No doubt you have heard that the President issued a Proclamation extending and changing the travel ban which resulted in so much controversy earlier this year.
The new ban is based on a survey of how countries in the world...more
Premium processing (expedited review by the government) has resumed as of October 3, 2017, for all H-1B petitions. If you are interested in using premium processing for a new or pending H-1B petition, please let us know. ...more
This alert applies to you only if you are in H-1B, H-4, L-1 or L-2 status and you are applying for “adjustment of status” in the United States.
If you have been approved to immigrate (approved PERM or approved Form I-140)...more
Today the White House released the promised updated “travel ban” Executive Order (“Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States”). The original Executive Order was enjoined by a federal court on...more
The budget bill, which was signed into law in December, disallows “Visa Waiver” entries for nationals of Iran, Iraq, Syria or Sudan (whether or not they have ever visited those countries) and persons from any country who have...more
Congressional leaders worked late into the night Tuesday to reach agreement on the federal budget (or omnibus appropriations in Washington-speak). Although the bill has not become law, passage is expected this week....more
The Department of State released a revised October Visa Bulletin Friday, September 25. The revision moves back several categories in the new Dates for Filing charts. (For the original dates, please see our previous post...more
Some hoped-for change is finally here. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) have coordinated a system to allow “early” filing of the final step in the green card process for...more
Visa Delays World Wide -
The Department of State (DOS) has announced that due to a central computer hardware problem, visa issuance has temporarily stopped.
Applicants interviewed after June 9 will experience...more
As promised since President Obama’s Executive Action of November 20, 2014, USCIS is amending its rules to allow work authorization for H-4 spouses in certain instances effective May 26, 2015.
H-4 spouses (spouse...more
The Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) unit of USCIS has begun inspecting L-1 visa holders as planned. FDNS has inspected (and likely is continuing to inspect) H-1B holders for several years. L-1s are the latest...more
The U.S. Department of State issued a statement yesterday regarding the continuing technical problem that is causing delays in both passport and visa issuance. Although they are working on the problem, which was first...more
The December Visa Bulletin (the infamous “waiting line”) shows forward movement or at least no backward movement for all family-based categories. The continued short waiting line for spouses and minor children for permanent...more
In our final note on the CBP/AILA liaison minutes published this week, we are providing a caution regarding CBP’s interpretation of the automatic visa revalidation rules that could be yet another trap for the unwary, albeit...more
The immigrant visa numbers are out for November and fortunately no “retrogression” in the major categories will be seen. (“Retrogression” is when the waiting line moves backward – not a good thing.) Instead many categories...more
President Obama signed into law on October 4, 2013, an extension of the visa program for certain Iraqi nationals to obtain “special immigrant visas”.
To qualify, you must have worked for or on behalf of the U.S....more
The Visa Bulletin for September advances many categories and does not “retrogress” the gains from August....more
Department of State and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services have taken active steps to prepare their agencies to receive applications relating to same-sex couples based on the Windsor decision....more
The time audit your I-9 practices is now.
OK, we’ll let you finish your summer vacation. But right after that, you really need to dig into the I-9 rules and make sure that your company is in compliance....more
News travels fast, so you may have already heard that the waiting line for the EB2 (advance degree professional) category for India jumped from September 1, 2004, in July to January 1, 2008, for August....more
The waiting line for immigration of family members and those sponsored by their employers moves according to determinations made by the Department of State (DOS) each month....more
On April 5, 2013, USCIS announced that it had received more than the allotted 65,000 “regular” and 20,000 US master’s degree applications for H-1B status. ...more
The H-1B “cap” (numerical limit) is 65,000 for “regular” cases plus 20,000 for persons who have earned U.S. master’s degrees. Each year this number is “released” April 1 – 5, in a process reminiscent of the Running of the...more
USCIS has announced it expects that all 65,000 “regular” and all 20,000 U.S. master’s degree H-1B slots will be filled in the first five days of filing (April 1 – 5) for the first time since 2008. The government estimate was...more
A foreign national entering the U.S. usually must present a visa issued by a U.S. consulate at the point of entry. But not always. Here are some exceptions...more