We wrote extensively in the past for the planned and the announced USCIS fee increase which is set to take effect on November 23rd for all applications filed or postmarked on or beyond this date. For some filings, the fee increase is very minor (and for some there is even a fee decrease!). However, due [...]
We wrote earlier in the summer about USCIS' plans and proposed rule to increase certain filing fees. The final rule was published a few days ago in the Federal Register and the new increased filing fees are set to go into effect on November 23, 2010. Increases (and a few decreases) in USCIS Filing Fees [...]
The Department of State will open the DV-2012 Diversity Visa (a.k.a. “green card”) lottery on Thursday, October 5, 2010. The entries for this year’s lottery must be submitted electronically between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Thursday, October 5, 2010, and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), Wednesday, November 3, 2010. Applicants may access [...]
The political climate here in Washington, DC changes very quickly. We wrote recently about some broad conceptual proposals for comprehensive immigration reform, followed by our reports of President Obama's remarks that he does feel that the time is ripe for immigration reform. However, some congressmen are pushing an immigration reform proposals forward. A recent proposal [...]
USCIS has announced that effective Tuesday, May 11, 2010, it would issue redesigned U.S. Permanent Resident Cards (also known as "green cards.") The redesign is mainly driven to incorporate new security features to deter counterfeiting, tempering and document fraud, generally. Features of the Redesigned Green Card Among the main features of the redesign: secure optical [...]
Last week we discussed the recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on unauthorized aliens. Today, we discuss the companion CRS report, analyzing the permanent residency admissions to the U.S. Both reports are helpful in providing some current information on the state of the U.S. immigration system and on the conflicting priorities which are likely to [...]
The June 2010 Visa Bulletin was released earlier today by the State Department. The ninth visa bulletin for the fiscal year 2010 brings gradual forward across most employment-based categories except EB-2 India (no change this month, for the third month in a row). The State Department added another country to the list of oversubscribed countries [...]
The Congressional Research Service ("CRS") has released two recent reports which seek to analyze the extent of undocumented aliens in the U.S. and on the permanent residency ("green card") programs. In a series of articles, we will comment on the CRS reports with this article focusing on the unauthorized aliens in the U.S.. Both reports [...]
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). [...]
Among our clients and readers, we have many entrepreneurs and start-up companies which may be interested in a recent development in Congress. Senators Kerry (D-MA) and Lugar (R-IN) have introduced a new bill in Congress seeking to drive job creation and increasing America's global competitiveness by helping immigrant entrepreneurs secure visas to the United States. [...]