Self-lawyering refers to individuals representing themselves in legal matters rather than hiring a lawyer. This trend is driven by consumers' lack of accessibility, transparency, and control over the legal process, along with its high cost. The rise of self-lawyering in immigration matters is being supported by state judicial systems and regulators and reinforced by the growth of technology. The limited availability of immigration lawyer information online and the lack of control that clients have in an immigration representation are also factors pushing individuals towards self-lawyering. Corporate consumers are also beginning to adopt the do-it-yourself model for immigration services by employing in-house counsel to handle routine tasks. The trend of self-lawyering is similar to the disruption seen in other industries by the growth of technology and the Internet.

The recent mass layoffs by big tech companies have had a significant impact on H-1B visa petitions. With the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many tech companies have been forced to make cuts, leading to a sharp decrease in the demand for H-1B visa workers, and even new hires freeze. The decrease or freeze may open up more visa slots for non-tech workers who are seeking to work in other industries in the U.S. since each year the H-1B visa cap has been the same for years.

持续至今的乌俄战争对人们的生活产生了或多或少、不同程度的影响。2022年4月，美国公民及移民服务局（USCIS）专门为乌克兰出台了相关政策。这里仅谈一个以持有高级学位的专业人士身份申请美国职业移民（EB-2）及国家利益豁免（“National Interest Waiver,” NIW）、运用乌俄战争对石油和天然气造成的影响来证明国家重要性但不成功的案例。

美国公民及移民法(INA) § 237(2)(A)(i)及§ 212(2)(A)(i) 规定了关于道德败坏的犯罪（"Crime Involving Moral Turpitude，" CIMT）可能导致在美国的非公民被遣返或非公民申请入境时不被批准入境或不被批准在美国境内调整身份。被遣返需要CIMT罪名成立；如果外国人被告上诉，在上诉过程中则不能被遣返。外国人如果CIMT罪名成立，甚至承认犯下了CIMT罪名，都可能被拒绝入境或不被批准在美国境内调整身份。

谨让我们，Altaffer & Chen PLLC, 一家位于美国德克萨斯州达拉斯市的律师事务所，祝您和家人度过一个充满祥和、欢乐和希望的兔年春节！祝您和家人在兔年收获平安、健康和开心！心想事成！

Attorney Lunbing Chen Altaffer is the co-founder and current managing member of Altaffer & Chen PLLC, a law firm based in Dallas, Texas.  In 2022, Attorney Chen significantly participated in two successful EB-1A petitions, which USCIS granted quickly upon respective receipt of each request for premium processing without RFE (request for evidence). One petitioner was a fund manager, and another was an environmental expert. 

Altaffer & Chen PLLC 是一家位于美国德州达拉斯的律师事务所。本所创始及现任管理合伙人，CHEN律师，于2022年实质性参与了两个成功的杰出人才绿卡申请：申请人一个是基金经理，另一个是环保专家。两个申请递交相差几个月的案件均申请了加急处理服务，而USCIS（美国公民及移民服务局）在先后收到案件后也分别很快一次性批准了两个申请，并没有象此类案件中常见的那样，要求申请人提交补充证据材料(Request for Further Evidence, RFE)。

哪些情况下申请人可能不会被批准进入美国或调整在美国的非移民身份呢？美国《移民及国籍法》(INA)第212(a) 条列举了相关情形，如基于与申请人健康有关的情形，申请人是否有相关犯罪记录，是否会危害美国国家安全(如恐怖活动，申请人的独裁政府的成员身份等)，是否可能带来公共负担 (最新相关政策已极大放宽对公共负担的要求)，是否曾非法入境或非法居留，之前有无被遣返，等等。申请人具有举证责任、必须清楚无疑地证明自己不具有相关情形因而不能被批准。当然，这些规定有例外情形。另外，有些情形下申请人可以申请豁免。

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is providing information for nonimmigrant workers whose employment has terminated, either voluntarily or involuntarily. These workers may have several options for remaining in the United States in a period of authorized stay based on existing rules and regulations.

如果申请人没有获得过对其杰出成就认可的次于如诺贝尔奖等国际公认的重大奖项的其他国际或国内认可的奖项或奖金，但基于杰出成就获得过国际或国家认可的奖学金、拨款或经费（scholarships, grants, or funds），这些也有可能作为等同于重大奖项或奖金用于满足第一项条件。当然，毫无疑问，这些因为申请人杰出成就或才能而获得的奖学金、拨款或经费可与申请人获得的其他国际性或国家级的奖项或奖金一并提交来夯实申请人为杰出人才的事实。

8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3) 列出了美国杰出人才绿卡申请的十个条件。申请人必须满足这十个条件中的至少三个，如果申请人不能提供其所在专业领域被国际社会广泛认可的重量级国际奖项的话。本文则在此较为详细地讨论第六个条件 (8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(vi)) : 学术文章撰写 (authorship of scholarly articles),  申请人在专业性或行业性期刊杂志或其他主要媒体上发表其专业领域的学术文章｡ 根据申请人的具体情况，这个条件有时也被同时用来满足第五个条件：具有重大意义的原创性贡献 （Petitioner’s original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related contributions of major significance in the field）。

要获得基于合法永久居民至少五年的入籍资格，您必须：提交入籍申请N-400表格时至少年满18岁; 证明您是美国合法永久居民至少五年; 证明在您提交N-400表格之前在美国连续居住至少五年; 证明您在提交N-400表格之前的五年中至少在美国居住了30个月; 证明您已在对您的居住地有管辖权的州或USCIS地区居住了至少三个月（如果您是学生且在经济上依赖您的父母，您可以在您上学或家人居住的地地方申请入籍）；表明您是一个道德品质良好的人，并且在您提交N-400表格之前至少五年内一直是道德品质良好的人; 表现出对美国宪法原则和理想的忠诚；能够读、写和说基本的英语; 了解和理解美国的历史基础以及政府的原则和形式（公民学）; 及
宣誓效忠美国。