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…
Articles Posted in Work Visas
Preparing for H-1B Visa Season 2020: Frequently Asked Questions
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,…
New Report Indicates Immigration Backlogs Have Reached “Crisis” Levels under Trump
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,…
Final Rule Advance Copy Creating Changes in the H-1B Visa Program
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…
January Visa Bulletin Trends and Projections: EB-1, EB-2, EB-3
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…
Decoding a USCIS Receipt Number aka “Notice of Action”
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,…
Visa Options for Social Media Influencers
Have you ever wondered what visa options are available to social media influencers? Social media influencers have quickly become of the biggest assets for brands seeking to reach millennial audiences by way of influencer marketing. Influencer marketing refers to a business collaboration with an influential person on social media to…
A Nurse’s Guide to Working in the United States
In this post, we discuss the different options available for foreign nurses to work in the United States. First, let’s discuss licensure requirements. Registered Nurse License Requirements by Examination Educated Outside the U.S. Educational Evaluation of Transcripts: All applicants who graduated from nursing schools outside the United States must have…
How Will the Government Shutdown Impact Immigration?
Photo credit: Scott Kirkwood/NPCA Today marks the fifth day of a partial government shutdown that began on Saturday. The government was forced into a shutdown after Democrats refused to concede $5 billion dollars to fund the President’s wall along the southwest border. Since then, Democratic leaders in the House and…
This Week in Immigration News: House Proposes to Add Ireland to E-3 Program, Dreamer Negotiations, and More…
The House Proposes to Extend the E-3 Program to Irish Nationals On November 20, 2018, the House of Representatives introduced H.R. 7164, a bill proposing to add Ireland to the E-3 nonimmigrant visa program. Currently, the E-3 visa program is available to American employers seeking to hire Australian nationals to…