USCIS has posted a page outlining of some of the Executive Announcements announced by President Obama on November 20, 2014.

Tonight, President Obama stated in an address to the nation that he would use his executive authority to deal with problems in our broken immigration system.

The White House has announced the President Obama will address the country tomorrow night to explain "commonsense steps" President Obama plans to take regarding immigration reform. The announcement will air tomorrow night, November 20th at 8 PM Eastern Time.

Kathryn N. Karam is quoted in today's Houston Business Journal article on the Department of State's recent announcement that it will now extend the validity period for visitor visas issued to Chinese Nationals to ten years.

On Veterans Day, I am thankful to all of our Veterans for their service to our country. In particular, I remember my experience representing a Desert Storm Veteran a few years ago. He had been a permanent resident for many years. He had also been convicted of possession of cocaine in 1986. He had turned his life around, and he served our country for many years with very good reviews from his supervising officers. He was honorably discharged when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Over 20 years after his conviction, when he applied to renew his greencard, he received a Notice to Appear in Immigration Court for a controlled substance conviction. We successfully persuaded the government to terminate his removal case and applied for citizenship under military naturalization provisions. He became a United States citizen just before Christmas in 2011, and it was one of the most rewarding cases I have been involved in. He was thanked for his service to our country at the conclusion of his naturalization interview and the Immigration Service noted that they would make a special announcement about him at his oath ceremony.

The U.S. Department of State has issued the December 2014 Visa Bulletin. Notable changes include:

The U.S. Department of State has announced that beginning November 12th, the United States and China will both increase the validity period of business and tourist visitor visas and student and exchange visitor visas. This will serve as a major benefit to Chinese nationals seeking to visit the United States temporarily may obtain 10-year multiple entry visas, whereas in previous years, visitor visas were issued to Chinese nationals for only one year.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced today that travelers seeking to use the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) program to enter the United States under the Visa Waiver Program will be required to provide additional information in order to improve security.

Read Kathryn N. Karam's latest article in Lebanon Times Magazine on the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Employment Creation program.

Read Kathryn N. Karam's article on p. 4 of the latest issue of Houston Oil Patch Magazine.