For people who have questions about EB-1 and National Interest Waiver (NIW), The Law Offices of Annie Banerjee, a Houston based immigration law office, can provide guidance with the application process and resolve any questions that arise.

When aliens seeking work in the U.S. qualify as an outstanding professor or researcher, they also qualify for First Employment Based Preference (or EB-1, for short). Usually an employer would sponsor the person to hold a tenure track or a permanent position, for example. If an employer does not sponsor an alien, he or she may still qualify under EB-1 if the person holds “Extraordinary Ability”, or under the Second Employment Based Preference (EB-2) for National Interest Waivers (NIW).

“The difference between Extraordinary Ability and National Interest Waivers is that the requirements are higher for Extraordinary Ability. Generally, the higher the preference, the shorter time to get permanent residency,” said Annie Banerjee from the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee.

Extraordinary Ability Aliens must meet at least three requirements, one more requirement than Extraordinary Aliens must meet. The requirements are: The alien must have nationally or internationally recognized prizes and be members of an association that requires outstanding achievements. The alien should have substantial publications in major journals and should list all publications. Also, others should have cited your work in a publication. It would help if you had participated in a panel or have judged the qualifications of others in a peer review. Also weighing heavily is evidence of original scientific or artistic contributions such as patents or copyrights. Lastly, evidence of earning a high salary would also be one of the requirements.

For National Interest Waivers, one must have a master’s degree or higher and must meet all three of the following qualifications: Work must be of substantial intrinsic merit. For example, it can not an esoteric field of law. Secondly, the scope of the work is national and not merely local; it must appear in national journals, for example. Lastly, the work benefits the national interest to a “substantially greater degree than would an available U.S. worker having the same minimum qualifications.” This means that it significantly exceeds the norm in some way. It must establish that there is no need to protect normal U.S. workers through a labor certification process.

Banerjee also stresses the importance of reference letters. “Reference letters from professors or researchers in the field is always very useful for all the categories,” Banerjee said.

To learn more, visit http://www.visatous.com.

I wonder if this Thanksgiving, somewhere a little child in Mexico will have food because his father works very hard, day in day out as an illegal worker here

I wonder if somewhere in India a dying father will get medical treatment because his son is working at an H-1B job, staying far longer than other US workers, and after work going home and saving the money

I wonder if somewhere in US, a first generation parent will be offering thanks because her child got into the ivy league in early decision

I wonder if somewhere in the US, a wife of an immigrant soldier will heave a sigh of relief that her husband is still alive trying to defend this country

I wonder if somewhere in the US, a foreign student will graciously pick at his turkey, when his friends invite him to Thanksgiving dinner, even though the meat does not appeal to his taste buds

I wonder how many families will infuse their turkey with masala, vodka, chorizo, or dashi

To all the hard working people of this country, Thank You

For more information contact Houston Immigration Lawyer or Houston Immigration Attorney, Annie Banerjee

Labor certification allows beneficiaries to enter the U.S. through employment. Before employers hire aliens, they have to prove to the Department of Labor that there are no qualified citizens or Green Card holders to fill the position, and must thoroughly test the labor market to find qualified applicants. This is done by posting and advertizing the position and interviewing candidates.

“Applying for Permanent Residency can be a daunting lengthy process; therefore, it is helpful to know how many employment-based permanent residency categories there are and which closely describes you,” said Annie Banerjee of The Law Offices of Annie Banerjee, a Houston-based immigration lawyer.

There are five categories under employment-based green cards. Note that there are labor certification requirements for all categories except EB-1 and EB-5, which go directly to 1-480 (Visa Petition status) or the 1-485 (Adjustment of Status).

(Employment Based) EB-1 is generally for L-1A managers, outstanding professors or researchers and extraordinary ability aliens. They do not require labor certification like the others but they have high standards and requirements to meet and would only need to file I-140 and I-485.

With an EB-2, a labor certification is required and is for the beneficiary who holds an advanced degree – a minimum of a master’s degree. He or she would have to meet the Exceptional Ability requirements.

