The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted today for public inspection, a final rule amending regulations governing H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those that may be eligible for the advanced degree exemption. The final rule reverses the order by which USCIS selects H-1B petitions under the H-1B regular cap and the advanced degree exemption, and it [...]
USCIS announced today that applicants can now complete and file Form N-600, Application for Certificate of Citizenship, and Form N-600K, Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate Under Section 322 online. Applicants can file Form N-600 to obtain a Certificate of Citizenship for themselves or their minor children if they: Were born abroad and are [...]
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has completed review of the H-1B proposed regulation as of January 25, 2019. It must be published in the Federal Register before the rule can go into effect. We will post any updates as soon as we receive them.
Alert: USCIS will resume premium processing on Monday, Jan. 28 for all fiscal year (FY) 2019 H-1B cap petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption (the “master’s cap”). The previously announced temporary suspension of premium processing remains in effect for all other categories of H-1B petitions to which it applied. We plan to [...]
USCIS determined that for February 2019, the Dates for Filing chart must be used for family-based preference filings and the Final Action Dates chart must be used for employment-based preference filings.
USCIS has launched a new Online Fee Calculator to assist members of the public in calculating the correct fee amount to include when filing their forms with USCIS at an agency lockbox facility. A list of forms processed at USCIS Lockbox facilities is available on the USCIS website. USCIS developed the Online Fee Calculator to [...]
Introduction: On December 3, 2018, USCIS-DHS, published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to change the H-1B filing and random selection (read lottery) process. The new process will require employer’s to electronically register to file each prospective petition for their H-1B employees during the designated “registration period”. Prospective employees with a U.S. masters or higher [...]
LCA and PERM Prevailing Wages Processing to Resume Tentatively at 2:00 p.m. EST on MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2019 Last night, the DOL announced that: The iCERT system for application processing is tentatively scheduled to open at 2:00 p.m. EST on MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2019. The Department is currently testing the system to process a [...]
Updated January 3, 2019, 10:40 AM EST Within first five minutes of opening the semi-annual H-2B certification process on January 1, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor iCERT system had an unprecedented demand for H-2B certifications with more than 97,800 workers requested in pending applications for the 33,000 available visas. With more than thirty-times [...]