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Everything you need to know about how to get a work permit in 2021 if you are an immigrant who wants to work legally in the USA.

Although immigration procedures can sometimes be complicated, fortunately, the procedure to submit an application for a work permit in the USA, or employment authorization document (EAD), is quite simple. However, it is essential to ensure that you meet all the requirements before submitting the application, to avoid wasting time and money.

The first steps to obtain a work permit are simple. You will need to complete a USCIS form called Form I-765 or Application for Employment Authorization, and pay the corresponding fee, as well as send all necessary documents to prove that you are eligible. To help you go through this process with ease and avoid making unnecessary mistakes that can jeopardize your application, below we answer the most frequently asked questions when applying for a work permit through Form I-765.

What are the requirements to apply for a work permit?

A work permit is available only to some groups of migrants, and they are mostly intended for those who are already in the process of applying for an adjustment of status or Green Card, or who already have some type of visa or temporary permit to reside in the United States.

Among other cases, the work permit application is available for:

• K-1 fiancé visa holders
• Spouses of many types of visa holders
• Persons with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Forced Departure (DED)
• F-1 students experiencing financial hardship or seeking optional practical training (OPT)

In some cases, it is also possible to obtain a work permit if you received political asylum. For a complete list, you can consult the official USCIS page, where you can read in detail what type of immigrants can access this benefit. If you have questions about your immigration case or that of a family member, do not hesitate to contact us!

In addition, it is important that you do not confuse the application for a work permit (EAD) with the application for a temporary work visa for the United States, such as an H-1B. These are different processes, each with its own rules and requirements.

How do I complete the USCIS Form I-765 to obtain a work permit in the USA?

The form that you will have to fill out for your work permit application is called Form I-765, available for free download on the USCIS website. Most of the form consists of completing your personal data and does not require further explanation. You must enter your name, contact information, place of residence, among other information.

But it is important that you take into account some details. For example, question 22 asks about your last entry to the United States. Many people get confused and write the date of their first entry into the country, but what USCIS wants to know is what was the last time you entered the country, even if you already resided in the country and only made a short trip abroad. In the “Entry Form” section, Form I-765 also requires you to specify the type of visa you used to enter the country.

Question 27 is a bit harder. You will need to check the complete Form I-765 instructions (also available on the USCIS website) to find out which eligibility category you fall into.

For example, some of the more common categories include:

• Category (a) (5) for whom asylum protection was granted.
• Category (a) (12) for people with Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
• Category (c) (3) (C) for students undertaking optional practical training after completion of their studies.
• Category (c) (5) for J-2 spouses of a J-1 exchange visitor.
• Category (c) (9) for anyone with a pending application for adjustment of status (Green Card).

If your category has only two letters or numbers, don’t worry about the fact that there are three empty spaces on the form. Just write the corresponding letter in the second pair of parentheses and the number in the third.

What evidence must I submit with the work permit application?

To prove that you are eligible to apply for a work permit, you must submit a photocopy that proves your immigration status described in Question 29. For example, if you submitted your application as an asylee, you will need to attach a copy of the letter from the asylum office or the order granting you asylum. In either case, the Form I-765 instructions detail what documents you must submit.

However, keep in mind that if you apply for a work permit at the same time as you submit an application for adjustment of status or TPS, you will not need to include proof of eligibility. USCIS will determine that you are eligible from the request you submitted.

How much is the work permit fee?

In 2021, the fee amount is $410. But USCIS fee amounts change frequently, so we recommend that you check the website for the updated amount. If you also initiated a deferred action procedure, you will have to pay a biometric fee of $85.

Some categories of applicants do not need to pay the fee. For example, those who simultaneously file an application to adjust their status are usually already covered with the fee paid for this form. To make the payment you can send the money by money order, check or credit card.

How do I submit my work permit application to USCIS?

Most applicants must submit the I-765 application to USCIS by mail. Search the website carefully to find out which address to send your request to. The address will depend on your eligibility category, and it will be different if you use the US postal service or a private courier service.

For some categories, online submission is also available. For example, this option was available to F-1 students who applied based on optional practical training (OPT) in mid-2021, and it is expected that it could soon be expanded to other categories.

