Given the current situation we are living, with Covid-19, known as Corona Virus, a lot of our clients are questioning whether they can apply for unemployment and how it may affect their status and future immigration.

In general, unemployment is not considered a public charge for the new public charge rule[1]. However it may be seen as a negative factor if you apply for a visa in the future.

As a visa holder, Am I eligible for unemployment benefits?

Some visa holders are eligible for unemployment while others are not.
If you are the principal visa holder ofE-2, L-1, H-1B, O-1, among others, you may not be eligible for unemployment benefits. The main reason being that a person needs to be readily available to accept employment when requesting the benefit and these visas restrict employment to the sponsoring employer.
However, immigrants holding a valid employment authorization (EAD) have no restriction to work, thus are eligible for unemployment benefits. Example are spouses of E-2 or L-1 visa holder, F-1 students with OPT. However, if the EAD is expired the person is no longer eligible for unemployment.

Note that aside the immigration status, the person must meet all other unemployment application criteria, which usually differs from state to state.
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Click here for information on how to apply for unemployment benefits in Florida.


[1] Public charge fact sheet  https://www.uscis.gov/news/fact-sheets/public-charge-fact-sheet

This is the first year the USCIS has implemented a registration period prior to applying to H-1B cap subject, in a way to modernize the application and reduce paper file. The registration period was during the month of March 2020.

USCIS received that approximately 275,000 registrations were submitted, 46% of which were for prospective beneficiaries with advanced degree. The country origin of the majority of the beneficiaries were India with 67% and China with 13% of the registrations. 

On April 1st USCIS announced that notices of selected registrations have been mailed, and the H-1B application for the selected registrations may now be submitted. 

For more information visit USCIS.gov

​The school year is around the corner and parents all over the country are registering or have registered their kids to go back to school sometime next month.

The Public School system must accept students regardless of their immigration status. Thus, every year schools are filled with students who are U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents, or hold dependent status such as L-2, F-2, H-4, O-2, M-2, J-2, etc., and also the so called “undocumented immigrants” who have no immigration status at all.

However, in the last few years, we have encountered an increasing influx of families arriving in the U.S. as tourists holding B-1/B-2 visas, and registering their children in Public and Charter schools.  Often, unbeknownst to them, they are not only jeopardizing the status of their children, but also violating their own tourist visas and sometimes committing fraud in the eyes of the immigration enforcement agencies.

Time and again, we seat through consultations with intending immigrants who have already registered their kids in a charter school or a district public school while they are in tourist visas or while their change of status applications are pending.  Their stories are very similar, and go somewhat like this:  “But the Public School didn’t ask for our immigration status!!” or “The government entity just asked for an address in the U.S. and, we registered our children for that Charter school lottery” or “We told the school’s principal we were tourist, but she said we could still register our children.”

To all these parents, we sadly explain during a consultation, too often too late to avoid consequences, that the school system and the immigration system are two different entities. Although the public school system will not turn away any family based on their immigration status, a family who entered the country for leisure, will be deemed as violating their tourist status, and may be even charged with fraud in their intent when first entering the United States, if registering their kids in school.

Parents shall understand that the Schools System must accept a child of age with the right requirements to attend that school, regardless of their immigration status. Thus, it is crucial that our Schools start, at a minimum, informing families of the possible immigration consequences of registering their child while in a tourist status or pending change of status. This will allow families to make an informed decision as to whether registering their child in school.

The consequences of attending school while in a tourist status may range from denying a future change of status of the parents and family, to charging them with immigration fraud. If the latest, it will close the doors for any future immigration benefit, and the family will most likely be placed in immigration proceedings.

With little effort, Public schools could include one more form to their registration package informing families of the potential ramifications of registering to school while holding a tourist status. This, in turn, will not only help immigrant families make the informed decision as to whether register their kids to school, but also allow schools to devote their limited spaces and resources to our taxpayers.

If you have question about your immigration status or wish to consult with our firm, please contact us at 954-843-3494

USCIS announced today that current TPS beneficiaries under the Haiti designation must re-register between now and March 19, 2018 in order to extend their TPS and employment authorization until July 22, 2019,  the program is set to expire.
Current employment authorization cards will be extended automatically until July 21, 2018. 

Following a recent preliminary injunction order by the Court in January 2018, USCIS announced that is will continue to accept DACA renewal applications. New DACA applications will not be accepted and approved.
It is extremely important for a DACA beneficiary to renewal his or her DACA now, even if it is not expiring within the next 150 days. This may be the only chance to extend the DACA protection and employment authorization. 

After almost one year of being current, the August Visa Bulletin imposed a priority date for the Employment Based Second (EB-2) category of 4/01/2015. 
​EB-2 allows members of a profession holding advance degree or persons of exceptional ability to apply for their green card. This category became oversubscribed due to the high demand of adjustment of status applications sent to USCIS. 
​The Department of State predicts that the category will be current once again in October, when the 2018 fiscal year begins.