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Are you in the U.S. Armed Forces or a veteran, or do you know someone who is? If so, we are pleased to tell you about a wonderful opportunity that may affect you and your family. On November 15, the Department of Homeland Security released a Policy Memorandum which announced that they will offer Parole …
Many U.S. citizens who oppose immigration in all its forms don’t understand how the U.S. immigration system works. Most believe that undocumented immigrants automatically become U.S. citizens when they arrive in the United States or become legal immigrants. Therefore, for the purpose of shedding some light on the issue, let me begin by stating that there is a huge difference between an “undocumented” immigrant and a “legal” immigrant, and between a “legal” immigrant and a U.S. citizen.
All legal immigrants who eventually become U.S. citizens have to start at ground zero. This is the status of being an alien, a citizen of another country who is granted the right to live and work in the United States on a permanent basis. The new status is known as “Lawful Permanent Residence,” or LPR. LPR doesn’t change the citizenship of the alien. For instance, someone from France retains his French citizenship although he has a right to live and work in the U.S. indefinitely as long as he doesn’t abandon his residence in the U.S. Living in France for eight months out of the year is treated as an abandonment of his LPR status.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) offers Mexican and Canadian professionals the opportunity to work in the United States. The category is known as the “TN visa.” The TN visa, however, has been widely ignored by U.S. businesses because they became accustomed to the more cumbersome H-1B visa, another category for foreign professional workers.
What U.S. businesses don’t know is that the TN offers many advantages over the H-1B visa. For instance, the TN visa includes more professions than the H-1B, and there is no time limit whereas the H-1B can be used for up to six years. Another advantage is a fast track feature for Canadian professionals who can apply for the visa at a U.S. port of entry without going through a U.S. consulate.
El 1 de enero de 1994, entró en vigor el Tratado de Libre Comercio (TLC) entre los Estados Unidos, México y Canadá, que afectó directamente al proceso de visas de inversionista para ciudadanos de esos tres países.
El TLC reemplazó el viejo procedimiento que dependía del sistema tradicional que no daba oportunidades de inversión a dichos ciudadanos. En la actualidad se están otorgando estas visas a empresas y personas que pasan por una rigurosa investigación de seguridad, dispuestos a invertir una cantidad adecuada, por lo menos el 51%, del costo de la inversión. Por ejemplo, si la compra de un restaurante es 300.000$(US), se requiere el pago del 51% que cubriría equipo, muebles, inventario u otros gastos relacionados a dicha inversión. En el caso de un inversionista mexicano, el dinero sería trasladado desde México a los Estados Unidos vía giros bancarios cuyo propósito es demostrar el origen de los fondos para un propósito legal en los Estados Unidos.
The Citizenship Clause (also known as the Naturalization Clause) in the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was enacted in 1868 in order to reverse the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision that African Americans were not and could not become citizens or enjoy any of the privileges and immunities of U.S. citizenship. By enacting this amendment, Congress also sought to protect the principle from repeal by any simple majority in any future Congress.