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Articles Posted in Employment-Based Categories

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Premium Processing Services for H-1B Applicants Requesting a Change of Status

Good news for H-1B FY 2020 applicants requesting a change of status. Premium processing services will be offered for applicants filing an H-1B petition in the April 2019 lottery who are requesting a change of status. Premium processing will be offered in a two-phased approach during the FY 2020 cap…

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DHS to Publish Notice of Proposed Rule-making to Remove H-4 Employment Authorization

The Trump administration is making another bold move, this time the target is H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrant workers seeking permanent residence. The Department of Homeland Security has published a notice of proposing rule-making (NRPM) to rescind an Obama era rule extending eligibility for employment authorization to certain H-4…

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USCIS Resumes Premium Processing for H-1B Petitions Filed on or before Dec. 21, 2018

Today February 15, 2019, USCIS announced that the agency will resume premium processing services on Tuesday February 19, 2019, for all H-1B petitions filed on or before December 21, 2018. Premium processing service remains suspended for H-1B petitions filed on or after December 22, 2018. USCIS will make an announcement…

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Final Rule Advance Copy Creating Changes in the H-1B Visa Program

The Department of Homeland Security has published an advanced copy of the final rule that will amend the way the H-1B visa program will be run in the future. The official version of the final rule is set to be published in the Federal Register tomorrow January 31, 2019, and…

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USCIS Resumes Premium Processing for FY 2019 H1B Cap Petitions

USCIS recently announced that beginning January 28th premium processing services for all fiscal year 2019 H-1B cap petitions will resume, including petitions filed under the advanced degree exemption (also known as the “master’s cap”). This means that any petitioner with a pending FY 2019 cap-subject petition may now upgrade the…

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January Visa Bulletin Trends and Projections: EB-1, EB-2, EB-3

In this post, we would like to keep our readers informed about Visa Bulletin projections for the coming months. Charles Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division of the U.S. Department of State provides a monthly analysis of each month’s Visa Bulletin including discussion of current trends and…

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Visa Options for Social Media Influencers

Have you ever wondered what visa options are available to social media influencers? Social media influencers have quickly become of the biggest assets for brands seeking to reach millennial audiences by way of influencer marketing. Influencer marketing refers to a business collaboration with an influential person on social media to…

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This Week in Immigration News: House Proposes to Add Ireland to E-3 Program, Dreamer Negotiations, and More…

The House Proposes to Extend the E-3 Program to Irish Nationals On November 20, 2018, the House of Representatives introduced H.R. 7164, a bill proposing to add Ireland to the E-3 nonimmigrant visa program. Currently, the E-3 visa program is available to American employers seeking to hire Australian nationals to…

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Upcoming Visa Trends and Projections: EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, EB-5

In this post, we would like to keep our readers informed about Visa Bulletin projections for the coming months. Charles Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division of the U.S. Department of State provides a monthly analysis of each month’s Visa Bulletin including discussion of current trends and…

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Reminder for F-1 Students in “Cap-Gap” Status

If you are an F-1 student with an H-1B petition that remains pending with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and your “cap-gap” employment authorization is only valid through September 30, 2018, you may risk accruing unlawful presence if you continue to work on or after October 1,…