New US immigration rule will strain families-immigration lawyers

United States, 17th August: As per a changed US visa rule, Americans living abroad will have to wait for longer periods before they can bring their spouses or children who are not US citizens.

And this is going to prove to be a big botheration for Americans, feel immigration attorneys.

The new rule is especially applicable to the Americans living abroad if they need to visit the US more often for varied reasons, including professional or personal ones.

US I-130--The new US visa ruling becoming effective from 15th August, 2011 involves processing of I-130, a US immigration document enabling entry of any foreign relative of a US citizen into the nation. Aim of the introduction of this new US visa ruling is to make the process of US immigration consistent, efficient and centralized, the US immigration officials assert.

Old US visa system more reliable—immigration lawyers--The processing time for applications mailed to Chicago office by Americans living overseas having non US citizens is going to be five months or lesser under the new US visa rules, the immigration authorities estimate.

However, under the earlier rules applicable for Americans living overseas, processing time for applications normally takes anything between one to three months and it does not require hiring the services of any immigration lawyer.

The earlier system is also considered to be more reliable as the element of risk with regard to loss of documents is quite less, the immigration lawyers say.

Expatriates feel humiliated by new US visa rules--Even expatriates are venting out their wrath and discontent at the new changes in the US visa rules. They even allege that the USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) did not bother to give sufficient time to Americans staying abroad.

An American expatriate living overseas, Wayne Weightman, feels the new US visa ruling is snatching away from Americans living overseas the ability to move back to the US timely.

Weightman, a US citizen, is currently working as an immigration consultant in Southeast Asia and lives with a Cambodian spouse and adopted kids. The new changed US visa rules are going to have a stiffening effect on US firms doing business abroad, US expatriates further allege.

The US immigration agency, on the other hand, says it had informed nearly 7,000 Americans living overseas a couple of months ago and also notified the change on its official website.