On February 2, USCIS announced that the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the first half of fiscal year 2015 has been reached. January 26, 2015 was the final receipt date for new H-2B worker petitions requesting an...more
On January 13, 2015 Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the Immigration Innovation Act of 2013 into the...more
It’s a little known fact that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) won’t approve an employment-based visa petition before checking the company information against the Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) database via the...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has implemented changes recently that affect many individuals seeking to travel to the United States, US employers of H-1B and L-1 workers, and users of some USCIS services. This...more
On October 1, 2014, the U.S. Department of State will begin accepting requests to register for the 2016 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV-2016), also known as the Green Card Lottery. The Diversity Lottery Program provides...more
As we reported on Monday, due to a massive software failure of the Department of State’s Consular Consolidated Database (CCD), there continue to be delays in the issuance of visas at consular posts around the globe. Passports...more
In recent days, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) has published several proposed rules in the Federal Register, which, if adopted, will bring welcome and much needed regulatory changes....more
The Embassy of India in Washington, D.C. has named Cox & Kings Global Services Pvt. Ltd. (“CKGS”) as the new service provider for Indian Visas, Overseas Citizenship of India (“OCI”), Person of Indian Origin (“PIO”),...more
This advisory summarizes key travel and employment issues if you are an F-1 student with Optional Practical Training (OPT) employment eligibility and an H-1B filing on your behalf has been accepted by US Citizenship and...more
On April 7, 2014, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it had received more than enough H-1B petitions to meet the numerical limit for fiscal year 2015 cap-subject H-1B visas, which includes both...more
As of April 1, 2014, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H-1B petitions for Fiscal Year 2015 (FY2015). Upon approval, petitions for FY2015 will allow foreign nationals to work for...more
The April 1, 2014 deadline for filing H-1B visa petitions for Fiscal Year 2015 will be here before you know it. We recently published an alert with more information on when you should file and H-1B caps....more
This alert is a reminder of the rapidly approaching April 1, 2014 “deadline” for the filing of H-1B visa petitions for Fiscal Year 2015. Petitions for the new fiscal year, which starts on October 1, 2014, will be accepted by...more
In a welcome move that acknowledges the hardships caused by the government shutdown, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has advised that if an H-1B petitioner submits evidence establishing that the...more
As of October 17, 2013, the government shutdown in effect since October 1, 2013 has come to an end. The shutdown had negatively impacted immigration processing in matters handled by the Department of State, United States...more
On October 1, 2013, the U.S. Department of State will begin accepting requests to register for the 2015 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV-2015), also known as the Green Card Lottery. The Diversity Lottery Program provides...more
In recent weeks there have been increased instances of a new telephone scam targeting USCIS applicants and petitioners. Scammers are calling applicants and petitioners using a technique called “Caller ID spoofing” to display...more
On April 10, 2013, we reported that USCIS had conducted the lottery process for fiscal year 2014 cap-subject H-1B petitions. Those petitions that were selected and approved will be valid starting October 1, 2013. However, as...more
In its first decision regarding same-sex immigration benefits since the June 26, 2013, Supreme Court decision United States v. Windsor, which held that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) is unconstitutional,...more
On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Windsor that Section 3 of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) is unconstitutional. This Section of DOMA prohibited the U.S. government from conferring any...more
7/5/2013
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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
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It's time for both Democrats and Republicans to recognize the many compelling reasons for overhauling our current immigration system.
Start with the economic arguments, which are overwhelming. Our high-tech visa...more