Asylum is a protection granted to foreign nationals already in the United States or at the border who meet the international definition of a "refugee." A refugee is defined as a person who has been persecuted or has a well-founded fear of being persecuted "on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular...

Exclusive immigration law expertise. Does the law firm practice immigration law exclusively or does it practice other areas of law in addition to immigration law? At NPZ Law Group, we practice only immigration law. Immigration law is an extremely complex area of the law.

By limiting our practice to immigration law, NPZ Law Group is...

A foreign national who has been victim of criminal activity may qualify for U Nonimmigrant Status. The U nonimmigrant status (U visa) is set aside for victims of certain crimes who have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse and are willing to assist law enforcement and government officials in the investigation or prosecution of...

On May 6, 2014, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the publication of a proposed rule to extend employment authorization to dependent spouses (not dependent children) of certain H-1B workers. On May 12, 2014, DHS published the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("NPRM") in the Federal Register. The NPRM was subject to a sixty-day...

Using the Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) Labor Certification Process is the most common ways for a prospective employer and prospective employee to obtain the employment-based Green Card in the U.S. Since the case is not pre-certified, the employer and the employee have to submit a Labor Certification Application on Form 9089 to the...

President Obama reiterated his commitment to immigration reform and reproached the House Republicans for their unwillingness to confront this important issue. Potentially, the combination of four factors ─ Pressure from the immigration advocates that the President has done little on the immigration issue; Speaker John Boehner's statement that the House would not vote on...

As the numbers of unaccompanied minors and mothers with children crossing our southern border grows, the U.S. government faces a critical test of its historic commitment to protect those fleeing violence and persecution. How the U.S. responds will signal to the world whether the U.S. commitment to due process and the protection of refugees...

In Scialabba v. Cuellar de Osorio, a heavily-divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled against thousands of aspiring young immigrants who were included on their parents' visa petitions as minors, but who turned 21-known as "aging-out" before visas became available. Aging-out is tantamount to someone losing his place in the visa line with his parents. In...

On June 9, 2014, government of Canada (CIC) published a new guide for officers assessing work permit applications for Intra-Company Transferees (ICTs) under the Specialized Knowledge category, with a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) Exemption. The new criteria will now include a more stringent definition of "specialized knowledge" and a mandatory wage requirement. Individuals covered...

U.S. immigration laws specifically authorize the issuance of E visas to nationals of a country that has qualifying treaty[i] of commerce and navigation with the United States. Such qualifying treaties may include treaties of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation (FCNs) and Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs).

A BIT is an agreement establishing the terms and conditions for...