Articles Posted in Uncategorized

President Trump today signed a new Executive Order, explaining the reasons to suspend admission of foreign nationals from certain countries.  The Order, entitled Executive Order Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States  restricts admissions of foreign nationals from six countries: Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Libya, and Sudan.  It removes the prior restrictions for citizens of Iran, and exempts permanent residents of the United States.    The Order states that Iraq represents a “special case”.  While [p]ortions of Iraq remain active combat zones”….”the close cooperative relationship between the United States and the democratically elected Iraqi government, the strong United States diplomatic presence in Iraq, the significant presence of United States forces in Iraq, and Iraq’s commitment to combat ISIS justify different treatment for Iraq.”

The Order applies to foreign nationals from these countries who are:

Continue reading →

The immigration lawyers of Zneimer & Zneimer remind foreign nationals to monitor their passport expiration dates.  Many foreign nationals traveling to the United States do not realize that their period of admission is tied to the expiration date of their passports.

The general rule is that visitors coming to the U.S.  must have passports that are valid for six months beyond the period of their intended stay in the U.S.   This means that a foreign national who has an approved petition for three years, but whose passport expires in eight months, will be admitted only for two months.  This is so because the foreign national must have a passport valid for at least six months beyond the period of admission.  As the foreign national’s passport is valid for eight months, he or she will only be admitted for two months.

There are certain countries, which are exempted from the general passport requirements.  However, citizens of these countries must still have a valid passport for the full period of intended stay but are not required to have a valid passport for six months beyond the intended period of stay.   If a foreign national from such country has an approved petition for three years, but presents at the border for a passport valid for eight months, he or she will be admitted only for eight months instead.

Foreign nationals who fail to realize timely that they have been admitted for a lesser period,  may find themselves and any derivatives out of status and unlawfully present, with possible severe consequences, including termination from employment, inadmissibility, and removability. 

Continue reading →