DOS Update for Chinese H and L Visa Applicants The Department of State recently released an update notifying the public that beginning March 1, 2019, interviews for H and L visas will only be conducted at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing or at one of the U.S. Consulates General in…
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…
Now is the time to begin preparing for the upcoming H-1B visa lottery. USCIS will begin to accept H-1B cap-subject petitions for fiscal year 2020 beginning Monday, April 1, 2019. Please note: employers cannot file an H-1B petition for an employee more than 6 months before the employee’s intended start date. If…
As you gear up for a chance to win one of the 65,000 coveted H-1B visas that will be up for grabs beginning April 1, 2019 through April 5, 2019, we bring you our top frequently asked questions—H-1B edition—to help you make the most of your H-1B filing. As always,…
A new policy brief published by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) analyzing USCIS processing times reveals that the agency has reached “crisis” level delays in processing immigrant and non-immigrant petitions. These delays have worsened during the Trump administration. According to the report the most vulnerable populations include immigrant families,…
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…
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…
A new report released by CBS news estimates that the immigration court system could face a staggering backlog of more than one million cases, if the government shutdown extends into February and March. According to the report, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky in particular will be the most affected, owing to…
Facing mounting pressure from the American public, the President delivered his last-ditch effort offering what he termed a “compromise” to gain support for his controversial wall and put an end to what has been a long-drawn-out government shutdown. In Saturday’s White House address, President Trump announced a plan that would…
You’ve filed your petition with USCIS and have received your receipt notice in the mail, now what? A receipt notice also known as a “Notice of Action” is sent by USCIS to an applicant/petitioner of an immigrant or non-immigrant benefit, to communicate information relating to receipt of the benefit requested,…