labor certification must have prearranged employment in the United States.
- Individual Labor Certification (PERM). Only applied to employers. Advertising costs are billed separately.
- Schedule A Designation.
- Labor Market Information Pilot Program
Diversity Visa Program. The Congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program makes available 50,000 diversity visas (DV) annually, drawn from random selection among all entries to persons who meet strict eligibility requirements from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.
USCIS Interview. USCIS interviews conducted in Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee area.
Deportation/Removal:
We offer various services pertaining to Deportation/Removal and Detention of individuals who are in custody. The following services are as follows:
v Jail Visits Across Tennessee
v Bond Reduction Hearing
v Master Calendar Hearing
v Relief from Removal
- Cancellation of Removal: Cancellation of removal is simply that: your removal is cancelled or stopped by the Immigration Judge. The availability of this relief is different for a lawful permanent resident (LPR), such as an alien with a “green card,” than for a non-lawful permanent resident (non-LPR), such as an undocumented alien.
- Adjustment of Status: This form of relief is when an alien changes his or her status from non-immigrant to lawful permanent resident. In order to qualify for this relief, several conditions must be met, including:
- You must be admissible for permanent residence, that is, you’re not inadmissible under the immigration law, and
- An immigrant visa is immediately available for you at the time you apply for an adjustment of status. Aliens who qualify for visas allowing an adjustment of status often have petitions that were filed by a spouse or another immediate family member who is a U.S. citizen or green card, or an employer.
- Asylum: This form of relief can be granted to an alien who qualifies as a “refugee.” Generally, you have to show an inability to return to your native country because of past persecution or a well-founded fear of future persecution based upon your race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.
