Law Offices of Jane Oak & Associates

12/01/2022

LOJO IS HIRING and looking for a new Administrative Assistant!
Full-Time Position / Monday-Friday

Job Description - Answer calls, schedule appointments, manage office calendar, help to maintain the office, assist in mailing out letters and file, and support attorneys and legal assistants by gathering information from clients.

Looking for someone who can/is:
• Multi-task and prioritize various demands and tasks
• Polite and professional to clients and office staff
• Organize and adapt to the needs of the office
• Eager to learn new administrative processes and support the team in needed areas
• Analyze information and data and generate relevant reports pertaining to the growth of LOJO

Skills
• Professional communication skills (verbal and writing)
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office
• Organization
• Problem-solving
• Bilingual (Korean, Chinese, or Spanish preferably)

Apply by emailing [email protected] and send us your resume!

03/04/2022

https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/secretary-mayorkas-designates-ukraine-for-temporary-protected-status-for-18-months

In an effort to support Ukraine, our office will be offering to prepare TPS applications for Ukrainians at NO CHARGE for the entire month of APRIL 2022. After that, we will charge $350 for TPS applications.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the designation of Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months.

12/05/2020

Yes!

“Dreamers” will be allowed to apply for protection after a judge rules that the DHS order was not valid.

05/05/2020

For the month of May, we will be offering free consultations! We usually charge a consultation fee but are waiving it this month. Please call (213) 738-8989 to schedule an appointment!

04/27/2020

As many of you already know, President Trump signed an Executive Order on Wednesday, April 22, which temporarily suspends the issuance of immigrant visas to foreigners seeking permanent residency from abroad (also known as immigrant visas) for 60 days. The Order does NOT apply to those who are in the U.S. already, seeking to change their status to permanent residents with USCIS (also known as Adjustment of Status).

The Order also does NOT apply to:
Lawful permanent residents of the United States (including conditional permanent residents)
Spouses and children of U.S. citizens
Healthcare professionals (including physicians, nurses, healthcare professionals, or research scientists)
Members of the Armed Forces and their spouses or children
Applicants for visas pursuant to the EB-5 program
The Order does not directly impact or affect non-immigrant applications filed within the United States, such as applications for change of status or extension of status (non-Immigrant categories include E-2, E-3, H-1B, L-1, O-1, F-1, etc.)

The current Order is likely to affect a relatively small group of people, given the exemptions included, and given the fact that travel restrictions and in-person visa interviews abroad had already been suspended, even before the Order. If you have specific questions about the Order and how it may affect your case, please call our office to schedule an appointment to speak to on of our attorneys.

Our office continues to monitor any news and policy changes that directly relate to immigration and the services that we provide to our clients.

04/21/2020

We realize that you may have several questions about President Trump's recent Twitter announcement about signing an executive order halting immigration. It is rumored that he may sign such an Executive Order sometime this week, however, very little information about the classes of immigrants and non-immigrants who may be affected by this has been provided to the public. We anticipate that there will likely be a federal injunction filed against this Executive Order, likely challenging the legality and constitutionality of such an order, in which case, the ex*****on and implementation of this Order will also likely be stymied as well.

USCIS has already postponed and/or delayed all in-person services, including biometrics appointments and interview appointments - both of which have always been required prior to green card approval and issuance. Due to Covid-19 and limitations of these in-person services, we already anticipated that greencard issuances would be delayed even before the Executive Order.

Our office continues to closely monitor the situation and will be posting updates on the current situation on our page (Link: Law Offices of Jane Oak & Associates). We are happy to answer specific questions you may have if/when the Executive Order is signed and invite you to schedule a call with one of our attorneys. However, at this time, no such Executive Order has been signed and details as to what the Executive Order will contain are yet to be revealed. We thank you for your understanding and patience.

04/03/2020

USCIS Office Closures

On March 18, 2020, USCIS temporarily closed field offices and application support centers (ASCs) due to the COVID-19 pandemic, suspending all routine in-person services. These closures have been extended through May 3, 2020.

USCIS plans to reopen its offices on May 4 unless the public closures are extended further. However, USCIS is still operational and continues to perform duties that do not involve contact with the public, and emergency services are available for limited situations. For example, USCIS service centers continue to accept routine filings, and ESTA visitors are permitted to apply for Satisfactory Departure to obtain a 30-day extension on their status.

Field offices will send notices to applicants with scheduled appointments and ceremonies. USCIS asylum offices will send notices of cancellation and of new interview appointments. Only after USCIS resumes normal operations will ASC appointments be rescheduled. Applicants who need InfoPass appointments must call the USCIS Contact Center to reschedule them.