EB-3 holders are usually members of a profession holding at least a bachelor’s degree. They would also need a labor certification and EB-4s are reserved for religious workers.

Investors need an EB-5. Although there is no labor certification required, they must at least invest $1 million in cities – or $500,000 in “targeted employment” – and employ at least 10 full-time U.S. employees.

A qualified immigration law office can guide skillful aliens through the application process and advise them of the steps and requirements they would need for an employment based permanent residency Green Card.

To learn more, visit http://www.visatous.com.

Rep. Jerry Madden (R-Richardson) and Rep. Joe Driver (R-Garland) – two Dallas County officials – attended a conservative group’s task force that drew up Arizona’s controversial immigration law in Austin on Oct. 29.

Rep. Jerry Madden favors the stipulation of the Arizona law. The Arizona immigration law makes it a misdemeanor crime if someone fails to carry his or her immigration documents and gives the police power to detain anyone who is suspected to be an illegal immigrant. While Madden favors the broader scope of jurisdiction and power, Driver, however, remained silent about it and did not comment further.

“I believe we ought to be enforcing the federal law, and that’s primarily what Arizona does. So the answer to that is ‘yes’,” Madden said, in response to a question about his feelings about Arizona’s immigration law.

Both lawmakers are members of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s Public Safety and Elections Task Force, which passed a bill similar to the immigration measures, introduced two months earlier in Arizona.

Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070’s main provision is to deter illegal aliens from unlawfully entering the U.S. Its legislative intent is to also enforce federal immigration laws throughout the state through local government agencies and state policies.

Other provisions in the bill include transferring verified illegal aliens to federal custody and restricting state and local government from imposing bans or restrictions on not exchanging an individual’s legal immigration status. It also allows a legal resident of Arizona to sue if the local government adopts a policy that restricts the enforcement of federal immigration laws, to name a few.

A similar bill passed in the Texas Senate in May 2009. It would have allowed sheriffs and probation departments to check felons for their immigration status, but the Texas House ran out of time on the bill and it didn’t go any further.

A good immigration lawyer can guide you as to the latest news on immigration law is and what your rights and options are in your case. Annie Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer that has many years experience in this area.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Generally in an Immigration Petition, the burden of proof is on the applicant or the Petitioner. The petition is filed usually with the forms, supporting letters/briefs and copies of documents to prove the elements of law. Unless there is some evidence in the petition that prima facie negates the elements of the law in a case, the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) cannot deny the petition without due process. Thus they issue “request for Evidence” or RFEs. Although RFEs are supposed to give the applicant due process rights to prove their cases, the CIS Officers use it for anything and everything, and the RFEs vary in intelligent quotient with the IQs of the officers. Here are some weird reasons for the RFEs:

Officers need more time

Some Officers use it for additional time, and give a template with an exhaustive list of things way beyond what would be normally necessary for the petition. They know that the applicant will take time gathering all these thousands of documents and meanwhile its not the officer’s fault that the petition has not been adjudicated

Officers are Either Stupid or Lazy or Both

These are the DUH RFEs. I have been asked by the Texas Service Center to prove that Breast Cancer research is National vs Local in scope for a National Interest Waiver Case. Does Dallas have those little pink ribbons for Susan Komen Foundation every October? An Immigration Attorney friend of mine was asked, “whats the difference between Cylon and Sri Lanka?”

Officers are Plain Lazy

There are ample instances where if the petition is little thick, the officers will simply ask for documents that are already in the original petition.

Officers have not met their denial quota

I don’t know if there is such a quota, but some RFEs are so lengthy, you can tell that the officer is fishing for any reason to deny the case.

Currently the standards for RFEs vary enormously. However the CIS is looking into standardizing RFEs, if that is they can be standardized. But standardizing RFEs is just one equation, inputting common sense into the officers are easier said that done.

For more information contact Houston Immigration Lawyer or Houston Immigration Attorney, Annie Banerjee