L-1 Visa petition for Indian

DOS Extends Interview Waiver for Certain Employment Visa Categories

On December 23, 2022, the US Department of State extended the in-person interview waiver for certain non-immigrant visa categories by another year, i.e., through December 31, 2023.  Consular officers will be authorized to continue to waive in-person interviews on a case-by-case basis for certain first-time and/or renewing applicants. 

Under this new policy, the following applicants will continue to remain eligible for an interview waiver through December 31, 2023:

  • Individual petition-based H-1, H-3, H-4, L, O, P, and Q applicants who were previously issued any type of visa, and who have never been refused a visa unless such refusal was overcome or waived, and who have no apparent ineligibility or potential ineligibility; or
  • Individual petition-based H-1, H-3, H-4, L, O, P, and Q applicants who are citizens or nationals of a country that participates in the Visa Waiver Program, provided they have no apparent ineligibility or potential ineligibility and have previously traveled to the United States using an authorization obtained via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).

Applicants renewing a visa in the same classification within 48 months of the prior visa’s expiration also remain eligible for interview waiver until further notice.

Note that consular officers may still require an in-person interview on a case-by-case basis, Applicants are advised to check embassy and consulate websites for more detailed information and specific procedures.


This article is published for clients, friends and other interested visitors for information purposes only. The contents of the article do not constitute legal advice and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Davies & Associates or any of its attorneys, staff or clients. External links are not an endorsement of the content.


EB-1, E-2 Visa for NIEs during Covid

Automatic Extension of Green Cards for Certain Naturalization Applicants

By Zeenat Phophalia, Immigration Attorney, D&A

Effective December 12, 2022, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will grant an automatic extension of the validity of Permanent Resident Cards (green cards) for lawful permanent residents (LPRs) who have applied for naturalization by properly filing Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, on or after this date.

Green card holders who file the N-400 may receive a 24-month extension regardless of filing the Form I-90 – application for green card renewal.  The Form N-400 receipt notice can be presented with the expired green card as evidence of continued status as well as identity and employment authorization under List A of Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) (within the 24-month extension period).

Under USCIS’ prior policy, applicants who did not apply for naturalization at least six months before their green card expiry had to file Form I-90 to maintain their status; applicants who had applied for naturalization at least six months prior were eligible to receive an Alien Documentation, Identification, and Telecommunications (ADIT) stamp in their passport, which served as temporary evidence of their LPR status. 

LPRs who filed for naturalization prior to December 12, 2022 will not receive a Form N-400 receipt notice with the extension.

USCIS is providing this extension in an effort to cut down on the lengthy I-90 processing times that can sometimes impact a green card holder’s I-9 employment verification process.


This article is published for clients, friends and other interested visitors for information purposes only. The contents of the article do not constitute legal advice and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Davies & Associates or any of its attorneys, staff or clients. External links are not an endorsement of the content.


EB-5 Regional Center Program faces reauthorization in the US

New Legislation may add Three Years to Obtaining E2 Visa Via Grenada or Turkey CBI

UPDATE: CONGRESS HAS NOW PASSED THIS BILL. IT WAS FOLDED INTO THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT (NDAA) AND PASSED THE HOUSE AND SENATE ON DECEMBER 16. IF YOU ARE SEEKING AN E2 VISA VIA CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT, PLEASE CONTACT US TO DISCUSS YOUR OPTIONS.

The US House of Representatives has passed the Advancing Mutual Interests and Growing Our Success (AMIGOS) Act, which could have repercussions for those seeking an E2 Visa via Grenada or Turkey.

While the AMIGOS Act is aimed at opening the E2 Treaty Visa and the E1 Treaty Trader Visa to Portuguese citizens, it also includes a clause stipulating anyone acquiring citizenship of an E2 country or E1 country via investment must hold that citizenship for three years before they are eligible for to apply for an E2 visa or E1 visa.

How might this ruling affect me and my potential E2 Visa application?

The E2 visa permits a citizen of a treaty country to move to the United States for the purposes of investing in and operating a business or franchise. If you are not a citizen of an E2 treaty country, you are currently permitted to become a citizen of an E2 country and then apply for an E2 visa. There are currently no rules regarding the length of time you must hold citizenship of an E2 country before applying.

Davies & Associates was one of the first US law firms to assist clients through this two step process of acquiring citizenship by investment and then an E2 visa. Most of our clients typically obtain citizenship by investment (CBI) of either Turkey or Grenada because both are E2 Treaty countries with relatively fast and cost-effective routes to citizenship. Once we have assisted our clients with obtaining their Turkish or Grenadian passport, we then assist them with applying for an E2 visa. The process can take as little as six to nine months, but under the changes proposed in the AMIGOS Act this would increase to just over three years.

In fact, just last week, we obtained an E2 visa for an Indian client who first had to obtain a Grenada passport because India does not hold an E2 Treaty with the United States. The whole process was wrapped up in less than a year (including a six-month delay because E2 processing was suspended at the US Embassy in Barbados which covers Grenada). India is not the only country not to be eligible for the E2 visa – Russia, China, Vietnam, South Africa also do not hold E2 treaties with the US. Click here for a full list of countries with an E2 treaty with the United States. If your country is not on the list you would first need to obtain citizenship of an E2 country.

