Immigration Debate

Perhaps you’re not satisfied with your current locale, or perhaps you’re looking to move to another country where there are more opportunities. There are a lot of reasons why you may want to consider migrating to another country.

As both a long term resident and natural citizen, I’m going to tell you a few of the benefits of Australian living, and why you should note Australia down as a great place to potentially live in.
Now you will find a lot of legal mumbo-jumbo on the web about the technicalities and legalities of immigrating to Australia. That sort of information is all fine and good, but frankly, it’s boring! I’m going to go into the lifestyle benefits of living in Australia, after all, once all the paperwork is done, you want to reap the benefits of your new lifestyle.

Firstly, Australia is a very diverse country, with hundreds of nationalities and a wide range of cultures. During the 20th century there have been waves of immigrants from different geographic locations, and this has created a melting pot of culture, cuisine, arts and traditions.

For many, the Australian weather is perhaps one of the biggest lifestyle benefits. It’s a popular misconception that Australia has only two sorts of weather: hot and dry, and very hot and dry. While this is true for certain parts of Australia, there are actually a wide range of conditions. If you’re into the whole tropical lifestyle, then you should check out the northern part of Australia. However, most people enjoy the long summers and mild winters that are typical in the most populated areas of Australia, namely around Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane.

Given the current economic crisis that is playing havoc on the world’s economy right now; one timely benefit of Australia is its prosperity. While Australia’s economy is still being negatively affected by the global credit crunch, there is a lot more insulation from the crisis compared to other nations. So although there will be a slowing of economic growth, experts predict there will still be a lot of opportunities over the next few years, largely due to Australia’s strong ties with Asia.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, anyone who comes to Australia will be pleasantly surprised by the Australian culture, relaxed attitude and laid back humour. Australians are renowned for their openness and ability to kick back (especially over a cold beer and a hot barbecue!). “A fair go” is something of a national catchphrase, and equality is the backbone of Australian social etiquette, customs and everyday behaviour. No matter what your job, race, religion or what sort of car you drive, most Australians will believe everyone should be given a “fair go” and treated equally.

Sound like your sort of lifestyle? Then if you’re considering immigrating you should definitely jot down Australia as one of your potential nations.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is keeping up with the times by streamlining their application and naturalization procedures for military personnel. This applies to those on active duty and recently discharged.

Generally speaking if you are in one the following areas of service, you will qualify: Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Army, some members of the National Guard (ask an immigration lawyer about this) and the selected reserve of the Ready Reserve.

There are some requirements you need to meet prior to becoming a US citizen. Those requirements are be of good moral character, know the English language and the US government and history and take the oath of allegiance.

If you are qualified, then you are exempt from other naturalization rules - including residency and a physical presence in the US. One thing to note about his area of immigration law is that if you are discharged from the Armed Forces for any reason other than under “honorable conditions” before serving five years, you may have your citizenship revoked.

You might not know this, as it is another consequence of 9/11. Immigrants who have served active duty on or after 9/11 are able to file for immediate citizenship under the special wartime provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This section also covers other veterans. Ask a knowledgeable immigration lawyer about this.

The other section that may be applicable in your circumstance is if you have already been discharged. To qualify for citizenship the requirements are: honorable service of at least one year, permanent resident status, have filed your application within 6 months of leaving the service or while still in the service.

There are other areas of immigration law that will apply to you and your special circumstances. To find out what those are, you need to speak to an attorney familiar with the laws who will assist you during your application process. Immigration law changes all the time and doing things for yourself will not always work.

In an ideal world, everyone would be allowed to work or live wherever they wanted to. That’s actually the case in some parts of the world. Most Europeans are free to settle and work in other countries belonging to the European Union. Things are different here in the United States where a Byzantine labyrinth of rules and regulations pretty much forces foreign nationals to use a U.S. immigration and visa lawyer if they want to work or stay here. While historically immigration has been a major source of population growth and diversity to this nation, and the inscription at the Statue of Liberty beckons to “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free,” today’s reality is quite different for non-residents of the United States.

That’s because immigration has become a major political issue. The United States continues to be a desirable place to live and work that can benefit from immigration, but in the modern global economy it is no longer feasible to have completely open borders. The question then becomes who is allowed to come here and work here, and that is not an easy one to answer. On the one extreme side are the millions of illegal immigrants who simply avoid dealing with the law, on the other extreme people who have done everything right and may have a compelling reason to be here, and still cannot even get a visa.

The latter case is especially frustrating for highly educated professionals who seek to work here and whose contribution to the U.S. economy would be entirely positive, or for executives and professionals who for a variety of reasons need to be transferred within international companies. There are special visa classes for these cases (the H-1B Visa and the L-1 Visa), but the rules and conditions are so complex that there are specialized H-1B visa lawyers to help applicants with the process.

What are those visas? An H-1B visa allows well-educated and credentialed foreign nationals to work in the U.S. if they have a sponsoring employer in the United States and fulfill a number of other requirements. L-1 visas, on the other hand, are for managers, executives, or people with special knowledge who have worked abroad for a non-US company for a certain period of time and now seek to temporarily transfer to a U.S.-based subsidiary of that foreign organization. Again, there are numerous caveats and requirements that can change at any time.

You may have also heard of “PERM,” which is a method used by the United States Department of Labor to issue labor certifications. The idea here was for the government to make sure that companies do not try to sponsor foreign nationals when they could as well hire a US citizen for the job. A PERM labor certification therefore sees to prove that there are no qualified U.S. citizens who could fill the position. The primary difference between H-1B and L-1 visas, and entry via labor certification is that the former are for temporary employment whereas the latter are of more permanent nature with the goal of receiving United States permanent resident “green card.” The process is complex and lengthy, and generally handled by green card lawyers.

These are complex and ever-changing areas of business immigration law, and the bottom line is that most foreign nationals who seek to work in the United States, on a temporary or permanent basis, need the services of a U.S. immigration and visa lawyer.