2020 H-1B Work Visa Cap Season Is Underway With Major Changes – Lottery Opens for New Registrations March 1, 2020
The new H-1B work visa “cap” season is set to begin with substantial changes to the process, the timelines and the chances for success. Over the past year or so, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been working on changing the process of submitting first-time H-1B “cap” work visa petitions and they have just confirmed that all of the [...]
What Happens After I-485 Interview When The Priority Date Is Not Current?
Ever since USCIS started requiring interviews for employment-based I-485 adjustment of status applications in October of 2017, a very common question, especially nationals of India and China whose priority dates are not current is, "What happens to my I-485 after the interview and until my priority date is current?" Interviewed I-485 Cases Normally Transferred to NBC or TSC After the [...]
January 2020 Visa Bulletin – EB-1 ROW to be Current Soon; EB-2/EB-3 ROW Cutoff Date Anticipated
The U.S. State Department has just released the January 2020 Visa Bulletin which is the fourth Visa Bulletin for the FY2020 fiscal year. The headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is the very slow forward movement across the backlogged employment-based categories and no movement for EB India (except for 3-day forward movement in EB-2 India). EB-1 ROW is expected [...]
USCIS Seeks to Increase and Change Filing Fees and Forms
The Department of Homeland Security has released a proposed rule seeking to increase many of the Citizenship and Immigration (USCIS) application filing fees. The weighted average of the increase is 21 percent and USCIS is making form changes and introducing several new forms. Comments on this proposed rule are due December 16, 2019 and, if finalized, fee increases are likely [...]
December 2019 Visa Bulletin – Slow Movement; EB-2/EB-3 ROW Cutoff Dates Expected Soon
The U.S. State Department has just released the December 2019 Visa Bulletin which is the third Visa Bulletin for the FY2020 fiscal year. The headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is the very slow forward movement across the backlogged employment-based categories and no movement for EB India (except for 2-day forward movement in EB-2 India). EB-2 and EB-3 ROW [...]
Poland Designated a Visa Waiver Program Country
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that as of November 11, 2019, citizens of Poland will be able to apply to travel to the United States for tourism or business purposes for up to 90 days without obtaining a U.S. visa under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). ESTA Authorization Required Under the Visa Waiver Program, citizens [...]