Will the AMIGOS Act become law?

The AMIGOS Act has just passed the House of Representatives. For it to become law, it would also need to pass the Senate. Frequently the bill introduced in one chamber is not the same as the bill introduced in the other chamber. If different bills are passed in both houses then the two bills go to “conference” where the differences are ironed out into one mutually agreeable bill.

We currently do not have visibility of the Senate bill or whether this would be given time in the Senate. With one chamber, the House, controlled by the Republicans, and the other chamber, the Senate, controlled by Democrats, it can often be tricky to get any legislation passed. However, since the target of this bill is improving bilateral relations with Portugal, it may receive bipartisan support. The changes to the length of time a person must hold citizenship are not the headline part of the bill and may pass under the radar.

Next Steps…

As we do not know whether or not the AMIGOS Act will pass, we cannot advise clients definitively on this matter. If you are considering an E2 application via Grenada or Turkey you may wish to try to complete the process soon in case the AMIGOS Act becomes law.

There is no information on whether this would retroactively impact people who already hold an E2 visa based upon Grenada or Turkish citizenship that has been held for less than three years. Please note, the AMIGOS Act, as passed by the House only impacts people who obtain citizenship by investment. If you obtain citizenship of an E2 country via non-investment routes, you would still be permitted to apply for the E2 visa immediately under the proposed law.

It is also worth noting that, for some of our Grenada CBI clients, the primary applicant has filed a joint application with their spouse. But for others, the primary applicant has applied for Grenada CBI as an individual and then the spouse has obtained their passport later by virtue of their marriage to a Grenadian citizen. It is difficult to know at this stage how a US consular officer would view an E2 application from the spouse under this second scenario – i.e. whether they would be subjected to the three year rule proposed in the AMIGOS Act.

This is a developing story. To learn the latest information and to learn more about CBI to E2, please contact our firm for a free consultation.


This article is published for clients, friends and other interested visitors for information purposes only. The contents of the article do not constitute legal advice and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Davies & Associates or any of its attorneys, staff or clients. External links are not an endorsement of the content.


Transmission of US Citizenship to Children Born Abroad

By Zeenat Phophalia Immigration Attorney, D&A

Several thousands of Americans live and work outside the United States and have children in different countries.  This, however does not mean that such children born outside of America to either both or one American parent would be deprived of US citizenship.  While it’s common knowledge that anyone born in the US is automatically a US citizen by virtue of birth, there is much less familiarity with citizenship laws that may apply to children born abroad to US citizen parents.  Laws governing such acquisition of US citizenship can be complex and have been amended several times, thus making them difficult to navigate. 

The determination regarding acquisition of citizenship by a child born outside the US is based on a variety of factors, including the law in existence at the time of the child’s birth, the total amount of physical presence of the US citizen parent(s) prior to the child’s birth and, in some cases, the marital status of the parents. 

This is quite a complicated and nuanced topic of immigration law and this article seeks to provide a brief overview and general guidelines.

Broadly, these are the main categories in which children born outside America (abroad) can obtain US citizenship through their parent/s:

  1. By Birth.

A child born abroad in wedlock to two US citizen parents acquires US citizenship at birth if at least one of the parents had a residence in America (or one of its outlying possessions) prior to child’s birth and at least one of the US citizen parents is a biological parent.

On the other hand, a child born abroad in wedlock to a US citizen and a non-US citizen parent (on or after November 14, 1986) will acquire US citizenship at birth if the US citizen parent had been physically present in America (or one of its outlying possessions) prior to the child’s birth for at least five years (out of which at least two years were after the parent attained age 14).

Soon after the child’s birth abroad, the parents should contact the nearest local US consulate or embassy to obtain a formal document certifying the acquisition of US citizenship by their child, known as, Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA). 

  • Child Residing in the US.

A child under 18 years of age can acquire US citizenship if he or she has at least one US citizen parent by birth or naturalization, has been admitted to the US in lawful permanent resident status (as an immigrant) and resides in the country in the legal and physical custody of his or her US citizen parent, after admission to the US.

Under this provision, the child can apply for a US passport based on the proof of: his or her relationship to the US citizen parent (which is typically evidenced by be a certified copy of the foreign birth certificate); and child having resided in the US in the legal and physical custody of the US citizen parent(s) pursuant to a lawful admission for permanent residence (evidenced by the I-551 stamp or the child’s permanent resident card and other relevant documents such as school and medical records, etc.).

  • Child Residing Outside the US.

A child under 18 years of age who lives abroad in the legal and physical custody of the US citizens parent/s, can acquire US citizenship if such child has at least one US citizen parent by birth or naturalization; the US citizen parent has been physically present in the United States for a total of at least 5 years (at least two of which are after age 14) at the time of or after the child’s birth (but before the child turns 18).  The child needs to be temporarily present in the US pursuant to a lawful admission to apply for a certificate citizenship through the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and take an oath of naturalization to complete his or he citizenship acquisition. 

To learn more about family immigration, please contact us for a free consultation.


This article is published for clients, friends and other interested visitors for information purposes only. The contents of the article do not constitute legal advice and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Davies & Associates or any of its attorneys, staff or clients. External links are not an endorsement of the content..

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