Finally, we recommend that you make a complete copy of everything you submit in your application package, including checks, before submitting it. This will be very useful in case there are problems with the shipment or if you want to consult an immigration attorney later to help you with your case.

If you are in need of immigration legal advice, do not hesitate to contact us! At the Law Office of Shelle-Ann Simon we have wide experience in immigration proceedings, family law, and personal injury and have successfully defended our clients for over 10 years. Contact us through our website or give us a call at 281-606-0800!

The promised and belated immigration reform will also benefit rural sectors, which have lost much of their population and desperately need migrant workers to improve their economy.

According to the latest national census, the rural American population has lost much of its population, and if immigration reform is passed, migrant workers could boost the economy of the sector favorably. Many rural companies have pointed out the problem and are demanding Congress the creation of legal avenues to guarantee the residence of migrant agricultural workers.

Census data also reveals that some recent population increases in some rural areas were primarily driven by Latino residents or migrants. Many originally entered the country as migrant workers or to start their own ventures.

“We have struggled on this issue for a long time to try to find a more reasonable and common-sense approach. Vilifying immigrants only makes it more difficult to get there.”

Commented John Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmers Union, part of a group of farmworkers in favor of immigration reform.

Some Republican state lawmakers blamed the labor shortage on supplemental unemployment benefits, which they say do not incentivize work because they pay more than some low-wage jobs. Instead, Democrats see a persistent job crisis in the sector.

Immigration reform and the difficulties in recruiting workers in rural areas

The population trend is clear in Nebraska, where only 24 of the state’s 93 counties recently gained residents. A recent study by David Drozd, coordinator of the Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Nebraska in Omaha, suggests that most of the growth was driven by minorities and migrant sectors.

Drozd analyzed the census data and found that the Nebraska counties with the most racial diversity are those where businesses like meatpacking plants are located. Without Latino growth, Drozd adds, employers in these areas would be struggling even harder to fill those positions.

In New Mexico, the population declined in 20 rural counties stretching from the Great Plains in Oklahoma to the US-Mexico border. Desperate for workers to guarantee Chile’s annual harvest, the state this week pledged to provide up to $ 5 million in federal pandemic aid to subsidize the wages of pickers and workers at Chile’s processing plants, increasing available wages to $ 19.50. The time. The New Mexico Chile Association says the industry is short of about 1,350 temporary workers out of the 3,000 workers needed.

The same occurs in many other rural areas of the country, where the labor of migrant agricultural workers is increasingly needed, and immigration reform is offered as the only possible solution to the economic and population decline of the sector.

For many Republicans in rural areas, migrant workers should have “a path to legal residence.”

Nancy Weeks, secretary of the Republican Party for Haskell County in southwestern Kansas, said that if undocumented immigrants living in the United States want to move to the area and work, they must be provided with a way to obtain legal status.

“I have no problem with them coming here as long as they are legal. It is the ones who do not become legal that I have a problem with.”

Weeks declared.

The challenge is bigger in Midwestern states that have the highest unemployment rates in the country. Al Juhnke, executive director of the Nebraska Pork Producers Association, said his organization would like to see changes that allow seasonal migrant workers to stay in the country longer.

“These people buy houses. They bring their families. They go to our churches. They make money and spend it locally. It is really beneficial for these communities. “

Juhnke declared.

Previously, other studies showed that immigration reform is a way to ensure the economic prosperity of the country, in addition to allowing millions of migrants who live and work in the United States as children to be out of illegality. It is becoming increasingly clear that securing this important reform is the necessary path to a better future for all Americans.

If you are in need of immigration legal advice, do not hesitate to contact us! At the Law Office of Shelle-Ann Simon we have wide experience in immigration proceedings, family law, and personal injury and have successfully defended our clients for over 10 years. Contact us through our website or give us a call at (281) 606-0800!

The main difference between a green card and a visa is their function. A visa lets you travel to request admission for a particular purpose. A green card is evidence of lawful permanent resident status. They can be successive documents in the same immigration process, so neither is universally better.

Start with what you plan to do: visit temporarily, work or study under an appropriate category, or make the United States your permanent home. The document follows the legal route and your eligibility, not simply how quickly you hope to arrive.

