A significant policy change has narrowed dramatically the interview waiver eligibility. See the updated alert. Some of our clients and readers are aware that in March 2012, the U.S. Embassy in India introduced the Interview Waiver Program (IWP) which allows eligible individuals to apply for certain types of visa without being interviewed in [...]
The Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed substantial revisions to Form 9035 (and its instructions), Labor Condition Application, which is used to support a number of employment-based visas, including H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3. The proposed changes to the form are significant in many respects -- the government now requires all LCA beneficiaries (up to 10 [...]
The USCIS Ombudsman office has released a report and a recommendation to USCIS regarding changing policies with respect to I-765 Application for Employment Authorization Document (EAD) cases. The Problem Many employers and individuals who rely on EAD cards for employment find it frustrating that there are no reliable processing times for the EAD cards. For [...]
The Department of State (DOS) announced yesterday, May 13th, 2011, that a computer glitch has caused all results of the DV 2012 lottery (also called the "green card lottery") to be voided. Accordingly, lottery results published earlier on the DV 2012 lottery website are void and those applicants who were "selected" would not be able [...]
In early January we wrote about a USCIS proposal to create a pre-registration system for new H-1B cap cases in order to make the H-1B cap application process more efficient and to eliminate waste associated with H-1B cap petitions which are filed on or shortly after April 1st (when the H-1B cap filing window opens) [...]
On Tuesday, July 20th, AILA filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) seeking the release of records concerning agency policies and procedures for the H-1B visa program. AILA had attempted to obtain these documents under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request which had been denied [...]
USCIS has released a 16-minute video on the naturalization process including the eligibility requirements, application process, preliminary steps, interview, English tests and U.S. history and government test (civics). The video also includes two simulated interviews. USCIS Naturalization Interview and Test Video This video should be very helpful to naturalization applicants to become familiar with the [...]
The Department of State (DOS) announced recently that it is changing the procedure for K-3 (spouse) visa applications filed at U.S. consulates abroad. The procedure is effective February 1, 2010, and applies in cases where the I-130 immigrant petition and the I-129F K-3 petitions are both approved and sent to the National Visa Center (NVC). [...]