November 2017 Visa Bulletin – Extremely Slow Forward Movement; EB-3 China Favors Downgrading
The U.S. State Department has just released the November 2017 Visa Bulletin which is the second Visa Bulletin for the FY2018 fiscal year. The headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is the anemic forward movement in EB-2 India/China and no movement in EB-3 India. EB-3 China continues to have a more favorable cutoff date than EB-2 China which creates favorable [...]
DV-2019 Diversity Visa (Green Card) Lottery Opens October 18, 2017 – REVISED DATES
The Department of State has revised the DV-2019 Diversity Visa (a.k.a. “green card”) lottery dates. The new dates for submission for this year’s lottery must be submitted electronically between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Wednesday, October 18, 2017, and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), on Wednesday, November 22, 2017. Previously, the DV-2019 lottery was open starting October 3, [...]
Premium Processing Reinstated for All H-1B Cases as of October 3
USCIS has just officially confirmed as of today, October 3, 2017, they have reinstated the premium processing service for all types of H-1B petitions. Petitions filed under the premium processing service are given a response by USCIS within 15 calendar days. Similarly, pending "regular processing" H-1B petitions can be "upgraded" to premium processing service. Caution: Avoid the Premium Processing [...]
Nonimmigrant Status 30/60 Day Rule Amended to Impose Stricter Requirements for “Inconsistent Conduct”
The U.S. Department of State ("DOS") has amended a section of the Field Adjudicators Manual ("FAM") which pertains to government officials' determinations of misrepresentation by applicants and specifically with respect to activities permitted in the U.S. on nonimmigrant visas. 9 FAM 302.9-4(B)(3) has been amended to include a section called "Inconsistent Conduct Within 90 Days of Entry" and which creates [...]
October 2017 Visa Bulletin – EB-1 and EB-2 ROW Current Again; First Bulletin for New Fiscal Year
The U.S. State Department has just released the October 2017 Visa Bulletin which is the first Visa Bulletin for the FY2018 fiscal year. The headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is fact that this is the first bulletin for the new fiscal year. EB-1 and EB-2 ROW are current again while EB-2 India and China advance very slowly. EB-3 [...]
Trump Administration to End DACA – What Does That Mean for Employers?
On September 5, 2017, the Trump administration announced that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ("DACA") program will end. DACA will remain in place until March 5, 2018 and the program will be phased out over the next two years. DACA Revocation Details The Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") has released details and clarifications regarding the revocation of the DACA [...]