March 2016 Visa Bulletin

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Arjun Mishra

March 2016 Visa Bulletin Released

The Visa Bulletin for March was just released by the Department of State. EB-2 India moved forward ten weeks after taking a quantum leap in the February 2016 Bulletin. EB-2 China jumped ahead by five months in comparison to last month. EB-3 China, India, and Philippines remain far behind. Many Family Based categories remain far behind currency, but the F2A category is doing very well at June 15, 2015. F2A is for Permanent Residents who file for their spouses and unmarried children under 21 years of age.

Whereas a US Citizen can file for his spouse or unmarried child under 21 years of age and consider them to be an immediate relative (meaning that an immigrant visa is immediately available and consular processing is not required abroad), a US Permanent Resident must go through consular processing abroad and wait for currency date. An approved family-based petition in the F2A category from before June 15, 2015 means that it is available for an immigrant visa. This could be a compelling reason for a Permanent Resident who is eligible for US Citizenship to become a citizen and file for her spouse or unmarried child.

Presidents Speaks at Naturalization

Posted on December 17, 2015 by Arjun Mishra

President Obama Speaks at Naturalization Ceremony

The anti-immigration rhetoric has been vociferous in recent months, largely emanating from presidential candidacies. The usual course of discussion over immigration in recent years has been policymaking and legislation for unauthorized migrants. There are 11-12 million unauthorized migrants in the United States. They either entered the country without authorization or they entered legally but remained past their legal limit. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans programs that President Obama initiated through executive order have sought to address immigration issues through the executive branch. The legislative branch has not been able to agree on comprehensive immigration reform.

In contrast to proclamations of immigration bans and restrictions, President Obama spoke at a naturalization ceremony in Washington DC, where people from 25 different countries took the oath to become American citizens. President Obama was there to commemorate the journey that those individuals had to take to become American citizens, on the 224^th anniversary of the Bill of Rights. The president had many remarkable statements about immigration and immigrants:

Just about every nation in the world, to some extent, admits immigrants. But there’s something unique about America. We don’t simply welcome new immigrants, we don’t simply welcome new arrivals — we are born of immigrants. That is who we are. Immigration is our origin story. And for more than two centuries, it’s remained at the core of our national character; it’s our oldest tradition. It’s who we are. It’s part of what makes us exceptional.

The first refugees were the Pilgrims themselves — fleeing religious persecution, crossing the stormy Atlantic to reach a new world where they might live and pray freely. Eight signers of the Declaration of Independence were immigrants. And in those first decades after independence, English, German, and Scottish immigrants came over, huddled on creaky ships, seeking what Thomas Paine called “asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty…

We can never say it often or loudly enough: Immigrants and refugees revitalize and renew America.

Happy Thanksgiving – Wood Immigration Law

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Andrew Wood

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is a quintessential American holiday, combining copious amounts of food, football, and family members into a one day celebration of gratitude and togetherness. Cutting across religious, racial, and cultural divisions, the holiday has been celebrated since the famed 1621 Plymouth feast between Native Americans and passengers of the Mayflower who had arrived in an unknown land. The feast celebrated a successful harvest and collaboration between the Natives and immigrant Europeans. The day was celebrated on all different days until President Franklin Roosevelt decreed that the fourth Thursday of November was Thanksgiving in 1939.

The Macy’s Parade and bottomless buffets of football and food boost the holiday’s fun qualities, but there is a deeper significance buttressing the holiday’s purpose and meaning. The story of Thanksgiving, even if slightly apocryphal, has multiple dimensions of resonance for us today, even a full four centuries later. Colonial America was rife with conflicts between the newly arriving Europeans and established Native Americans, who had created civilizations of their own for hundreds of years. Thanksgiving symbolizes harmonious interchange between the Native Americans and immigrant Europeans. As elementary schoolchildren are taught every year, the immigrant Europeans

had come from England via Holland, escaping religious persecution and an oppressive government. Their story resembles a modern day asylum, as they were fleeing extreme stress and strife to a country where they would be safe (and religion is a protected ground for asylum). The overall history of European immigration, settling, and expansion throughout the continent boded poorly for Native Americans, who were overwhelmed by settlement, wars, and diseases. However, the day of feasting that we now celebrate as Thanksgiving represents the promise of a bright, harmonious future between the various groups that make up the United States of America – whether they are generations of Americans whose grandparents entered through Ellis Island or newly minted Americans who are recent immigrants, lawful permanent residents, and citizens.

The Law Offices of Andrew Wood wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving.

Fun Immigration Facts

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Andrew Wood

Fun Immigration Facts

Dearborn, MI or (“Dearbornistan”) is 40% Arab-American. It hosts the largest Lebanese American population and the highest percentage of Arabs of any city.

There are more immigrants living in New York City than there are people in Chicago, the third largest city in the United States.

There are over 80,000 immigrants in the Washington Heights neighborhood in Queens. 71% of the Elmhurst neighborhood in Queens is foreign born.

In 2010, Mexicans were the most populous immigrant group in 34 US states. Their homogenous dominance across the American landscape is countered by the Atlantic and Northeast, where the immigrant demographics are more even. Canada is second, counting its diaspora the most populous in 5 US States. Indians are the most populous in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and West Virginia. El Salvador takes Maryland and Virginia. Massachusetts’s largest group is Chinese, Rhode Island’s and New York’s are Dominican, Connecticut’s is Jamaican, and Alaska’s and Hawaii’s is Filipino.

In 1910, Mexicans were the most populous immigrant group in 3 US States – New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. Arizona and New Mexico did not even receive statehood until 1912.

Over 3,000 immigrants take the oath of naturalization to US citizenship on July 4 every year at Monticello. Monticello is Thomas Jefferson’s estate. Thomas Jefferson, the third president, died July 4, 1826, fifty years after the famed Declaration of Independence signing.

Chief Justice Warren Burger led the naturalization ceremonies of 15,000 new citizens on July 4, 1986.

460 languages are spoken in the United States and 150 languages are spoken by students of the New York City public school system. Queens is the most linguistically diverse area on the earth.

Constitution and Citizenship Day Celebrates Naturalization!

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Andrew Wood

Immigration reform merits what seems like obsessive and excessive attention because of its vast and critical implications to millions of people – currently and in the future. However, it is important to look away sometimes and celebrate our immigration process and those who have navigated it to take their final step into citizenship.

Naturalization Celebrated

Credit: @grand_canyon_nps – Flickr

September 17 is Constitution Day, with 2014 being the 227^th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution. Authored mostly by founding father and later fourth President James Madison, the document has guided our nation’s laws and been amended accordingly (27 amendments including the Bill of Rights). September 17 is also Citizenship Day, and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service celebrates the occasion by inaugurating thousands of citizens in naturalization ceremonies throughout the country.

This year, USCIS naturalization ceremony will include 27,000 new citizens in 160 different ceremonies over the course of a week throughout the country. For Americans who are not born with US citizenship, naturalization can be one of the most special days of their lives. USCIS is encouraging new citizens to share their experiences with the hashtag #newUScitizen. The Law Offices of Andrew Wood, LLC are proud to have been able to contribute this years new naturalized citizens.

Eric Matthews teaches a citizenship class: