Beginning March 22nd, USCIS will only accept the revised version of Form I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status with edition date 02/04/2019. USCIS will reject any Form I-539 with an edition date of 12/23/16, or earlier, that is received by USCIS after March 21st. USCIS will accept the 12/23/16 version…
USCIS Issues Notice Extending TPS Designation for Beneficiaries from Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, and El Salvador In compliance with a court ordered preliminary injunction issued in the case Ramos v. Nielsen, USCIS has issued a notice formally announcing the automatic extension of TPS documentation for beneficiaries from Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, and…
On February 22, 2019, USCIS announced it has received enough petitions to meet the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for temporary nonagricultural workers, for the second half of FY2019. February 19, 2019 was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before October 1,…
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…
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…