H-1B Work Visa
No Procedural Changes for Upcoming H-1B Cap Season (No Pre-Registration for now)
The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration (USCIS) has confirmed to American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) that it is not implementing any procedural changes to this year’s H-1B cap season which begins on April 1, 2018. Just as in the past, the rumors mills were abuzz with news that USCIS is planning to implement some form of…
Read MoreOptions if Petition Approval is not in the PIMS
Prior to the issuance of an H, L, O, P or Q visa, a US consular officer must verify that a petition approval is legitimate through the Consular Consolidated Database (CCD) in a “PIMS” report. According to the US State Department, the CCD is a “data warehouse that holds current and archived data from the…
Read MoreGovernment Shutdown: What it means for your visa application
In the early morning of January 20th, officials in Congress and the White House announced that the federal government would shut down. The shutdown came after the Senate failed to pass legislation approving federal spending for the next year. To enable the operations of the federal government, including major bureaucratic agencies like the Department of…
Read MoreBuilding Walls: Canadian Immigration in Trump Era (BAHA)
Over the last couple of days, news of President Trump’s disparaging comments about immigration from Caribbean and African nations has swept through the country. The justified outrage over the racist comments follows a year of anti-immigration sentiments from the executive and members of the Republican Party. Although the Trump Administration failed largely over the last…
Read MoreSpike in RFEs: Slowing H-1B Immigration (2017 USCIS Data)
As previously reported, USCIS has increased requests for additional information (through RFEs) for thousands of H-1B applicants. Following the President Trump’s executive order, BAHA (Buy American, Hire American), obtaining approval for H-1B petitions has been increasingly difficult as USCIS attempts to abide by the EO. The executive order aims to decrease the population of foreign…
Read MoreProposed H-1B Changes Threaten Thousands of Workers (Updated)
Several sources are reporting that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is considering major regulations that would prohibit H-1B workers in the lawful permanent residence process from extending their H-1B status past the six years. The potential change reportedly responds to President Trump’s executive order, “Buy American, Hire American,” and depends on the language of…
Read MoreLooking Towards the New Year: Possible Impacts of HR 170
In the US House of Representatives, a bill, “Protect and Grow American Jobs Act” (HR 170), proposes new minimum salary standards for H-1B visas. The bill made its way out of the House Judiciary committee and proposed a 50% increase in the minimum annual salary from $60,000 to $90,000 for H-1B dependent employers. According to…
Read MoreDistrict Court Reinstates “Start-up Visa”
On December 1st, United States district judge James Boasberg ruled the Trump Administration’s delay of the Obama-Era International Entrepreneur Rule an unlawful use of administrative power. The ruling effectively reinstates the “start-up visa” program until further response from the administration. Ruling In NVCA v. Duke, the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), a group of entrepreneurs…
Read MoreAdministrative Processing for Visa Applications
Visa applications are sometimes held for so called “administrative processing.” If your application is delayed for administrative processing, it could mean additional wait time for your case decision. What is Administrative Processing? According to the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM), Administrative Processing refers to “clearance procedure of the submission of a case to the Department”, or…
Read MoreNo Deference by USCIS to Prior Employment-Based Petition Approvals
On October 23rd, USCIS released a memorandum overturning previous policy on deference of eligibility in the adjudication of petitions for extension of nonimmigrant status. This new memo will affect most non-immigrant workers, as extensions of visas are quite common. The memo comes in response to the Executive order, “Buy American Hire American,” which has impacted…
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