January 2023 Visa Bulletin – Cutoff Date Added to EB-1 India and China
The U.S. State Department has just released the January 2023 Visa Bulletin which is the fourth Visa Bulletin for the fiscal year. The headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is the addition of a cutoff date for EB-1 India and China, in addition to the cutoff date added to EB-2 ROW during the prior Visa Bulletin. […]
Eligibility Requirements for N-400 U.S. Naturalization and Citizenship
In order to become a U.S. citizen, each applicant must meet a number of requirements. Generally, the applicant must be 18 years of age, must continuously and physically live in the U.S. as a green card holder for at least 5 years (or 3 years, if married to and living with a U.S. citizen), must have a “good moral [...]
I-485 Applicants To Receive Separate EAD/AP Documents Instead of Combo Cards
USCIS has recently changed its practices and is no longer issuing the combo EAD/AP card for I-485 applicants who file concurrent I-765 EAD work permit and I-131 AP travel permit applications. Citing efforts to eliminate backlogs in EAD applications, USCIS is approving EAD and AP applications separately -- most often the I-765 EAD application will be approved first and [...]
November 2022 Visa Bulletin – No Changes to Employment Categories Cutoff Dates
The U.S. State Department has just released the November 2022 Visa Bulletin which is the second Visa Bulletin for the new fiscal year. The headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is the lack of pretty much any movement across the major preference categories. […]
How to Handle (or Prevent) H-4 Denial Due to Prior Employer’s H-1B Revocation
Our office has been receiving an increasing number of inquiries and reports of situations where USCIS would deny a pending I-539 H-4 application (sometimes with a concurrent I-765 H-4 EAD) based on a prior employer’s H-1B petition where the prior employer has withdrawn the H-1B petition once the employee has switched employers. This situation can cause significant issues, ranging [...]
October 2022 Visa Bulletin – EB-2 India Major Retrogression; EB-1/EB-2 Visa Numbers Used Up For This Fiscal Year
The U.S. State Department has just released the October 2022 Visa Bulletin which is the first Visa Bulletin for the new fiscal year. The headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is the major retrogression in the EB-2 India cutoff dates which means that a large number of pending EB-2 India I-485 applications will be on significant hold until the [...]