R-1 Religious Worker
May 2014 Visa Bulletin: EB-2 India Remains Unchanged (DOS Prediction)
U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the May 2014 Visa Bulletin which is the eighth Visa Bulletin for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. Under the Employment Based (EB) category, cutoff dates for EB-2 India remain at November 15, 2004 though cutoff dates for EB-3 India have moved forward by couple of weeks to…
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 MoreMarch 2014 Visa Bulletin: EB-2 India Remains Unchanged (DOS Prediction)
U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the March 2014 Visa Bulletin which is the sixth Visa Bulletin for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. Under the Employment Based (EB) category, cutoff dates for EB-2 India remain at November 15, 2004 though cutoff dates for EB-3 India have moved forward by couple of weeks to…
Read MorePending H-1B Extension Does Not Grant Lawful Status
On November 7, 2013, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) issued a decision that underscores the distinction between “period of authorized stay” and “status”. We are providing a summary of the decision for the benefit of our readers. In Matter of Ivica Trupcevic, a foreign national (beneficiary) originally entered the United States on an F-1…
Read MoreContinuation of Employment under 240-Day Rule
Under the “240 day rule”, a beneficiary of a timely filed extension of stay can continue his/her employment with the petitioning employer, while the extension of stay is pending with the USCIS, for a period of up to 240 days beyond the expiration of the prior period of authorized stay. Even though the beneficiary is…
Read MoreNIV Interview Waiver Program Now Permanent
The Department of State (DOS) has announced that the Nonimmigrant Visa (NIV) Interview Waiver Pilot Program, introduced by President Obama in 2012, has now been made permanent. Generally, all NIV applicants are required to make a personal appearance and be interviewed by a consular officer. Additionally, the visa applicant is required to provide biometric identifiers…
Read MoreSocial Networking Sites are viewed by USCIS
We want to remind our readers about an undated memorandum by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) regarding the importance of social networking sites (Facebook, MySpace, Google+, etc.) in fraud detection. The memo talks about narcissistic tendencies amongst user of social network sites to have a large group of “friends” which may result in a…
Read MoreConsular Returns to Revoke Visa Petition
Upon approval of a petition, the beneficiary of the petition, generally, has to apply for a visa at a U.S. consulate abroad. It is noteworthy to mention that approval of the petition by the US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) does not guarantee a visa as USCIS has the authority to revoke a petition after…
Read MoreRecent USCIS Telephone Scams
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) in recent weeks have learned of a new telephone scam targeting USCIS applicants and petitioners. Scammers are using a technique called “Caller ID spoofing” to display a misleading or inaccurate phone number in a recipient’s Caller ID. The scammer poses as a USCIS official and requests personal information (such…
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