The difference between a visa, admission and a green card

The Department of State’s explanation of a U.S. visa separates travel from admission. A consular officer issues a visa; Customs and Border Protection decides whether to admit you at the port of entry, in which status and for what period.

If columns extend beyond the view, swipe the table horizontally or focus it and use the arrow keys.

Term	What it means	Important limit
Nonimmigrant visa	A document for seeking entry for a temporary purpose.	It does not guarantee admission or permit every activity.
Immigrant visa	A document used to seek admission as a permanent resident through consular processing.	Issuance and admission are separate events.
Admission record, often Form I-94	A record of the admission classification and authorized stay.	The visa’s expiration date is not the deadline for every stay.
Lawful permanent resident status	The legal status granted through immigrant admission or an eligible adjustment of status.	It must be maintained; it is not U.S. citizenship.
Green card, Form I-551	Evidence of permanent resident status.	Renewing the document does not grant citizenship.

For a temporary admission, check the admission record and any later decision governing your stay. Do not use the visa’s printed expiration date as permission to remain until that date. An extension or change of status is a separate question.

Temporary visits, work and study

Nonimmigrant visas serve defined purposes. Tourism, certain business activities, study and temporary employment have different requirements. A visitor visa for business does not authorize ordinary employment in the United States.

A work visa and a green card can both be relevant to employment, but they provide different legal bases. Work permission in a temporary category depends on that category and its conditions. Permanent residents generally may work while maintaining their status. An employer’s offer alone grants neither benefit.

Studying also requires an appropriate basis, but a permanent resident does not need an F-1 visa merely to attend school. For someone seeking a student visa, F covers academic study and M covers vocational study. The elementary-school option listed for F visas is private elementary school, not public elementary school.

A short recreational course without academic credit can be permitted as part of tourism; degree or certificate study is different. The official student visa guidance explains that distinction. A visitor category or visa exemption is not general permission to study.

When travel may not require a visa

Not every temporary visitor needs a visa. The Visa Waiver Program allows eligible citizens or nationals of participating countries to seek qualifying tourism or business visits of 90 days or less. A valid ESTA approval and the other program requirements apply. Neither ESTA nor a visa guarantees admission.

Canadian and Bermudian citizens have separate visa exemptions and exceptions, depending on the purpose and circumstances of travel. Do not assume every traveler has a guaranteed 180-day stay. Canadian permanent residence alone does not confer the Canadian citizen exemption.

Visa-free travel does not grant permanent residence or general employment authorization. These exemptions answer a travel-document question, not whether you qualify to settle permanently.

How permanent residence is granted

Through consular processing, an immigrant visa allows you to travel to seek admission as an immigrant. When admitted in that capacity, you become a lawful permanent resident; the physical green card can arrive afterward. You do not need another complete conversion to permanent residence simply because the card has not arrived.

An eligible person already in the United States may instead obtain permanent residence through adjustment of status on Form I-485. Being physically present is not enough: the applicable admission, visa-availability, admissibility and other eligibility requirements still matter. In a preference case, the Visa Bulletin helps you check visa-number availability.

Family-based green card routes cover specified relationships to U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Not every close relative qualifies. The petitioner’s status, the relationship, age rules and visa category determine what is available.

Other bases illustrate why the route matters:

• Employment: permanent employment categories have their own petition and eligibility requirements. Some require an employer; others permit qualifying applicants to petition for themselves.
• Investment: the immigrant investor route requires qualifying investment and job creation under the governing rules. A general ability to invest does not establish eligibility.
• Diversity Visa: rules about the country used for visa allocation, education or qualifying work experience apply. Selection does not guarantee an immigrant visa or permanent residence.
• Humanitarian routes: refugee, asylum, U, T and VAWA provisions have distinct requirements. Being a crime victim or experiencing abuse does not automatically grant permanent residence.

Eligible spouses and children may accompany or follow a principal applicant in categories that allow derivatives. That is not a rule for every family petition, and age protection and other eligibility conditions still matter.

Adoption-related immigration also has distinct adopted-child, orphan and Hague Convention routes. A foreign adoption alone does not establish a right to immigrate, and there is no single visa required for every international adoption.

