Changes to Mexico E Visa processing

Increases in Applications for Visas at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico have caused that Embassy to stop processing E-1 and E-1 Treaty Trader and Investor Visas. 

From now on, the E-1 Visas will be handled by the Consulate in Monterrey and Tijuana, and E-2 Visas will be processed in in the Consulate in Ciudad Juarez. For more information about applying for this type of Visa in Mexico, go to this site.

August 2015 Visa Bulletin Release - China Times Hit Hard

This months Visa Bulletin saw a steady move forward in the Family-Based Preference Categories, except the various categories for Mexico.

U.S. State Department Family Based Visa Bulletin, August 2015

However, the Employment Based Categories had some interesting movements. Many categories saw multi-month moves forward, with the EB-3 preference category for "All Chargeability Areas" being almost Current. However, the Chinese EB-3 Category retrogressed by more than 7 years and the 5th Preference (EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa) stayed the same and did not have any movement. 

Finally, the EB-3 Category for the Philippines went from being "U" (Unavailable) to showing a date of June 1, 2004.

U.S. State Department Employment Based Visa Bulletin, August 2015

TPS Registration Period Extended for Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended the deadline for initial registration from May 20, 2015, to Aug. 18, 2015, for eligible nationals of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone (and people without nationality who last habitually resided in one of those three countries). 

For more information, please visit USCIS

Supreme Court Sides with Consulate in Visa Denial Non-Reviewability

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld the government's broad discretion to give only a cursory explanation for refusing to grant a visa to the spouse of an American citizen. The justices divided 5-to-4, concluding that a consular officer's citation of unspecified "terrorist activities" was enough to justify barring a spouse without further explanation.

Fauzia Din came to the United States as a refugee from Afghanistan in 2000, seeking "security" as a woman, and "freedom." She subsequently became a U.S. citizen and in 2006 returned to Afghanistan to marry an Afghan native whom she and her family had long known.

To read more, visit NPR

Photo by David

Disney Hiring Foreign H-1B Workers, While Accused of Firing Locals

ORLANDO, Fla. — The employees who kept the data systems humming in the vast Walt Disney fantasy fief did not suspect trouble when they were suddenly summoned to meetings with their boss.

While families rode the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and searched for Nemo on clamobiles in the theme parks, these workers monitored computers in industrial buildings nearby, making sure millions of Walt Disney Worldticket sales, store purchases and hotel reservations went through without a hitch. Some were performing so well that they thought they had been called in for bonuses.

Instead, about 250 Disney employees were told in late October that they would be laid off. Many of their jobs were transferred to immigrants on temporary visas for highly skilled technical workers, who were brought in by an outsourcing firm based in India. Over the next three months, some Disney employees were required to train their replacements to do the jobs they had lost.

For more, please visit the NYTimes.com

Birthright Citizenship Denied to American Samoan #Citizenship

A lawyer involved in the landmark case says the US judges used antiquated and racially-based laws to rule the citizenship clause in the US Constitution did not apply to people born in American Samoa

Under federal law, citizenship is guaranteed to residents of US territories including Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico.

But Americans Samoans are classified as US nationals and must live in America for six months in order to apply for citizenship.

Read More at ABC