As a business owner, keeping informed about the finer points of employment law is important. If you're getting ready to hire your first employees, you need to be sure that you understand exactly what you can and cannot do. Don't risk getting yourself into legal trouble by asking the wrong question at the interview or making an off-hand comment that's considered legally unacceptable. I created this site to give you the basics of employment law expectations. I hope that the information here helps you to understand what you should and shouldn't do as you're interviewing and hiring your first staff members.
Irene Robertson
If you are filing an immigration petition to have a relative be able to relocate to the United States, it will help you to know ahead of time why the petition might be denied. If you know now, then you can take steps to ensure your application does not trigger one of those causes. Waiting for approval or denial of the petition can be nerve-wracking, but if you've done all you can to satisfy the requirements and avoid those denials that are avoidable, the wait should be a lot calmer.
Missing a Deadline
Some versions of the petition, for lack of a better term, have deadlines. For example, if you are the person who is the subject of the petition, and your spouse, who was supposed to file the petition, dies, AllLaw says you can still file another petition, but you need to do it within two years of your spouse's death. If you forget to do that, the petition can be denied easily. Even if there have been no deaths, keep track of all potential deadlines and do not put off doing paperwork.
Missing a Fee
Sadly, immigration fees change all the time, often with little warning if you're not constantly watching them. Double-check the fees at the time you file the petition. In other words, don't check the fees when you start filling out the petition or when you decide to file in the first place. Check the day you send it in. If you have other forms you need to fill out and send in, check the fees for those on the days you send them as well. It sounds like a pain, but it will save you much more pain later on.
Not Enough Documentation
Whether you forgot a copy of a birth certificate or your marriage was a whirlwind romance without a lot of prior contact, a lack of documentation showing your relationship and the history of the relationship can tank your petition in a heartbeat. Petitions based on marriage can be particularly tricky because there is so much fraud out there; immigration officials may scrutinize your petition if it's based on a quick marriage. Even sibling and parent relationships need adequate documents because immigration officials won't go simply by last names or by people just saying you're related. You need to provide documentation that proves, without a doubt, that everyone is who they say they are.
It is also possible to have your petition denied because immigration officials made a mistake, but there's not much you can do about that except talk to a good immigration attorney at a law firm like Tesoroni & Leroy to find out how to re-file. In the meantime, you can watch out for the other potential denial reasons and do your best to avoid those.