The decision was disclosed by a Democratic lawmaker and confirmed by US administration officials after Mr. Obama met on Tuesday with Republican senators, several of whom have demanded that United States troops be placed at the Mexican border. But the move also reflected political pressure in the president’s own party with midterm election campaigns under way and with what is expected to be a tumultuous debate on overhauling US  immigration law coming up on Capitol Hill. The source of this article is www.nytimes.com

The application fee for K visas for fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens will be $350.

Applicants for petition-based visas will pay an application fee of $150. These categories include:

• P visa for athletes, artists and entertainers
• Q visa for international cultural exchange visitors
• R visa for religious occupations
• H visa for temporary workers and trainees
• L visa for intracompany transferees
• O visa for aliens with extraordinary ability

For a complete list, click here.

Several websites have narrated Dora’s mock capture by immigration authorities. One picture circulating on Facebook shows an ad for a TV show called “Dora the Illegal Immigrant.” On the Facebook page “Dora the Explorer is soo an Illegal Immigrant,” there are several images showing her sailing through the air over the U.S.-Mexican border.

“She’s always been ambiguously constructed,” said Angharad Valdivia, who teaches media studies at the University of Illinois and has explored the issue. “In the U.S. the way we understand race is about putting people in categories and we’re uncomfortable with people we can’t put into categories.”

Representatives from Nickelodeon declined to comment on Dora’s background, and her place of birth or citizenship have never been clear. She has brown skin, dark hair and speaks Spanish with an American accent.

Dora lives in an unidentified location with pyramids that suggest Mexico, but also tropical elements such as palm trees and her friends, Isa the iguana and Boots the monkey.
Arizona’s immigration law requires police to ask a person about their immigration status if there’s “reasonable suspicion” the person is in the country illegally.

The challenge of being unable to find people in detention centers, documented in the Human Rights Watch report, is worsened when one does not even know where to look. The absence of a real-time database tracking people in ICE custody means ICE has created a network of secret jails. Subfield offices enter the time and date of custody after the fact, a situation ripe for errors, hinted at in the Schriro report, as well as cover-ups. Read more here.

The US has lifted a 22-year immigration ban which has stopped anyone with HIV/Aids from entering the country.

Read more here.

This is a good article by Brian Bolton regarding the latest changes to the commonly requested Tourist Visa, B-1/ B-2.

In Bangkok, there has been an increase in this practice to curb the recent hike in cases where the applicant’s answers at the interview are dubious. More and more information are being shared to circumvent possible ruse. An excerpt of the article is below.

Consular posts have begun inserting detailed notes in the Consolidated Consular Database (CCD) regarding the travel plans of applicants who are issued new B-1/B-2 visas, particularly in borderline cases. This practice is encouraged by new guidance at 9 FAM 41.113 N2. This same FAM provision also advises consular officers to exercise “particular care” when entering issuance notes for “odd or high profile cases”. These case notes are intended to help focus Custom and Border Protection (CBP) officers scrutiny of foreign nationals arriving at American ports of entry. By means of the notes from consular officers, CBP agents can examine travelers with regards to the information they disclosed during their visa interviews. For example, if a foreign national obtained a visa for the stated purpose of taking a two week vacation with his parents but then arrives alone at the port of entry holding a reservation for a return flight six months hence, the CCD notes can help CBP agents detect the possible ruse. Given that CBP officers do not have access to the CCD at Primary Inspection, consular officers electronic remarks are available only when the foreign national is being examined in Secondary Inspection. Knowing this, some consular officers are using a novel visa annotation (“B-2 CCD”) to subtly cue Primary Inspection officers to the possible for Secondary Inspection. The “B-2 CCD” visa annotation is a consular officers’ way of communicating to CBP officers that the CCD contains detailed notes regarding the travel plans that the foreign national outlined during the visa interview. In effect, the annotation invites CBP to examine the traveler in light of the previously stated plans; if the travelers story at port of entry does not match what was represented during the visa interview, then there may be admissibility issues. begun inserting detailed notes in the Consolidated Consular Database (CCD) regarding the travel plans of applicants who are issued new B-1/B-2 visas, particularly in borderline cases. This practice is encouraged by new guidance at 9 FAM 41.113 N2. This same FAM provision also advises consular officers to exercise “particular care” when entering issuance notes for “odd or high profile cases”.

These case notes are intended to help focus Custom and Border Protection (CBP) officers scrutiny of foreign nationals arriving at American ports of entry. By means of the notes from consular officers, CBP agents can examine travelers with regards to the information they disclosed during their visa interviews. For example, if a foreign national obtained a visa for the stated purpose of taking a two week vacation with his parents but then arrives alone at the port of entry holding a reservation for a return flight six months hence, the CCD notes can help CBP agents detect the possible ruse.

Given that CBP officers do not have access to the CCD at Primary Inspection, consular officers electronic remarks are available only when the foreign national is being examined in Secondary Inspection. Knowing this, some consular officers are using a novel visa annotation (“B-2 CCD”) to subtly cue Primary Inspection officers to the possible for Secondary Inspection.

The “B-2 CCD” visa annotation is a consular officers’ way of communicating to CBP officers that the CCD contains detailed notes regarding the travel plans that the foreign national outlined during the visa interview. In effect, the annotation invites CBP to examine the traveler in light of the previously stated plans; if the travelers story at port of entry does not match what was represented during the visa interview, then there may be admissibility issues.

The first thing you would need to do to qualify for the H-1B visa is a job offer from a U.S. employer. Then you’d have to go through an involved application process, which the employer would start off for you by filing what’s called a labor condition application (LCA) with the U.S. Department of Labor, waiting for an answer, and then filing an “I-129 petition” with U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). After the petition is approved, it would be your turn to apply for the visa at your local U.S. consulate.H-1B visas usually allow people to stay in the U.S. and work for that employer for three years, with possible extensions up to a a maximum of six years.

All of this can take several months — and is complicated by the fact that only 85,000 H-1B visas are allotted per year, with 20,000 of these reserved for people with a minimum of a master’s level degree from a U.S. academic institution. Every year, the available visas run out, leaving many applicants waiting until October 1st, when a fresh supply is issued.

In summary, you as the employer have to initiate the process from the U.S. and obtain the approval before the H1B may be applied for at the local U.S. Consulate abroad.

You need a passport to go to Arizona!

Los Angeles officials on Wednesday approved a ban on future business with Arizona in protest against its crackdown on illegal immigrants, becoming the largest U.S. city to impose such an economic boycott. http://tinyurl.com/22rdg8c

A tough new anti-immigration law in the US state of Arizona is facing its first legal challenges.

Critics say the new legislation, which requires police to question anyone they suspect may be in the country illegally, targets Hispanic minorities.

A Latino Christian group and an Arizona police officer have filed lawsuits.

Civil rights groups and the federal government say they may follow as President Barack Obama and Colombian popstar Shakira join the protests.

Even though most Arizonans support the measure, it has sparked protest and controversy nationwide.

Arizona police will be required to stop and question anyone they reasonably suspect to be an illegal immigrant. If the person cannot prove their status, they can be arrested.

In a state of fewer than seven million people, nearly half a million are thought to be illegal.

Most come from Mexico looking for work, but Arizona’s border is a busy route for drug smugglers.

Supporters of the new law say it will protect lawful residents. Opponents say anyone could be stopped simply because they look Hispanic. Find it here.