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 On April 27, 2021, as part of a delegation from the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Attorneys Aleksandr Troyb and Michelle Ross are scheduled to meet with members of the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C. to discuss various immigration issues of interest to individuals and employers. They encourage their clients to contact them to discuss any immigration issues they may want them to address with members of Congress.
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  Attorney Michelle A. Ross is honored to have been asked to present at a program hosted by the Connecticut Bar Association's Law Center at 9:00 a.m. on April 6, 2022 entitled "Best Practices in On-Boarding Employees." The program will offer a practical "how to" for onboarding new employees from offer letter to the first day of work including all hiring requirements, notices and deadlines including applicable immigration laws and processes that an employer must navigate to bring on new employees for Connecticut workers and foreign workers, including proper work visas and work authorizations.
More information on the program, as well as registration instructions, are available HERE.  Late this afternoon, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the designation of Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
A country may be designated for TPS when conditions in the country fall into one or more of the three statutory bases for designation: ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or extraordinary and temporary conditions. This designation is based on both ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions in Ukraine that prevent Ukrainian nationals, and those of no nationality who last habitually resided in Ukraine, from returning to Ukraine safely. Individuals eligible for TPS under this designation must have continuously resided in the United States since March 1, 2022. Individuals who attempt to travel to the United States after March 1, 2022, will not be eligible for TPS. Ukraine’s designation will go into effect on the publication date of the forthcoming Federal Register notice. The notice will provide instructions for applying for TPS and an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) which would allow recipients to legally work in the United States. TPS applicants must meet all eligibility requirements and undergo security and background checks. Our attorneys are continuing to monitor the situation, and are available to answer any questions you may have about TPS and other options that may be available to you. Several clients contacted us recently about family members who were able to exit Ukraine and are looking to fly to the United States with valid visas but cannot obtain a pre-departure Covid-19 test due to extenuating circumstances.
On February 15, 2022, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), determined that it is in the national interest of the United States to temporarily permit the entry of certain individuals who were physically present in Ukraine as of February 10, 2022 without the requirement that they provide proof of a negative Covid-19 test result prior to boarding a flight to the United States or to complete the attestation at Section 1 of the Combined Passenger Disclosure Attestation to the United States of America form. This temporary change is currently scheduled to remain in place until April 1, 2022 and applies to the following groups of individuals: The U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Poland has created websites with information for Ukrainians who have Evacuated to Poland. These websites will be updated with additional information as the situation develops and are available in English and Ukrainian. You can access these websites by clicking on the links below. Our attorneys are continuing to monitor the situation and advise our clients about various options they may have for immigrating to the United States. Additionally, our attorneys are available to answer any questions you may have about the situation and options that may be available to you. Do not hesitate to contact our office at 203-425-8500.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), a professional association consisting of more than 15,000 members, has called on the Biden administration to move immediately to help Ukrainian nationals as Russia invades Ukraine.
AILA President Allen Orr stated, “Our hearts go out to the Ukrainian people as their country is assaulted by Russia and peoples’ lives are lost and upended. The situation is untenable, and the early news coverage is confirming that many Ukrainians are fleeing for their lives. AILA calls on the Biden administration to immediately ensure that Ukrainian nationals who may be eligible to come to the United States may safely and expeditiously do so and to ensure that we do not send people back to danger. AILA calls on the Biden administration to take all necessary steps to expeditiously adjudicate cases filed by or on behalf of Ukrainian nationals and to provide a small measure of security for Ukrainians who may already be in the United States by designating Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status and implementing a temporary moratorium on removals to Ukraine. Only then can the United States live up to its ideal of providing a place of refuge for those fleeing violence.” Our attorneys have friends and clients who are from Ukraine and have family members there. Like many others, we are heartbroken to witness the devastation and loss of life there. We are actively monitoring the situation and advising our clients about various options they may have for immigrating to the United States. You can get more information about the situation by clicking on the link below. Additionally, our attorneys are available to answer any questions you may have about the situation and options that may be available to you. You can contact our office at 203-425-8500.
There are reports that the Biden administration is considering protecting certain Ukrainians living in the United States from deportation due to Russia's military attack against Ukraine. The deportation relief could be authorized through a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas or a Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) order by President Biden. Potential beneficiaries could include Ukrainians with temporary U.S. visas, including students at American universities, as well as those without legal status. Individuals with this status may be able to legally work in the United States. We are continuing to monitor the situation and will reach out to our clients in the event the administration offers TPS or DED to Ukrainian citizens. Earlier this week, the United States Department of State (DOS) ordered the departure of most U.S. direct hire employees from Embassy Kyiv due to the continued threat of Russian military action. Prior to this, the DOS authorized the voluntary departure of U.S. direct hire employees and ordered the departure of eligible family members. The DOS has also suspended consular services (which include interview waiver services). Applicants for U.S. nonimmigrant visas may now apply in any country in which they are physically present and where there are appointments available. As each U.S. Embassy has specific application procedures, applicants should directly contact the US Embassy or Consulate where they wish to apply. Contact information for U.S. embassy and consulates is available at www.travel.state.gov.
If an applicant has an immigrant visa case currently pending with U.S. Embassy Kyiv and would like to transfer processing of an immigration case to another U.S. Embassy, they must contact the receiving U.S. Embassy in that country to authorize and initiate the transfer. The embassy will have a list of requirements which must be satisfied in order to begin the transfer process. Our attorneys are available to answer questions about the situation and provide assistance.  At noon today, February 21, 2022, USCIS opened the online system form H-1B lottery registrations to allow employers to create new Registrant Accounts on my.uscis.gov. If you are an employer hoping to sponsor an employee for an H-1B this year, now is the time to create your online account with USCIS. It is also a good time for employers with existing accounts to confirm that they still have access to that account.
There are a few practical tips to keep in mind when creating and maintaining my.uscis.gov registration accounts: Click "Read More" to continue reading.  As the U.S. economy recovers from the effects of the global pandemic, many U.S. employers are struggling to find qualified employees. In light of this shortage, and with travel restrictions loosening, these employers often consider hiring workers from outside the U.S. What they find, however, is that the process to bring in a foreign worker is replete with strict deadlines and complex rules. With the time period to submit one of the most popular employment visa application (the H1-B) quickly approaching, we wanted to take a moment to address some of the most common questions we get regarding this process.
WHO SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE H-1B VISA LOTTERY? Click "Read More" to continue reading. |
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Aleksandr Y. Troyb, Esq.
Benjamin Gold & Troyb, P.C. 350 Bedford Street - Suite 403 Stamford, Connecticut 06901 Tel. (Eng.): 203-425-8500 Tel. (Rus.): 203-653-2993 Facsimile: 203-425-8600 Archives
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