All Articles
Every Beacon article, grouped by section. Use the filters or search to narrow it down.
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Immigration Law
Visa Reciprocity Schedules: Validity, Entries, and Issuance Fees by Country
Two people with the same visa class can receive very different visas. The reciprocity schedule explains why, and it is published country by country by the State Department.
7 min readExplainer -
Immigration Law
Immigrant Visa Medical Examinations and Vaccination Requirements
The immigration medical exam is not a general check-up. It screens for a specific list of health-related grounds of inadmissibility, and only designated doctors may perform it.
7 min readExplainer -
Immigration Law
Moving While an Immigration Case Is Pending: AR-11 and Address-Change Duties
Moving triggers a reporting duty within 10 days and, separately, the practical need to redirect every notice a pending case will generate.
7 min readGuide -
Immigration Law
Cross-Chargeability: Using a Spouse or Parent's Country of Birth in the Queue
Immigrant visa queues are counted by country of birth, not citizenship. A narrow statutory rule lets some families borrow a relative's birthplace and cut the wait.
6 min readExplainer -
Immigration Law
H-2A and H-2B Temporary Worker Programs: Certification and Worker Protections
Both programs run through the Labor Department before they reach immigration. The certification stage is also where most of the promises owed to the worker are created.
6 min readGuide -
Immigration Law
Public Benefits and Immigration Status: Which Programs Are Actually Available
Eligibility for public benefits does not turn on a single yes-or-no question. It turns on a 1996 federal framework, a five-year waiting period, and a patchwork of state choices on top.
7 min readAnalysis -
Immigration Law
Refugee Admission and Adjustment of Status After One Year
A refugee is admitted, not paroled, and is expected to apply for permanent residence after one year here. Approval then backdates the green card to the day of arrival.
6 min readGuide -
Immigration Law
Completing Form DS-260 for an Immigrant Visa: Records, History, and Consistency
The DS-260 is where an immigrant visa case is checked against itself. Answers that contradict the petition or the civil documents are what trigger administrative processing.
6 min readGuide -
Immigration Law
Traveling With a Pending Case: Passport Validity, Visa Stamps, and Revalidation
A visa gets you to the border and nothing more. Before booking a trip with a case pending, three separate documents have to line up: passport, visa, and status.
7 min readGuide -
Immigration Law
P Visas for Athletes, Artists, and Entertainment Groups
The P category covers competing athletes, touring groups, exchange performers, and culturally unique acts. Which subcategory fits decides what the petition has to prove.
7 min readExplainer -
Immigration Law
Visa Retrogression: What Happens When a Priority Date Moves Backwards
Retrogression is not a mistake or a penalty. It is what happens when demand in a category outruns the annual supply of visa numbers before the year ends.
6 min readAnalysis -
Immigration Law
Green Card Delivery Problems: Non-Receipt, Data Errors, and Corrections
A card that never arrives and a card printed with the wrong details are different problems with different fixes — and only one of them is free to correct.
6 min readGuide
