Students on F-1 status need to ensure they maintain status. A failure to maintain status could result in a violation which could have an impact on their immigration future. At PLG we often see requests for evidence questioning maintenance of status for F-1 students, who have submitted an H-1B cap petition requesting a change of…
Category Archives: Blogs
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Continuous Residence And Prolonged Absences
In this article, we will discuss the continuous residence requirement as it relates to filing an application for Naturalization. For the full requirements for Naturalization please refer to our previous article: https://www.patellegal.com/naturalization-the-final-step-in-the-immigration-process/ The concept of continuous residence refers to the applicant maintaining a permanent dwelling place in the US, typically for a period of 5…
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DHS Withdraws Its Duration Of Status Rule
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will now withdraw its duration of status rule. Students have for a long time had the benefit of being admitted for the duration of status. In other words, unlike other nonimmigrants, they are not admitted for a specific length of time. This flexibility has allowed them to extend their…
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Conservatorship Basics
Divorce is already difficult enough but things can become considerably more challenging when the fight is over children. This is especially true when the parents simply have no experience with the legal system and no idea what of their potential fates could be. This brief overview is in no way intended to be exhaustive in…
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The Fundamentals of a Hotel Transaction: Buyer’s Edition
Hotel investors typically have two paths to take ownership of a hotel asset: Build or Buy. In my experience as a hospitality and transactional attorney, I have learned that those that build (via ground-up new construction or re-development of an existing asset) generally prefer to build a hotel asset over buying an existing asset for…
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The 5 Year Rule – Getting Remarried as a Green Card Holder
Obtaining a green card through marriage is often described as one of the easiest ways to obtain lawful permanent residency. However, what happens if after obtaining the green card you get divorced? Can you get remarried and sponsor your new spouse? While this is certainly possible, if an individual received a green card through marriage,…
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USCIS Confirms It Will Suspend Biometrics For Certain Nonimmigrants
USCIS has stated it will suspend the biometrics requirements for H-4, L-2, E-1, E-2 and E-3 applicants from May 17th, 2021 for a period of 2 years. The biometric requirement was introduced by the Trump administration and was particularly cumbersome for H-4 and L-2 applicants as it meant that their applications would no longer be…
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Visa Bulletin Predictions For Employment and Family-Based Cases And DOS Announces Tiered Approach To Prioritize Visas
During an interview with Charlie Oppenheim of the State Department, the following statements and predictions were made in relation to employment-based and family-based categories. Employment-based visas In 2021 there are approximately 262,000 employment-based visas. However, it is expected that the Department of State (DOS) will not be able to process all these visas due to…
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The Importance of a Commercial Lease Review (Part 2)
In my previous article, I discussed the importance of a lease review. The lease agreement is the binding agreement between the Lessor and Lessee and many important considerations exist. In most leases, the Lessor-Lessee relationship is known as the Landlord-Tenant relationship. There are many important considerations when reviewing a lease. A few additional items we…