B-2 Visitor Visa
Foreign Beneficiary May Challenge Revocation of I-140 Immigrant Petition
One of the most widely used provisions of American Competitiveness in the Twenty First Century Act (AC21) is the portability provisions that permits employment-based green card beneficiaries to move the green card application to a new employer provided certain conditions are met. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit with jurisdiction over…
Read MorePresident’s Executive Actions on Immigration
On November 20, 2014, President Obama announced a series of immigration initiatives that could become effective as early as in the next 3 to 6 months. More than 4.5 million individuals potentially may stand to benefit from these long-awaited Executive Actions, including recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. These initiatives will allow…
Read MoreHiring H-1B Employee Previously Counted towards ‘Cap’
As in previous years, all the new H-1B visas for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 were allocated on the first day leaving employers without any options but to wait for April 1st 2015 to file a new H-1B towards FY 2016. One of the options that many U.S. employers are exploring these days is to…
Read MoreNew Rules for F-1/M-1 students contemplating MOOCs
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have become very popular amongst F-1 and M-1 students in recent years. Students generally want to take these virtual courses for convenience and low cost. Although many colleges and universities in the United States offer these popular MOOCs, foreign students need to be aware of the rules for using online…
Read MoreNewsAlert! U.S. Consulates in Canada Temporarily Suspend TCN Visa Processing for Summer
A Third-Country Nationals (TCN) is an individual who is not a citizen of the home or host countries. In the immigration context it is used to refer to individuals who are applying for visas in countries that are not their country of citizenship. Though U.S. Department of State (DOS) recommends applicants to apply for a…
Read MoreDOJ and DOE push for enforcement of educational equality
Often, immigrants with school-aged children and questionable legal status may be fearful of enrolling their children in public school, as they lack awareness of the mandated law concerning the basic right of all children residing in the US the opportunity to attend elementary and secondary level public schools, regardless of their immigration status. Federal, state,…
Read MoreArrival/Departure History Now Available on I-94 Webpage
Foreign visitors entering the United States are issued Form I-94 by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) denoting Arrival/Departure Record. In the past, the I-94 was issued in paper format but since April 30, 2013 I-94s became accessible electronically online at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/request.html On May 1, 2014 CBP announced further improvements to the system and the new webpage…
Read MoreTravel Abroad with a Pending Change of Status
As we approach the FY 2015 H-1B cap season, we wish to remind our readers about travel consideration for those transitioning from their current non-immigrant status to H-1B status. As explained in our previous article, Last Action Rule (Travel Abroad with Approved Change of Status), students with an approved H-1B can travel abroad (without abandoning…
Read MoreLast Action Rule (Travel Abroad with Approved Change of Status)
This time of the year, when many F-1 students are changing status from F-1 to H-1B, we want to remind them about issues they may potentially face if they wish to travel abroad before their H-1B start date. Though not a formal rule or a case law, guidance in the form of a letter was…
Read MorePlanning for FY 2015 H-1B Cap Season
As we approach April 1, 2014, we want to take the opportunity to make our readers aware of important nuances of H-1B cap season. The US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) will start accepting cap-subject H-1B petitions for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 Cap Season on Tuesday, April 1, 2014. Last year, the cap for…
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