Legal Dictionary

Employment-Based Immigration: First Preference EB-1

Employment-based, first-preference visa are designed to grant to people who have an extraordinary ability, are an outstanding professor or researcher, or are a multinational executive or manager. To be eligible, you must be able to demonstrate extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics through sustained national or international acclaim, or  demonstrate international recognition for your outstanding achievements in a particular academic field, or demonstrate that you have been employed outside the United States in the 3 years preceding the petition for at least 1 year in managerial capacity by a firm or corporation and you must be seeking to enter the United States to continue service to that firm or organization.

National Interest Waiver

Aliens whose proffered job is in the interest of United States may request a waiver for Labor Certification. This visa is called National Interest Waiver.   Though the jobs that qualify for a national interest waiver are not defined by statute, national interest waivers are usually granted to those who have exceptional ability and whose employment in the United States would greatly benefit the national.  Those seeking a national interest waiver may self-petition  and may file their labor certification directly with USCIS along with their Form I-140, Petition for Alien Worker.

L1 Visa

The L-1A nonimmigrant classification enables a U.S. employer to transfer an executive or manager from one of its affiliated foreign offices to one of its offices in the United States.  This classification also enables a foreign company which does not yet have an affiliated U.S. office to send an executive or manager to the United States with the purpose of establishing one.  

O-1 Visa

The O-1 nonimmigrant visa is for the individual who possesses extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or who has a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry and has been recognized nationally or internationally for those achievements.

The O nonimmigrant classification is commonly referred to as:

1. O-1A: individuals with an extraordinary ability in the sciences, education, business, or athletics (not including the arts, motion pictures or television industry)
2. O-1B: individuals with an extraordinary ability in the arts or extraordinary achievement in motion picture or television industry
3. O-2: individuals who will accompany an O-1, artist or athlete, to assist in a specific event or performance.  For an O-1A, the O-2’s assistance must be an “integral part” of the O-1A’s activity. For an O-1B, the O-2’s assistance must be “essential” to the completion of the O-1B’s production. The O-2 worker has critical skills and experience with the O-1 that cannot be readily performed by a U.S. worker and which are essential to the successful performance of the O-1
4. O-3: individuals who are the spouse or children of O-1’s and O-2’s

Adjustment of Status

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) permits the change of an individual's immigration status while in the United States from nonimmigrant or parolee (temporary) to immigrant (permanent) if the individual was inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States and is able to meet all required qualifications for a green card (permanent residence) in a particular category. The common term for a change to permanent status is “adjustment of status.”

Concurrent Filing

Concurrent Filing, which was originally put into effect on July 31, 2002 by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), allows an alien to file a USCIS Form I-485, adjustment of status application, at the same time as a Form I-140, immigration petition, as long as visa numbers are currently available for the alien’s preference category (EB-1, EB-2, EB-3). In the past, the USCIS required an approval of the I-140 petition before it would allow a beneficiary to apply for permanent resident status. The only restriction to the rule of concurrent filing is that a visa number must be immediately available for the category in order to file the I-485 application. 

International Trade Law

International Trade Law is not a specific law. It is a set of law that regulates the global exchange of goods and services. For a long time, most trade agreements were bilateral, meaning between two nations). However, with the growth of global trade, countries have increasingly used multilateral treaties, such as when nations within a particular region sign an international trade agreements. Current examples include the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA).

The multilateral trade agreement with the most members (signatories) is the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The GATT comprises several rules on international trade, and is now part of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which is not just an agreement, but is also an international organization.

Commercial Law (Business Law) 

The term commercial law describes a wide body of laws that govern business transactions. The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), which has been adopted in part by every state in the United States, is the primary authority that governs commercial transactions. The UCC is divided into nine articles, covering a broad spectrum of issues that arise in commercial transactions. These articles govern the following: sales of goods, leases of goods, negotiable instruments, bank deposits, fund transfers, letters of credit, bulk sales, warehouse receipts, bills of lading, investment Securities, and secured transactions.

Asylum

People who have arrived in United States may seek and be granted protection if they can prove that they have suffered persecution or fear that they will suffer persecution due to Race, Religion, Nationality, Membership in a particular social group and Political opinion. If you are eligible for asylum you may be permitted to remain in the United States.