PRACTICE AREAS

The firm of Vazquez & Servi, P.C. practices all types of immigration law including assistance with the following:

BUSINESS IMMIGRATION

How does someone immigrate to the U.S. through employment-based immigration?

Immigrant Worker Visas (Permanent)

Through employment-based immigration, a U.S. employer can sponsor a foreign-born employee for permanent residence. Typically, the employer must first demonstrate to the Department of Labor that there is no qualified U.S. worker available for the job for which an immigrant visa is being sought. Employment-based immigration is limited by statute to 140,000 persons per year. In most cases, before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will issue an employment-based immigrant visa to a foreign-born individual, the employer first must obtain a “labor certification” from the U.S. Department of Labor confirming that there are no U.S. workers able, and willing to perform the work for which the foreign-born individual is being hired. The Department of Labor also must confirm that employment of the foreign-born individual will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers.
- These immigrants become permanent residents -- obtain “green cards” -- and the indefinite right to live and work in the United States, as long as they do not commit any offense that would render them deportable.
- Business immigrants usually are sponsored by a U.S. employer based on a demonstrated need. Some business immigrants may self-petition if they meet statutory criteria for “extraordinary ability” in their field, or if their entry would be in the “national interest.”
- Protections for U.S. workers are built into the system. Most business immigrant cases require Department of Labor certification that no U.S. workers are able, or willing to take the position offered to the foreign national and that admitting the immigrant won’t negatively impact the wages and working conditions of similarly situated U.S. workers. The only categories exempt from this requirement are those individuals who are extraordinary or outstanding in their field; individuals whose presence is in the “national interest”, and multinational managers and executives.
- There are five basic types of business immigrant visas, ranked in order of priority of need by U.S. employers and the economy, as determined by Congress. All categories are limited by annual levels and per-country levels.
  
  Click here for more information on the preference categories of business immigrant visas.
Non-immigrant Visas (Temporary)

There are more than 20 different kinds of nonimmigrant visa names and types. Many of these visas allow for work in the United States. Read more about these Visa types.

Please click here to find answers to frequently asked questions.

Please click here to contact us for additional information about any of these Visas.

FAMILY IMMIGRATION

How does someone come to the U.S. as an immigrant through Family-Based Immigration?

Through family-based immigration, a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident can sponsor his or her close family members for permanent residence. A U.S. citizen can sponsor his or her spouse, parent (if the sponsor is over 21), children, and brothers and sisters. A Lawful Permanent Resident can sponsor his or her spouse, minor children, and adult unmarried children.

There is a numerical cap on the number of immigrant visas available to immigrants who are not immediate relatives of United States citizens. Thus, there are long waiting periods to obtain a visa in most of the family-based immigrant categories.

There is no numerical cap on the number of immediate relatives (spouses, minor unmarried children, and parents of U.S. citizens) admitted annually to the U.S. as immigrants. However, the number of immediate relatives is subtracted from the 480,000 cap on family-based immigration to determine the number of other family-based immigrants to be admitted in the following year (with a floor of 226,000).

U.S. CITIZENS (AGE 21 OR MORE, BUT LESS THAN 21 IN THE CASE OF SPOUSES) CAN FILE AN IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR THEIR:

Spouse (not subject to a numerical cap)
Unmarried minor children (not subject to a numerical cap) and
Parents (not subject to a numerical cap)
Unmarried, adult sons or daughters. (23,400 visas per year)
Married sons or daughters. (23,400 visas per year)
Brother and sisters (65,000 visas per year)

LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENTS, CAN FILE AN IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR:

Spouses and unmarried minor children (87,900 visas per year)
Adult, unmarried children (26,300 visas per year)

To see the visa bulletin for current priority dates for immigrant visas click here: http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html

OTHER BENEFITS:

A “V” Status or “V” Visas

A V status or V visas and status may be available for spouses and children of Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR) if:

An I-130 was filed by the LPR Spouse/Parent on or before December 20, 2000, and
The priority date is not current

K-1 Visas

A K-1 visa is available for fiancés of U.S. citizens who wish to enter the United States to marry their prospective spouse within 90 days of admission. K-2 visas are available for children of K-1 visa holders who are accompanying or following to join.

The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)

Under the CSPA, if a child of a U.S. Citizen who is the beneficiary of a petition filed on his behalf before he turns age twenty-one, the child will continue to be considered a child for immigration purposes during the time the case is pending.

If a lawful permanent resident file a Form I-130 on behalf of their child before he or she turns twenty-one, the child’s age will be determined using the following formula:

The adult child’s age for immigration purposes = (The adult child’s age on the date that the priority date of the Form I-130 becomes current) – (the number of days that the Form I-130 was pending)

However, the child must seek to acquire the status of a lawful permanent resident within one year of visa availability. The CSPA also applies in the same way to derivative beneficiaries on family-based and employment-based petitions.

The CSPA also applies to “V” visa and “V” status cases and adult children do not age out for the purpose of V status.