The USCIS Contact Center is still operational. Information specific to each field office closure can be found on uscis.gov/about-us/uscis-office-closings, and USCIS encourages applicants to check on the status of their local office closure before calling the Contact Center.

Certain USCIS field offices have permanently closed. These are the field offices in:
• Fort Benning, Georgia
• Fort Jackson, South Carolina
• Fort Sill, Oklahoma
• Greer, South Carolina
• Montgomery, Alabama
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

The following USCIS international offices have closed permanently:
• Amman, Jordan Field Office
• Athens, Greece Field Office
• Bangkok, Thailand Field Office
• Ciudad Juarez, Mexico Field Office
• Frankfurt, Germany Field Office
• Johannesburg, South Africa Field Office
• Lima, Peru Field Office
• Monterrey, Mexico Field Office
• Manila, Philippines Field Office
• Moscow, Russia Field Office
• Port-au-Prince, Haiti Field Office
• Seoul, South Korea Field Office
• Bangkok, Thailand District Office
• Mexico City, Mexico District Office
• Rome, Italy District Office

The following USCIS international offices are temporarily closed to the public until further notice:
• Nairobi, Kenya Field Office
• Rome, Italy Field Office
• Beijing, China Field Office
• Guangzhou, China Field Office

Disclaimer: The content in this article is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact an experienced immigration attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem.

For more information, please contact [email protected], or call (213) 738-8989 to schedule a consultation with an immigration attorney from the Law Offices of Jane Oak & Associates.

We list offices that are closed or have temporarily changed hours. This information can change quickly, so please check this page on the day of your appointment.

03/24/2020

Our hearts and prayers go out to all of the people who are suffering due to the COVID-19 crisis. Our entire staff is working from home, but we are still able to provide immigration counsel over telephone/video, and we are able to prepare and send out applications and petitions to USCIS.

It is our understanding that USCIS is still receiving and processing applications and petitions, but with potentially longer processing times. The only things that they have stopped are interviews, ASC appointments, and premium processing services for I-129 and I-140 petitions. It is important to note that USCIS will still expect timely filings to change or extend your status, so it is imperative to still seek legal counsel early in order to get the filings done before your status expires.

We have decided to make all consultations free of charge through the end of April, so please call our office at (213) 738-8989 to set up an appointment if you have any questions or concerns about your immigration status or process. Thank you!

03/11/2020

In honor of our 15th year (and Jane's 20th year practicing law), here are a few photos of the individuals working hard on your cases! We are LOJO!

PC: James Estacio Kim

02/28/2020

New H-1B Electronic Registration Process

For the Fiscal Year 2021 H-1B cap season, USCIS will implement a new electronic registration process for the next H-1B lottery. Employers seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions, including advanced degree exemption petitions, must first electronically register and pay a $10 registration fee.

Before this electronic registration process was in place, H-1B employers filed their full H-1B petition packages with USCIS. USCIS would randomly select petitions and then return all unselected petition packages. This resulted in a lot of unnecessary paperwork and mailing costs.

Now, H-1B employers will be required to complete registration process that requires only basic information about their company and the beneficiary worker. The initial registration period will be from March 1 to 20. The H-1B lottery process will randomly select from these electronic registration. Selected registrations will then be eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions.

USCIS has posted instructions informing employers how to complete the registration process on its website. If USCIS does not receive enough registrations and petitions to each the numerical allocations, the Service may continue accepting registrations or open an additional registration period.

Disclaimer: The content in this article is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact an experienced immigration attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem.

For more information, please contact [email protected], or call (213) 738-8989 to schedule a consultation with an immigration attorney from the Law Offices of Jane Oak & Associates.

11/20/2019

Security-Enhanced Travel Documents

On October 24, USCIS began producing new security-enhanced U.S. travel documents to prevent tampering, counterfeiting and fraud. Prior versions of the travel document will remain valid until their expiration dates.

The new travel documents are booklets that have the appearance of a passport and can replace two other currently existing documents:
1. They can serve as Reentry Permits, allowing lawful permanent residents (LPRs) to return to the U.S. after temporary international travel. In some cases, a Reentry Permit can be used for travel in place of a passport.
2. They can serve as Refugee Travel Documents, allowing refugees or asylees to return to the U.S. after temporary international travel. In some cases, a Refugee Travel Document can be used for travel in place of a passport.

The new travel document will have the following new features:
• A redesigned booklet cover
• Montages of notable U.S. architecture throughout the booklet
• A combination of visible, microscopic and hidden (required laboratory examination) security features

Disclaimer: The content in this article is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact an experienced immigration attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem.

For more information, please contact [email protected], or call (213) 738-8989 to schedule a consultation with an immigration attorney from the Law Offices of Jane Oak & Associates.