Close

Visa Lawyer Blog

Updated:

Staff Spotlight: Associate Attorney Yingfei Zhou, Esq.

It is our pleasure to introduce our readers to Associate Attorney Yingfei Zhou, Esq who joined our firm in 2012. Attorney Zhou is an active member of the California State Bar, the New York State Bar, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). Ms. Zhou practices primarily on employment-based and investment-based…

Updated:

URGENT NOTICE: Mandatory return of 3-year DACA EADs by July 27, 2015

On July 15, 2015 USCIS announced that it mistakenly issued approximately 2,100 employment authorization cards to DACA recipients that were printed with a three-year validity period instead of a two-year period, following a court injunction prohibiting USCIS from doing so. To correct the error, USCIS sent these recipients a notice…

Updated:

SCOTUS: Marriage Equality Declared the Law of the Land

By now you may have heard that on the morning of June 26, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in a landmark 5-4 decision (Obergefell v Hodges) that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marriage, a right that cannot be denied by the laws of any state.…

Updated:

Technological Issues with Passport and Visa Issuance Systems Resolved for US Consulates Worldwide

The Department of State has issued an alert announcing that as of June 26, 2015 all visa issuing US embassies and consulates are now able to continue visa processing. Staff at US consulates and embassies were able to work over the weekend and resolve backlogs which are expected to be…

Updated:

TOP 5 Challenging Questions Couples Face at the STOKES/Fraud Interview

What are the most challenging questions for couples at a STOKES/Fraud Interview? By Attorney Marie Puertollano, Esq. What happens when a US Citizen Spouse and the intending immigrant spouse fail an interview pending an application for permanent residence? Normally couples who have failed to provide sufficient documentation to an immigration…

Updated:

AILA: Open Forum Updates

Presently, attorneys Jacob Sapochnick, Esq., Ekaterina Powell, Esq., and Yingfei Zhou, Esq. from our office are in attendance at the 2015 American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Conference on Immigration Law taking place in Washington, DC. Together, they have had the privilege of being present for an open forum where officials…

Updated:

5 FAQS: Question and Answer

You have Questions, We have your Answers. Here are answers to 5 of your Frequently Asked Questions In this blog we are answering 5 of your frequently asked questions in detail. Please remember that every case and every story is different and unique. You should not compare your situation to…

Updated:

Temporary Suspension of Premium Processing for Extension of Stay H-1B Petitions

On Friday, May 22, 2015 USCIS announced that it would be temporarily suspending premium processing for all H-1B Extension of Stay Petitions beginning May 26, 2015 to July 27, 2015 due to the high volume of anticipated applications for employment authorization under the H-4 final rule. During this time period,…

Updated:

What is happening with DACA/DAPA?

On November 20, 2014 President Barack Obama announced a series of executive actions on immigration designed to repair our country’s broken immigration system. Among its provisions, the executive actions on immigration outline plans to: strengthen border security, expand I-601A provisional waiver eligibility, modernize visa backlogs, expand eligibility for parole in…