Student Visa
Travel 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 MoreUnpaid Employment for F-1 OPT
Optional Practical Training (OPT) is a work benefit allowed to an F-1 student enrolled in a program for a minimum of nine months. An F-1 student is eligible for up to a total of 12-month of full-time OPT at each educational level. In 2008 U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) issued regulations that prohibited a…
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 MoreH-1B Cap Season for FY 2015: Master’s Cap Issues
With the H-1B filing window opening on April 1st, 2014, you should be aware of an important issue while filing H-1B under advanced-degree exemption, also called master’s cap. Each year 20,000 H-1B visas are available under the advanced degree exemption for individuals who have earned a master’s or higher degree from an accredited institution in…
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…
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 MoreDepartment of Labor Stakeholder Meeting: PERM Updates
On December 12, 2013, Department of Labor Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) held a stakeholder meeting in which stakeholders from American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), National Association of Foreign Student Advisors (NAFSA), Council for Global Immigration (CGI), and American Bar Association (ABA) were present. This is an overview of some of the issues discussed…
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…
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