Background It was only several years ago that Antoine, a French native, set his eyes on achieving his lifelong dream of starting an aviation company in the state of California, providing flight services to foreign pilots in transit to or vacationing in the state of California. With over six years…
Articles Posted in Immigrant Visas
Staff Spotlight: Legal Technical Writer Suzanne Andersen
For this month’s staff spotlight, we invite you to learn more about our legal technical writer Suzanne Andersen. Suzanne Andersen is a new addition to our firm, having joined in 2016. Ms. Andersen holds a Master of Laws degree from California Western School of Law, in addition to her law…
EB-5 Regional Center Program in Limbo, Investors Rush to File before the April 28, 2017 Deadline Creating Backlogs
On December 6, 2016 Congress passed a continuing resolution to fund government programs through April 28, 2017. Among the programs that qualified to receive additional government funding was the EB-5 Regional Center Investor Program, a program made possible by a Congressional statute. The Continuing Resolution effectively extended the EB-5 Regional…
H-1B Updates: the Lottery is Complete, What’s Next, and How “Buy American, Hire American” affects H-1B workers
Image Courtesy of Gage Skidmore USCIS has finally announced that the H-1B computer-generated lottery took place on April 11, 2017 to select the necessary petitions to meet the 65,000 visa cap for beneficiaries holding a U.S. bachelor’s degree or its equivalent, as well as the 20,000 visa cap for beneficiaries…
Trump Administration on the move to Facilitate Detention and Deportation of Undocumented Persons
The Trump administration is quickly mobilizing resources to facilitate the massive deportation of undocumented persons living and working in the United States, and to secure the U.S. border. A new 90-day progress report prepared by the Department of Homeland Security outlines how the agency is planning on implementing the provisions…
USCIS Issues New H-1B Memo Clarifying Policy for Computer Related Positions
On March 31, 2017, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a new policy memorandum providing new guidance relating to the adjudication of H-1B petitions for computer programmers. The new memorandum will supersede and replace the policy memorandum that had been in place since the year 2000, which…
Federal Judge from Hawaii Issues a Preliminary Injunction Blocking the President’s Travel Ban Indefinitely
Today, March 30, 2017, a federal judge from the state of Hawaii extended a court order blocking the President’s new travel ban from being enforced. In a 24-page decision, Judge Derrick Watson of Hawaii issued a preliminary injunction bringing the President’s executive order to a screeching halt indefinitely. Judge Watson…
Secretary of State Orders Consulates to Adopt Tougher Visa Screening and Vetting for Visa Applicants
The newly appointed U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is quickly mobilizing government resources to increase scrutiny and implement tougher screening procedures for applicants who are applying for a U.S. visa or other immigration benefit at U.S. Consular posts and Embassies abroad. Reuters has reported that Secretary Tillerson has sent…
Recap: What’s new in immigration
In this series, our office brings you up to speed on all things immigration. Reminders for H-1B applicants for Fiscal Year 2018 Beginning April 3, 2017 USCIS will begin to accept cap-subject H-1B petitions for fiscal year 2018. USCIS has recently announced that premium processing has been temporarily suspended beginning…
H-1B Visa Season FY 2018: Tying up loose ends and What to Expect After Filing
As the days lead up to April 3, 2017, (the first day that USCIS will begin to accept H-1B petitions for fiscal year 2018) our office will be very busy putting the final touches on all cap-subject H-1B petitions. In this post, we will discuss what you should be doing…