The U.S. Department of State has announced that annual visa limits for fiscal year (FY) 2024 have been reached for the following employment-based categories: EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, EW (other workers), EB-4, and EB-5 unreserved....more
On Monday, September 9, 2024, the U.S. Department of State (DOS), working in close collaboration with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), announced publicly that all available immigrant visas in the...more
1. Choosing the Right Legal Structure - 1.1 Introduction - Establishing a business entity in the United States can be an important strategic step for any international company that wants to avail itself of the...more
Each month, federal immigration authorities publish a list of dates informing immigrant visa applicants when they should expect to be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to government officials. This...more
Earlier this year, federal immigration officials announced concrete measures to reduce the massive backlog of petitions and applications currently pending at the agency’s National Service Centers – but has this promise been...more
October 1, 2023 marked the start of the federal government’s fiscal year 2023 (FY 2023), with the Department of State (DOS) October Visa Bulletin taking effect the same day. What is sure to be disappointing to many is the...more
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has been making significant efforts to prevent the loss of available employment-based visa numbers for Fiscal Year 2022, as we reported in July. The good news is that the...more
1. Choosing the Right Legal Structure - 1.1 Introduction - Establishing a business entity in the United States can be an important strategic step for any international company that wants to avail itself of the world’s...more
Pursuing a Functional Manager Immigrant Petition does not always have to seem like you’re stuck in a Shakespearean tragedy, so this Insight will not be written in iambic pentameter – but will somewhat borrow from the Bard....more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its Policy Manual to expand acceptable evidence under the published material criteria for EB-1 Extraordinary Ability and Outstanding Researcher/Professor...more
In an announcement sure to be welcome news for employers, federal immigration officials recently released new instructions permitting certain employment-based green card applications to “change lanes” into another category,...more
Because Congress limits how many green cards can be issued annually, the Department of State (DOS) releases a visa bulletin every month establishing the cut-off dates per preference category and country for the upcoming...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
Congress has mandated that in a given calendar year, 140,000 employment-based green cards will be awarded to companies sponsoring foreign nationals for permanent employment in the United States. This mandate is effective on...more
According to the Department of State, demand for immigrant visas (green cards) remains high as COVID-19 continues to disrupt and delay appointments at U.S. consulates abroad. With an estimated 100,000 unused employment-based...more
The November Visa Bulletin has been published by the Department of State. The Bulletin dates for filing remain the same for most employment-based and other categories, with some advancement for final action dates. ...more
In our continuing series of reports, Charles (“Charlie”) Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, U.S. Department of State, shares his most recent analysis of current trends and future projections for the...more
Often times, the first question asked by employment-based Green Card beneficiaries during an initial strategy consultation is, “How long until I have my Green Card in hand?” While the answer varies depending on the particular...more
Part one of this two-part series outlined common considerations related to temporary work visas employers may have during the due diligence process of a merger, acquisition, or other corporate restructuring. Part two will...more
The H-1B visa is an employer-sponsored nonimmigrant visa for highly skilled workers in so-called “specialty occupations". Specialty occupations are those which require the minimum of a US bachelor’s degree or foreign...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has started returning H-1B petitions to employers whose cases were not selected in the recent H-1B lottery selection process. The USCIS reported that a total of 195,000 H-1B...more
In a welcome development, on November 18, 2016 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule benefitting many highly skilled nonimmigrant foreign workers and EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 employment-based immigrant...more
Overview - I have written a few articles regarding the over-promotion of the EB-5 visa program from the standpoint that frequently the foreign investor’s desire for a Green Card is over-zealous before considering all of...more
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is proposing to expand the current list of evidentiary criteria for employment-based first preference (EB-1) outstanding professors and researchers to include a “comparable...more