In a new development, DHS/Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) has commenced site visits to employer locations that train STEM OPT students. This program began about 12 days ago, and clients have started reporting site visits to verify STEM OPT related information. Advance Notice to Employers: According to the Study in the States website maintained by DHS, [...]
Beginning September 16, 2019, the FLAG System's LCA Program Module will be enabled and stakeholders will be able to begin preparing H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 applications using the Form ETA-9035E. However, the FLAG System will not permit the submission of LCA applications until 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on October 1, 2019. OFLC will continue to [...]
Our latest blog post: When the Executive Order now known as “Buy American and Hire American” was issued in April of 2017, the reaction among businesses and employment based immigrants was one of distress and a sense of hopelessness. Business immigration Practitioners knew the new policy was at best ambiguous and at worst, the [...]
USCIS reports data on F-1 students obtaining another non-immigrant status from FY 2008 and 2018. About 84 percent in this 11-year period were beneficiaries of H-1B visa classification, 6 percent were beneficiaries of other employment-based petitions, and 10 percent obtained non-employment-based status.
USCIS issued policy guidance to address requirements for “residence” in statutory provisions related to citizenship, and to rescind previous guidance regarding children of U.S. government employees and members of U.S. armed forces outside the United States. This policy is effective 10/29/19.
USCIS advises, until further notice, employers should continue using the Form I-9 currently available on I-9 Central, even after the expiration date of August 31 has passed. USCIS will provide updated information about the new version of the form as it becomes available.
We have been informed by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), that following a review of the dates listed in the September 2019 Visa Bulletin, the entire EB-3 category has immediately been made "unavailable” for the remainder of FY2019. This means that the annual limits have been reached on these categories and additional numbers are [...]
USCIS announced that it has returned all FY2020 H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected in the lottery. Petitioners who haven’t received a receipt notice or a returned petition for a cap-subject H-1B petition by August 29, 2019, should contact USCIS for assistance. Read the USCIS News Release.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a final rule that clearly defines long-standing law to better ensure that aliens seeking to enter and remain in the United States — either temporarily or permanently — are self-sufficient and rely on their own capabilities and the resources of family members, sponsors, and private organizations rather [...]
USCIS will publish a final rule on July 24 that makes a number of significant changes to its EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, marking the first significant revision of the program’s regulations since 1993. The final rule will become effective on Nov. 21, 2019. New developments under the final rule include: Raising the minimum investment [...]