Refugee and asylee adjustment follows separate laws. The one-year requirement concerns physical presence, with the asylee period measured after the asylum grant; other statutory conditions still apply. It is not simply a year passing on the calendar after receiving a status.

What a green card does not make automatic

Permanent residents generally can live and work in the United States, but travel, maintaining residence and eligibility for particular benefits have limits. The responsibilities of a permanent resident continue after the card arrives. A trip abroad can raise different questions about return documents, the status itself and future naturalization.

The card can expire while permanent resident status continues. Some marriage- and investment-based residents have conditional residence. Removing conditions on residence is different from renewing a standard ten-year card; not every permanent resident is conditional.

Renewing a green card does not make you a citizen. If citizenship is your goal, our naturalization services concern a separate process with its own eligibility rules.

Are green card holders eligible for Medicare?

A green card does not automatically enroll you in Medicare. Eligibility depends on the applicable program rules, including age or another qualifying basis, residence and the relevant work record. There is no general rule requiring every green card holder to pay taxes without interruption for five years.

Part A covers hospital insurance. Many eligible people receive premium-free Part A because they or a spouse worked and paid Medicare taxes long enough, generally at least ten years. Those who do not qualify for premium-free Part A may be able to buy it if they meet the separate eligibility conditions.

Part B has its own enrollment rules. One route for a U.S. resident aged 65 or older who is not already entitled to Part A requires citizenship or lawful permanent residence with five continuous years of U.S. residence immediately before the enrollment-application month. That residence test is not five years of uninterrupted tax payments.

Buying Part A also requires enrollment in Part B, and enrollment periods matter. Check Medicare’s own guidance on its parts and costs and the eligibility rules for your circumstances. Do not assume that all coverage must be purchased, that it is free, or that a visitor visa establishes eligibility.

Choosing the route for your plans

A temporary visit calls for the appropriate temporary category or exemption. A permanent move requires a qualifying residence route. If you are already a permanent resident, the question may concern documenting or maintaining that status. You may use both an immigrant visa and a green card at different stages.

Our family immigration services include reviewing the relationship and immigration history involved in a residence case.

When you contact us about a permanent move, explain the reason for the move and any family relationship involved. Include whether you are abroad or already in the United States, so we can focus the conversation on the residence route that matches your situation.

Governor J.B. Pritzker will terminate contracts with all immigration detention centers in the state of Illinois.

This Monday the state of Illinois passed a set of laws that will effectively end the detention of migrants within the state. This plan, promoted by Governor J.B. Pritzker will also restrict the ability of local law enforcement authorities to cooperate with federal immigration agencies.

The new law aims to nullify local agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that allow local jails to house detained immigrants while they await their immigration court hearings. Currently in force contracts must be terminated before January 2022 and new agreements will be prohibited.

Currently, three Illinois counties (Kankakee, Pulaski, and McHenry) have agreements between federal agencies and state jails. According to ICE, state prisons in Illinois hold a total of 260 detained migrants.

“Every family, every child, every human being deserves to feel safe and secure in the place they call home.”

Pritzker said at an event in Aurora where he officially signed a package of new laws protecting the rights of migrants.

The new law that promises to end immigration detention centers in Illinois

Once current contracts are terminated, the measure signed Monday by Pritzker effectively nullifies Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s ability to detain migrants within the state of Illinois. Most of those detained by ICE across the country are held in private or local government-run facilities.

The agency only operates a few of its own detention centers, and none are within the state of Illinois. The state also banned the hiring of private immigration detention centers in 2019, after several failed attempts to build new facilities near Chicago.

In recent years, other states and cities have finalized local agreements to house ICE detainees, such as California and Washington. Without any real progress on the matter of immigration reform at the federal level, many states have also resorted to banning private detention centers.

In this scenario, unless there are some legal impossibilities or other exceptions, ICE’s options are to transfer the current detainees to other states or to release them. Spokesmen for the agency declined to comment on the Illinois state plan.

Resistance to abiding by the new law in opposing counties

Pro-immigration sectors fight for the release of detainees, arguing that imprisoning people who wait for immigration procedures to be resolved not only goes against the rights of migrants but is also costly for the state. However, some state officials fear losing benefits and hampering necessary cooperation with federal authorities.

