The Vermont Service Center has issued some guidance on properly completing Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status. The guidance is based on experience with improperly completed and filed Forms I-539. Ensure that the applicant and beneficiary names as entered in the form I-539 match the names as written in the passport; Provide a copy of biographical [...]
We have been hearing an increased amount of chatter about comprehensive immigration reform in Washington. Today the Wall Street Journal published an article saying that Rahm Emanuel, President Obama’s Chief of Staff, is increasing talk about comprehensive immigration reform and is pushing it to the agenda from possibly the second Obama term to some time [...]
USCIS today released updated information on the numbers of cap-subject H-1Bs filed since April 1. As of Thursday, April 9, USCIS has received approximately 42,000 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap. USCIS will continue to accept petitions subject to the general cap. Additionally, USCIS has received approximately 20,000 petitions for aliens with advanced degrees; [...]
The May 2009 Visa Bulletin has been released. Unfortunately, and as expected, all EB-3 categories are now “unavailable.” Also, there is no movement in all EB-2 categories. Here is a summary of the May 2009 Visa Bulletin: EB-1 remains current across the board. EB-2 remains unchanged for all categories - EB-2 ROW (Rest of World) is current, [...]
The USCIS announced today (April 8, 2009) that within the first five business days, it received almost half the petitions needed to meet the FY2010 cap and has received just short of the 20,000 needed to reach the master’s cap. This means that there will be no general H-1B lottery this year for both master’s [...]
The USCIS Ombudsman has released a recommendation report which urges overhaul of the USCIS fee payment system. USCIS is considered a “pay-for-service” government agency where petitioners pay for the provision of a particular service. However, the current system which accepts checks or money orders for most, and credit cards for a few e-filing-enabled forms, has [...]
The Optional Practical Training (OPT) program allows foreign students on F-1 visa to work for 12 (or up to 29 months, for holders of STEM degrees). The 12 (or 29) month period allows many students to apply for an H-1B work visa. Many employers (and OPT holders alike) are unaware of what happens when the [...]
We wrote last week about the new Employer Handbook which was released by USCIS in connection with the revised Form I-9. The revised version of Form I-9 becomes mandatory on April 3, 2009 (barring any last-minute change by the Obama administration). Employers will have to complete the new Form I-9 for all newly hired employees [...]
The filing window for Fiscal Year 2010 (starting October 1, 2009) cap-subject H-1B petitions opened today. All of the cap-subject H-1B filings filed by our firm were successfully delivered at their respective USCIS service centers. Our first impression was that FedEx's service was very reliable and all H-1B filings were delivered early in the morning [...]
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Immigration Statistics has released its annual U.S. Permanent Residents: 2008 report. The report provides a summary of the approvals of the various types of legal permanent resident (LPR) petitions. According to the report, in 2008, a total of 1,107,126 persons became LPRs. Of these, 58% already lived in [...]