The National Visa Center (NVC) has released numbers and statistics on the immigrant visa numbers pending at NVC. The information is as of November 1, 2009. It is important to note that these numbers reflect immigrant visas which have chosen "consular processing" and not adjustment of status (I-485) applications filed from within the U.S. Also, [...]
In a January 8, 2010, Memorandum, Donald Neufeld, the Associate Director for Service Center Operations, provides some guidance on the standards for H-1B petitions filed by independent contractors, self-employed beneficiaries, and beneficiaries working at third-party worksites. Focus on Employer-Employee Relationship The guidance is primarily concerned with the employer-employee relationship. Pursuant to the H-1B regulations, an [...]
The U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (”ICE”) has released a supplemental guidance sheet with respect to gap-cap extensions available to holders of F-1 status who work pursuant to their optional practical training and who are beneficiaries of a cap-subject H-1B work visa petition. The guidance sheet is helpful in not only describing in more detail what [...]
After USCIS suspended temporarily the I-140 premium processing service on July 2, 2007, we have been constantly fielding questions on when the temporary suspension would end. Over the past few weeks there was increased speculation that premium processing for Form I-140 would resume. Earlier this week, USCIS confirmed that in fact premium processing for I-140 [...]