In this blog post, we provide new insights recently shared by Charlie Oppenheim, the former Chief of Immigrant Visa Control and Reporting at the U.S. Department of State, who oversaw the monthly publication of the Visa Bulletin until his retirement in 2022. In a recent Chatting with Charlie webinar, he…
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that it will be launching organizational accounts for non-cap filings and the fiscal year (FY) 2025 H-1B cap season. These efforts will increase efficiency and facilitate collaboration between H-1B employers and their legal representatives. USCIS has said that organizational accounts…
The February 2024 Visa Bulletin was recently published by the Department of State. While the Dates for Filing Chart remains unchanged from the previous month, the Final Action Dates Chart shows some modest advancements in some of the employment-based preference categories, specifically EB-1 worldwide continues to be current, EB-2 Worldwide will…
On January 5, 2024, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released updated policy guidance describing how the agency analyzes an employer’s ability to pay the offered wage to prospective employees with employment-based immigrant petitions requiring a job offer, filed with USCIS under the first, second, and third preference categories,…
As the new year approaches, we have some unfortunate news to report for certain employment-based applicants who may wish to file their petitions with premium processing service in 2024, including those filing: Form I-129 Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, as well as Certain…
The January 2024 Visa Bulletin is finally here, and with it some big advancements for the employment-based preference categories in the New Year, specifically for India and China, and some promising forward movement in the Final Action Dates for EB-2 Worldwide and EB-3 Professional/Skilled Workers Worldwide. For family-sponsored categories, the…
It’s a brand-new week full of important updates from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This time for employment authorization documents (EADs). Recently, USCIS announced that certain applicants who have filed to renew their employment authorization cards (EADs) on Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, may qualify for an…
Did you know that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has launched a new online change of address self-service tool? This new tool known as “Enterprise Change of Address” (E-COA) is a one-stop shop where most individuals with a USCIS online account can update their mailing and physical address…
In this blog post, we summarize the movement of the family-sponsored and employment-based preference categories of the September Visa Bulletin. This information will be helpful to those applying for an immigrant visa at a U.S. Consulate overseas, and those applying for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the United…
Did you recently file an L-1 petition as an Intracompany Transferee under a previously approved blanket petition? Then you may want to hear about this important new update. On Thursday August 3, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship, and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced new changes to the way that the agency will…