Green Card – Page 3 – Immigration Road Blog

U.S. Permanent Residents Can Visit Canada without a Visa

July 22, 2019February 15, 2011 by IR_Blog

If you are a U.S. permanent resident, you don’t have to apply for a visa in order to visit Canada. Even if you hold a passport from a country whose citizens are required to present a visa to enter Canada, all you need is your green card, and Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) if you’re flying … Read more

ROW EB3 Pending I-485 Inventory Sudden Increase in January Release

January 19, 2011 by IR_Blog

During the past couple of years many EB applicants have been anxiously watching the Pending I-485 Inventory, hoping that the number of cases ahead of them keep dropping with every release. For the most part, that was indeed the case. But the latest USCIS inventory (as of January 5, 2011) showed a sudden increase for … Read more

What is “Class of Admission” on Form I-90?

July 12, 2019December 11, 2010 by IR_Blog

A reader asked a question about Class of Admission while filling out Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card. I did a little Googling and apparently many people are confused by the term USCIS used, especially if they entered the U.S. on a nonimmigrant visa which also belongs to a certain class of admission. … Read more

DV-2011 Green Card Lottery Status Check

June 30, 2010 by IR_Blog

DV-2011 green card lottery entrants can now check the status of their applications online.

To use the Entrant Status Check (ESC) Web site, you need to have your Submission Confirmation ready. The confirmation page was displayed when you successfully submitted your Diversity Visa (DV) lottery entry. More specifically, it contained your Entrant Confirmation Number, Last/Family Name (or blank if none), and Year of Birth. You must have this information in order to log into the website and check the status of your entry.

New Green Card, RFID, and Security Concerns

July 6, 2011June 5, 2010 by IR_Blog

The new green card comes with a bunch of enhanced features. Although most of them are designed for security purposes, the implementation of RFID – Radio Frequency IDentification – is rather for improving efficiency. In fact, if anything, RFID might have undercut an otherwise more secure green card.

With RFID embedded in the new green card, a CBP officer is now able to read your card while you are still standing in line at the airport. This, hopefully, can get you through a port of entry a bit faster. But the problem is, anyone with a sophisticated reader can read the same information as well, all from a distance without you even knowing it.

Before you push the panic button, however,

Do you Trust the Pending I-485 Inventory?

May 30, 2010April 19, 2010 by IR_Blog

Ever since USCIS started releasing the pending I-485 inventory data last September, there has been skepticism all over the Internet. Some, including immigration attorneys, have gone as far as claiming the data being close to useless.

Well, I think that is too far.

Sure, the data is incomplete. But it is something we never had before. Prior to September of 2009, if you had a pending I-485, all you knew was that you were standing in line waiting for the next visa bulletin. Now, with the inventory, you can find out approximately how many people are actually ahead of you. Even if USCIS doesn’t count all the pending cases, you now have a general idea of how long the line is, and more importantly, what position you are in.

Do I Have to Carry My Green Card Around?

July 4, 2011April 12, 2010 by IR_Blog

“Do I have to carry my green card with me?”
Many people ask this question after becoming a permanent resident. The official answer is: Yes, you do. In fact, Form I-797 that came with your fresh new green card says:

When you receive your card you must carry it with you at all times if you are 18 or older. It is the law.

So there you go. The perfect answer.

Startup Visa Bill to Help Immigrant Entrepreneurs

July 4, 2011February 25, 2010 by IR_Blog

Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar introduced legislation today that is going to reward immigrant entrepreneurs who can create jobs with green cards.

Titled “Startup Visa Act of 2010,” the bill will grant a two-year conditional visa to an entrepreneur who can secure $250,000 or more for his/her start-up venture from a qualified U.S. investor. After two years, if the company has generated at least five full-time jobs in the U.S., attracted additional $1 million, or achieved at least $1 million in revenue, the immigrant founder will be able to remove the conditions and become permanent resident (green card).

January 2010 Visa Bulletin and Predictions

December 21, 2009 by IR_Blog

January 2010 visa bulletin delivered little to cheer about, but DOS offered some predictions on future visa availability which can be quite helpful. Employment-Based First, Fourth and Fifth Preferences For January 2010, all EB1, EB4 and EB5 categories remain current. Employment-Based Second Preferences (EB-2) All EB2 countries other than India and China are still current … Read more

Chances of Winning the Green Card Lottery

November 11, 2009 by IR_Blog

The Diversity Visa program, often called the green card lottery, is definitely one of the easiest ways to become a permanent resident of the United States. The difficulty, of course, is to win the lottery first. What are your chances of winning the green card lottery? Each year there are millions of people participating in … Read more