Navigating the H-1B work visa program can be a daunting task for both employers and foreign professionals. USCIS's adjudication standards change from time to time based on political and other factors making the H-1B program subject to varying degrees of scrutiny. This scrutiny is most often exercised during the Request for Evidence (RFE) process [...]
One of the common RFE issues raised by USCIS in connection with H-1B petitions is the suitability of the beneficiary’s educational (and experience) qualifications. There are two aspects to this RFE issue — whether the degree itself is a US-equivalent [...]
USCIS has released a proposed rule which seeks to change the H-1B visa program regulations. The changes are generally positive and seek to allow greater flexibility for petitioners and to strengthen the H-1B cap lottery program. Also, the proposed [...]
USCIS has announced (and already implemented) that certain work authorization documents (EAD) will be issued with validity of up to 5 years; a significant increase from the current 2-year maximum. Similarly, advance parole documents (issued separately or together as [...]
Many nonimmigrants in the U.S. have been eagerly awaiting news about the proposed introduction of a process to allow U.S. visa stamp issuance from within the U.S. On October 17, 2023, the Department of State (DOS) announced that they are planning to lay out more details about the process with possible start date of a [...]
The U.S. State Department has released the November 2023 Visa Bulletin which is the second Visa Bulletin for the new fiscal year. The headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is lack of pretty much any movement in almost all [...]
The Department of State has announced the DV-2025 Diversity Visa (a.k.a. “green card”) lottery dates. The dates for electronic entry submission for this year’s lottery are between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Wednesday, October 4, 2023, and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. Applicants may access the electronic Diversity [...]
Our office handles many ETA Form 9089 Permanent Labor Certification (“PERM”) applications and one of the most common questions is what is an overview of the entire PERM process and how long it would take. Below we are [...]
Starting October 1, 2023 USCIS is removing the biometrics requirement (and fee) for all I-539 applications seeking to change of extend status. As a reminder, the biometrics requirement and fee were created in 2019 and in 2021 USCIS removed [...]
Unlawful presence is defined in Section 212(a)(9)(B)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to mean that an alien is deemed to be unlawfully present in the U.S. if the alien is (1) present after the expiration [...]