In McHenry County alone, the ICE deal brings about $ 10 million annually to the local economy, according to local board chairman Michael Buehler. That’s a significant amount of money for the small county in northern Illinois, which has an annual budget of approximately $ 200 million. Buehler added in an interview that the governor’s decision will negatively affect dozens of workers and services and that they would explore options to fight the measure.

Illinois: a sanctuary state for migrant rights

This new law deepens a previous measure from 2017, in which the state of Illinois was established as a “migrant sanctuary” that, among other things, prevented local police from making arrests on behalf of ICE. This recent advance in immigration matters also greatly restricts interactions between immigration agents and police forces unless there is a criminal case and restricts ICE’s access to local police equipment and facilities.

To ensure compliance, the law also empowers the state attorney general to investigate any possible violation of this regulation. And within the package signed by Pritzker, the creation of a task force was also established with the objective of evaluating how the state police and other state services affect migrants.

At the Law Office of Shelle-Ann Simon, we are always happy to hear good news for migrants in the United States, and we congratulate the Illinois government for its commitment to justice and fighting an inhuman migration system, which still today holds detainees in many states and counties across the country.

If you are in need of immigration legal advice, do not hesitate to contact us! We have wide experience in immigration proceedings, family law and personal injury and have successfully defended our clients for over 10 years. Contact us through our website or give us a call at (281) 606-0800!

The government confirmed that it will continue to expel migrants at the southern border of the United States for health reasons through the expedited deportation enabled under Title 42.

This Monday, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that it will go back with its plans to lift the health measure known as Title 42 and will continue to apply deportation for health purposes. This is due to fears of a new spike in coronavirus infections.

Over the past few months, with a record number of undocumented migrants attempting to cross the southern border of the United State, the Biden administration has maintained the order that allows expedited deportation for health reasons, inherited from the previous administration. Despite protests from pro-immigration allied sectors, government spokesmen repeatedly noted that the order served a necessary function in a pandemic context.

However, in the last few weeks, the government expressed its intentions to lift the order. For many critics, expedited deportation through Title 42 was less a measure to protect public health than a politically correct way to remove migrants. Now, the CDC insists that allowing the uncontrolled entry of migrants across the border creates danger of dispersal of new variants of the virus.

The delta factor: the danger of new variants

The recent global spread of the highly contagious delta variant has reinforced the argument for the need to maintain a sanitary measure such as rapid deportation under Title 42 to minimize the entry of people into the country. In addition, the rapid spread of this new variant of the virus comes at a critical time for border agents, who say they are overwhelmed and argue that lifting this measure would only worsen a delicate humanitarian crisis situation.

However, even though the Democratic government has used the rule to quickly expel single adults and even many migrant families, the measure has not been applied to migrant children arriving unaccompanied.

Pressures to abolish swift deportation from pro-immigration sectors

On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) initiated a lawsuit against the Biden administration hoping to force its hand to lift the order for migrant families. According to an ACLU member, the organization held unsuccessful negotiations for months to try to have the measure overturned.

“Now it is clear that there is no immediate plan to do that. She made repeated public statements that the administration only needs some time to rebuild the asylum system that the Trump administration destroyed. We gave them seven months. Time is up.”

Lee Gelernt, lead attorney on the ACLU case, said in an official communication Monday.

The government’s response to the ACLU’s demands

In a court filing in response to the lawsuit initiated by the ACLU, the Democratic government insisted that blocking the application of this measure will only lead to the collapse of the already overburdened immigration system and worse humanitarian conditions for migrants. The overcrowding at the southern border posts makes it very difficult to apply public health measures and basic precautions such as social distancing.

The statement also adds that more and more migrants are testing positive for coronavirus, as well as border officials. For David Shahoulian, the assistant secretary for border and immigration policies at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), maintaining the deportation order under Title 42 is crucial to preserving public health in the current circumstances.

If you are in need of immigration legal advice, do not hesitate to contact us! At the Law Office of Shelle-Ann Simon we have wide experience in immigration proceedings, family law, and personal injury and have successfully defended our clients for over 10 years. Contact us through our website or give us a call at (281) 606-0800!

