In the past few years, it has become difficult to prepare immigration strategies for religious workers due to the length of time it takes for religious worker green cards to be approved. The delay is new and does not make a...more
The November 2024 Visa Bulletin shows no changes from the October 2024 Visa Bulletin in the Dates for Filing or Final Action Dates in any listed category, with the exception of the fourth preference category for Certain...more
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
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the U.S. Department of State have not indicated significant advancement in the priority dates for employer-based immigrant petitions, continuing the fiscal year (FY) 2024...more
For December 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed that the Dates for Filing chart in the December 2023 Visa Bulletin will continue to be used in determining eligibility for I-485, Application...more
The May 2023 Visa Bulletin recently published by the U.S. Department of State, brought some unwelcome news for U.S. employers seeking to sponsor foreign nationals for permanent residency through the employment-based green...more
Employers sponsoring foreign nationals should be aware that some cut-off dates for filing immigrant visa applications in certain employment-based (EB) preference categories have recently “retrogressed” or moved backwards in...more
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has released the Visa Bulletin for April 2023. The new Visa Bulletin reflects an ongoing trend of backlogs and slowdowns in the visa process, in stark contrast to the...more
There is little change in the Dates for Filing chart for March 2022, but some retrogression in the EB-4 classification cutoff dates for El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras....more
Ready or not, H-1B Cap Registration Season is upon us. And things are a little different this Cap Season. That’s because USCIS formally announced via a January 9, 2020 Federal Register notice that it will change the lottery...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