Integrity Legal

For those who bring a foreign fiance or fiancee to the United States of America, an often asked question is: “What if my fiancee wants to work in the USA prior to her adjustment of status?” The answer to this question is somewhat complicated. When a foreign fiancee or spouse enters the United States on a non-immigrant K1 visa or K3 Visa, the entrant is generally not authorized to take up employment in the USA until that alien either adjusts status to permanent residence (Green Card) or obtains employment authorization. Recently, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced that, in an effort to decrease immigration fraud, new Employment Authorization Documents are to be issued. The following is a direct quote from USCIS’s official statement:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced that it has revised the Employment Authorization Document (EAD), or Form I-766, to incorporate the addition of a machine-readable zone on the back of the card.. This update to the EAD is part of USCIS’s ongoing efforts to deter immigration fraud. Starting May 11, USCIS began issuing the revised EAD cards. The machine-readable zone is compliant with International Civil Aviation Organization standards. USCIS also removed the two-dimensional bar code on the backside of the card and moved the informational box of text to just beneath the magnetic stripe on the card. The revised card retains all of its existing security features.

In most cases, foreign fiancees or spouses of US Citizens opt to wait for permanent residence before taking up employment. However, in some instances this is not the case as there are increasing numbers of foreign fiancees and spouses who work for multi-national companies. These international businesses sometimes wish to have their non-US Citizen employee start work in the USA as soon as they can. Therefore, there are situations in which speedy employment authorization is a necessity.

In the past, K3 Visa holders could seek employment authorization at the port of entry when they entered the USA. As the K-3 Visa is being increasingly phased out, this method of receiving employment authorization is being employed less frequently. Another issue that often arises in the context of Employment Authorization is that of advance parole. Holders of a US fiance visa cannot leave the United States prior to adjustment of status and simultaneously maintain their lawful K1 status unless they apply for, and receive, an advance parole travel document.  In some cases, couples making an application for advance parole will also make an application for an EAD in order to work in the USA.

Tags: advance parole, AP, EAD, Employment Authorization Document, Fiance Visa Thailand, I-766, K1 Visa, K1 Visa Thailand, K3 Visa, K3 Visa Thailand, United States Citizenship and Immigration Service, US Fiance Visa Thailand, USCIS
Posted in Adjustment of Status, Fiance Visa Thailand, K-3 Visa Thailand, K1 Visa, K1 Visa Thailand, K2 Visa, K2 Visa Thailand, K3 Visa, US Visa Thailand, US Visa and Immigration, USCIS | 3 Comments »

Recently, the website ThaiVisa.com announced that the Thai Cabinet has drafted proposed legislation for the enactment of laws that would tackle the difficult legal issues surrounding surrogate parents and reproductive rights. The following is quoted from ThaiVisa.com:

BANGKOK: — The Cabinet yesterday approved draft legislation for children born through the use of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART), deputy government spokesman Bhumin Leeteeraprasert said.

This law permits two kinds of surrogate pregnancy: the one that uses the egg and sperm of a married couple; or one that uses the egg or sperm of either a husband or a wife, paired with the sperm or egg of another person.

According to the draft law, the Juvenile and Family Court would be given the authority of judging paternity cases for such children and a committee would be set up to protect the children. It also stipulates that the surrogate mother should be married, and her husband should consent to another man’s sperm being used. The draft law also authorises the Medical Council to set the criteria, methods and financial conditions for the care of surrogate mothers before, during and after the pregnancy.

The draft law also covers the criteria for the donation of eggs or sperm, their storage and the use of ART. It also prohibits the use of the egg or sperm of donors who have died without leaving written consent.

It also lists punishment for unethical doctors and makes transitory provision for endorsing medical professionals to be responsible and provide ART services according to the Medical Council’s regulations.

It also covers a transitory provision to endorse the rights of those born through the use of ART before this law goes in effect provided a request is filed with the authorised court to declare a surrogate child as a legitimate offspring of a couple that resorted to ART.

In the United States, many of these issues come up in court proceedings as many of these issues are, at their root, constitutional questions in the USA. In Thailand, as technology progresses at an increasingly dizzying rate, these issues must be dealt with or else those who wish to enjoy the benefits of technological progress will be left in something of a legal “limbo” if an unforeseen problem should arise. It is also interesting to note that the proposed law would address the issue of those would die and leave their genetic material in the care of those who can store such items. This author applauds the Thai Cabinet for choosing to prohibit the use of such genetic material unless the person to whom it belongs bequeaths it to another person prior to their death in an instrument such as a Thai Will.

For further related information please see: Thailand Property Law or US Fiance Visa Thailand.

Tags: Assisted Reproductive Technologies, Reproductive Rights Thailand, Surrogate Parent Thailand, Thailand Property Law, US Fiance Visa Thailand
Posted in Fiance Visa Thailand, Thailand Property, Upcoming Legislation | No Comments »