If you’re wondering what is a U Visa and what’s it for, this post is for you. The U Visa was created for those people who have been victims of crimes such as domestic violence or exploitation. It is designed to give them a chance to stay in the country as long as they’re helpful in the persecution of criminals or any (relevant) illegal activity. This visa also includes family members.

The U Visa was created based on the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The program has been expanded to include human trafficking and other crimes like blackmailing, extortion, and stalking.

The main objective of the U Visa is to encourage immigrants to report crimes that they otherwise wouldn’t have reported and to keep them safe during the investigation. Although it was created with crimes of domestic abuse in mind, it has been expanded and today it also covers a wide range of crimes, including those related to the workplace.

What’s a U Visa? It’s a visa made for victims of crimes that took place in the U.S.

What is the U Visa For?

Having U Visa status allows you to access these benefits:

• Being able to legally reside in the U.S. for up to 4 years.
• Authorization to work during that time without restrictions.
• It allows your immediate family members to live in the U.S. as long as they qualify.
• After 3 years, you’ll be able to apply for permanent residency and get a green card.

Requirements to Get a U Visa

There are a few things that are required from you before you can apply for a U Visa.

• You must have been the victim of a qualifying crime. That crime needs to be reported and fully investigated.
• You must have information concerning that crime, and that information has to be helpful.
• You must be willing to cooperate or have cooperated in the investigation or prosecution of the criminal activities.
• You have to be able to prove that the crime you’re reporting took place in the U.S. or violated local, state or federal laws.
• You must be admissible to the United States. If that’s not the case, you may still be able to apply for a waiver.

If you meet these requirements, don’t hold off on consulting with your immigration lawyer so they can help you get your U Visa as quickly as possible.
The U Visa has certain requirements that you need to meet.

What Happens After a U Visa is Approved?

After your application to get your U Visa is approved, you will receive the following documents:

• A U Visa Approval Notice.
• An I-765 Approval Notice.
• Employment Authorization for the U.S.
• I-192 Approval Notice.

After receiving these documents, which shouldn’t take longer than a month, you will be able to work and travel through the U.S. without restrictions. However, it’s not recommendable that you travel outside the country during the first three years. You can technically do it, but you’ll have to undergo consular processing and lots of questions.

Unfortunately, when it comes to public benefits, U Visa holders don’t have access to programs like Medicaid, SSI, and TANF. However, you may still be eligible for other programs.

It is also recommended that you obtain a social security card.

Adjustment of U Visa Status

As a U nonimmigrant, you may be eligible to adjust status and become a lawful permanent resident after three years of continuous presence within US borders. Keep in mind that you must have a valid U Resident status on the date you file the Form I-485, so don’t wait till the last hour to start the process.

You’ll be asked to present proof of different issues, such as evidence that you’ve been helpful in the investigation of the crime, a self-affidavit attesting three years of continuous presence, as well as many different documents.

To be in good company during the entire process and be able to ask your concerns at all times, don’t hold off and talk with the best immigration lawyer in Houston.

What is a U Visa? — Everything You Need to Know 4

What Crimes Qualify For a U Visa?

U.S. Immigration authorities have new guidelines for qualifying criminal activity that could make a person eligible to receive U visa status. It’s an exhaustive list of behaviors that includes some crimes like stalking or assaulting immigrants on the basis of their race, color, or national origin.

It doesn’t only cover violent crimes, but also crimes related to abuse, exploitation, and threatening

Here’s the full list:

• Abduction
• Abusive Sexual Contact
• Being Held Hostage
• Blackmail
•  Kidnapping
• Manslaughter
• Murder
• Sexual Exploitation
• Slave Trade
• Stalking

• Domestic Violence
• Extortion
• False Imprisonment
• Felonious Assault
• Obstruction of Justice
• Peonage
• Perjury
• Prostitution
• Rape

• Female Genital Mutilation
• Fraud in Foreign Labor Contracting
• Incest
• Involuntary Servitude
• Torture
• Trafficking
• Witness Tampering
• Unlawful Criminal Restraint
• Sexual Assault

Would you like to know more about under what circumstances you can apply for a U Visa or to get help in obtaining it? Don’t hold off and talk with the best immigration lawyer in Houston