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Click here to subscribe to our newsletter, "Ann Lipson's Immigration Law Current Trends" and receive this no-cost quarterly synopsis of Immigration Law news that matters.ABOUT theVISAGeek™
TheVISAGeek™ is the pen name for Ann L. Lipson, a U.S. Immigration attorney with 25+ years experience.
Ann represents and advises business and individual clients worldwide from her base in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.
She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
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By Topic: NIW/EB-1/Outstanding Researchers and Professionals
NIW Qualification Requires Individual Contribution and Achievement
NIW (EB-2) qualification requires work in an area deemed to be in the national interest AND individual contribution in that area. For researchers and academics who have not yet reached the status of being at the very top of their field, the National Interest Waiver (EB-2) category is usually their best option. But note that this… read more
EB-1 vs. NIW Green Cards: How Do I Choose?
For extraordinary ability you must prove you are at the very top of your field. Many researchers and academics who choose to self-petition for the green card based on their research accomplishments are often confused about which path to take between either the extraordinary ability (EB-1) category or national interest waiver (EB-2). Our rule of… read more
Continued Battle over Kazarian for the “Extraordinary” and the “Outstanding”
USCIS not buying arguments from the immigration bar On January 18, USCIS held an open meeting to discuss immigrant petitions based on extraordinary or outstanding achievements. The issue, of course, is the addition of the new USCIS “merits determination” based on the “totality of the circumstances” which USCIS claims is mandated by the 9th Circuit’s… read more
Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Policy Momentum = Good News
Continued push from USCIS Director may benefit immigrant entrepreneurs USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas continues to push for reform that would benefit immigrant entrepreneurs particularly through the immigrant investor visa (EB-5) program and the utilization of the National Interest Waiver (NIW) category for job creation. In a series of “conversations” with the public, Director Mayorkas has begun… read more
Outstanding Researcher Case – Multiple Citations Are Key
More guidance re: Kazarian final merits analysis for Outstanding Professors/Researchers In a recent decision, a university petitioning for an Assistant Professor of Clinical Biostatistics won an appeal from the initial denial of their Outstanding Researcher case. The opinion handed down on appeal gives some guidance as to how USCIS is approaching the final merits determination… read more
NIW Supporting Evidence: Citations are key
For a winning NIW petition, the number of citations in quality journals is more important than the number of publications. On November 21, 2011, the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) of the Immigration Service sustained an appeal of a National Interest Waiver (NIW) case out of the Texas Service Center. This case involved a postdoctoral research… read more
Start-up Visa for Entrepreneurs?
A NEW START-UP VISA FOR ENTREPRENEURS – TRUE? YES and NO On August 2, 2011, the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano and USCIS Director Mayorkas announced with much fanfare that foreign entrepreneurs could take advantage of the existing non-immigrant and immigrant visa system to gain status and permanent residency. See the DHS press release.… read more
EB-1 Evidence: Bar Raised
As if Extraordinary Ability wasn’t hard enough! Even more extraordinariness now required for EB-1! Recent federal court decision from Seattle shows how EB-1 is becoming even more difficult in light of the the new two-part analysis from Kazarian now codified into standard USCIS operating procedure. Even with a good showing of three out of the… read more
NIW/EB-1 winners
Clearer rules for a winning case: Extraordinary Ability & Outstanding Professor/Researcher Under the new USCIS guidelines, we have more concrete guidelines for constructing a winning case. In a new policy memo that amends previous guidelines for USCIS examiners, USCIS has now walked through each of the possible evidentiary categories and clearly stated what they are… read more
EB-1 Evidence Standards
Clearer rules for EB-1 academics and researchers On August 18, 2010 USCIS published its policy memo revising and making clearer the evidentiary standards for EB-1 Outstanding Professors/Researchers and Individuals with “Extraordinary Ability”. The new standards are a direct consequence of a Federal lawsuit (Kazarian vs. USCIS in the 9th Circuit) challenging the USCIS habit of… read more