Beginning March 1, 2026, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will restrict its flagship loan programs—like the 7(a) and 504 loans—to businesses that are 100 % owned by U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals whose primary residence is in the United States. Under the revised policy, lawful permanent residents (green card holders) are no…
As the FY 2027 H-1B cap season approaches, employers will need to take additional steps to prepare for the new wage-based weighted selection system and to assess whether their petitions will be subject to the recently implemented $100,000 H-1B fee. Registration Opens March 4, 2026 USCIS recently announced that the…
While signing executive orders in the Oval Office on Tuesday, the President dropped a bombshell informing reporters of his new plan to rollout a new “Gold Card” visa program, which would provide permanent residency to foreign nationals and U.S. employers willing to pay a fee of $5 million. President Trump…
On January 15, 2025, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released updated police guidance for EB-2 National Interest Waiver petitions. The updated policy guidance is effective immediately and applies to requests pending or filed on or after its publication date of January 15. This guidance provides insights into how…
As of April 23, 2024, Portugal has joined the coveted list of countries eligible to participate in the E-2 Treaty Investor program via the passage of the Advancing Mutual Interests and Growing Our Success (AMIGOS) Act. E-2 nonimmigrant visas are reserved for investors who are nationals of a treaty country.…
Recently the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced new changes to the International Entrepreneur Rule effective October 1, 2024. What is the International Entrepreneur Rule The International Entrepreneur Rule (IER), was first established by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2017. The program allows noncitizen entrepreneurs to live and work in…
The H-1B cap season for FY 2023 is almost here! USCIS has just announced that the H-1B initial registration period for the FY 2023 cap is scheduled to open at noon ET on March 1, 2022 and will remain open until noon ET on March 18, 2022. As our readers are aware, in 2020…
Welcome back to the Visalawyerblog! We have a very exciting announcement for you this afternoon. The International Entrepreneur Parole Program is back and in full force! Today, May 10, 2021, USCIS announced that it will no longer pursue Trump era efforts to terminate the International Entrepreneur Parole Program and will…
It is an exciting and busy time at the Sapochnick Law Firm! Our Firm is gearing up for the long awaited H-1B season to kick off on Monday, April 1, 2019. To help you put your best foot forward, we are sharing the ultimate running checklist for H-1B- cap-subject petitions.…
Earlier this year, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) suddenly changed the regulations governing the Optional Practical Training Program (OPT). According to the USCIS website, a U.S. employer who has hired an international student under the STEM OPT program may not assign, or delegate training responsibilities to a…