Beginning January 30, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will accept Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers E-13 (EB-1C) multinational...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently published fiscal year (FY) 2023 H-1B cap registration statistics, confirming that more than 48,000 prospective petitioners submitted 483,927 registrations - an...more
The H-2B program is available to employers that can demonstrate a temporary need to supplement their staffs based on a one-time, seasonal, intermittent, or peak-load need basis. The program is generally used by employers with...more
On September 13, 2021, the U.S. Department of State issued the Visa Bulletin for October 2021, which showed minor advancement on priority for backlogged filings of employment-based (EB) immigrant visa (green card)...more
9/28/2021
/ EB-1 ,
EB-2 ,
EB-3 ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Green Cards ,
I-485 Applications ,
Immigration Procedures ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Visa Bulletins ,
Visas ,
Work Visas
On February 24, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it reached the H-2B cap for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2021. The cap was officially reached on February 12, 2021. USCIS explained...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that it will consider granting a second 30-day period of Satisfactory Departure to Visa Waiver Program (VWP) travelers who were already granted Satisfactory...more
On April 2, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it is holding off on plans to issue additional H-2B visas. DHS had previously agreed to make an additional 35,000 visas available to seasonal...more
The U.S. Department of State announced on March 18, 2020, that it has suspended all routine visa services, including immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments, in most countries worldwide. It is not yet known how long the...more
After a tumultuous filing period for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2019, employers that rely on H-2B seasonal workers received some good news. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has agreed to issue up to...more
On January 17, 2017, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule in the Federal Register to “implement the Secretary of Homeland Security’s discretionary parole authority in order to increase and...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) service centers are experiencing severe delays in processing immigration cases due to an overwhelming backlog. USCIS has not publicly identified the cause of the delays or...more
On Friday, January 15, 2016, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security published a final rule—Enhancing Opportunities for H–1B1, CW–1, and E–3 Nonimmigrants and EB–1 Immigrants—in the Federal Register. The new regulations,...more
Congress has until September 30, 2015 to reach an agreement on the 2016 Fiscal Year federal budget. If an agreement to fund the federal government is not reached, immigration processes are expected to be impacted as they were...more
9/24/2015
/ Canada ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
E-Verify ,
Federal Contractors ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Form I-9 ,
H-1B ,
Labor Condition Applications ,
PERM ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Security Checks ,
USCIS ,
Visas
The best way to ensure compliance with immigration regulations is to plan as far in advance as possible and to know when it is necessary to obtain a visa. ...more
As predicted in the August/September 2014 issue of the Immigration eAuthority, the U.S. Department of State’s (DOS) Visa Bulletin for November 2014 indicates that the priority date for the employment-based second preference...more
On October 1, 2014, FY 2015 H-1B cap-subject visa petitions will be valid. Individuals in possession of valid H-1B petitions must take appropriate action to demonstrate work authorization for the petitioning employer. For...more
A recent interim policy memorandum, released by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), clarifies the degree completion requirements for the 17-month extension of Optional Practical Training (OPT) available to...more
As of the evening of October 3, 2013, Congress had not yet reached an agreement to fund the federal government. As a result, some federal agencies that rely solely on government funding cannot provide services and have been...more