Very Short and Busy H-1B Cap Filing Season Expected: April 3rd to April 7th (Five Business Days); H-1B Lottery Likely; Last Call for H-1B
As we are going into the peak of the H-1B cap season, our office receives many inquiries about the duration of the H-1B filing season this year or, in other words, when will the H-1B cap be reached? So far we have been able to compare demand with prior H-1B filing seasons and we knew that this would be a [...]
USCIS Temporarily Suspends Premium Processing of All H-1B Petitions
USCIS has announced that effective April 3, 2017, they are temporarily suspending premium processing for all H-1B petitions for a period of up to six months. This surprising announcement comes in light of the anticipated heavy demand and number of H-1B “cap” filings and also to allow the government an opportunity to catch up on long-delayed H-1B processing times. [...]
Immigrants in Trump’s America – Should I Carry My Immigration Papers With Me?
In the era of increased immigration enforcement under President Trump, our foreign national clients and readers are increasingly asking about the requirements on carrying specific immigration documents with them while they are in the U.S. – whether around town or for domestic U.S. travel. We find that this topic is not very well covered and many foreign nationals are not [...]
Making Sense Out of the Current Congressional Immigration Proposals
Both Congress and President Donald Trump’s team have been extremely active in considering ways to revamp the current immigration framework concerning both the undocumented population and skilled immigration. In this first article from our series, we will provide a summary of the current congressional immigration proposals concerning green cards and temporary work visas for highly-skilled professionals. Our next article, will [...]
New Rules Establish Automatic Employment Authorization based on Pending EAD Renewal Application
As part of a set of rule changes, collectively called “Retention of EB–1, EB–2, and EB–3 Immigrant Workers and Program Improvements Affecting High-Skilled Nonimmigrant Workers” (see our full analysis) and effective as of January 17, 2017, USCIS has made some significant and welcome changes to the way it treats work authorization document (EAD) renewals and allows for automatic work authorization [...]
USCIS Creates 60-day Grace Period Following Termination of Employment for H-1Bs (and Others)
As part of a set of rule changes, collectively called “Retention of EB–1, EB–2, and EB–3 Immigrant Workers and Program Improvements Affecting High-Skilled Nonimmigrant Workers” (see our full analysis) and effective as of January 17, 2017, USCIS introduced a very favorable and notable change to the way H-1B (and certain other work visa holders) are treated following termination of employment: [...]