The Texas Service Center (TSC), in a meeting with AILA, has provided some helpful updates regarding processing of petitions filed with TSC. Processing Times TSC has confirmed that the pending application reports posted on the USCIS status check website are generally correct. I-485s filed prior to March 26, 2009 that are still pending should be [...]
In a shift in policy, the CDC has announced that effective Decemeber 14, 2009, the HPV vaccine will no longer be required for immigrants applying for immigrant visa or adjusting their status from within the U.S. Background About the Required Vaccinations Under Section 212(a)(1)(A)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), any alien who seeks admission [...]
In an article today, the Washington Post reports on a speech made by the Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano and her prediction that in “[t]he first part of 2010, we will see legislation beginning to move.” The Post article is based on a speech made by Secretary Napolitano earlier today. She claimed that the Obama administration has [...]
Over the past months we have written extensively about the issues raised by today’s Wall Street Journal article “Slump Sinks Visa Program” but it is still an interesting read. Most of our readers are aware of the current H-1B quota and the fact that a substantial number of H-1B visas still remain available (for comparison, [...]
In a report released this month, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) provides some estimates and analysis of the numbers and demographic composition of the legal permanent residents (“LPRS”) in the U.S. as of January 1, 2008 (yes, the data is 22 months old but the analysis is recent and should not have changed much [...]
In a formal recommendation to USCIS, its Ombudsman has reviewed the current H-1B filing requirements with respect to LCAs and has concluded that changes to the LCA/H-1B filing process are necessary to avoid a number of negative consequences prejudicing employees and employers alike. The drive behind this policy review by the USCIS Ombudsman is a number [...]
We wrote in September about the gap in expected revenue by USCIS following the filing fee increase of Summer 2007. We noted that the agency has a $282 million shortfall in expected revenues. As a result of the announced 2007 fee increase, USCIS saw a surge in applications and hiring in 2007, ahead of a hefty [...]
Most of our clients and readers remember the summer of 2007 when USCIS raised the filing fees for certain services by a substantial amount (in all fairness, USCIS decreased the fees for certain services) (see the archived May 29, 2007 USCIS press release). One of the motivating forces behind this fee increase was the collection [...]
The increasing unemployment rate inevitably affects foreign nationals living and working in the U.S. on a work visa. We have been happy to help many clients over the past months who have either been laid off or have decided to seek a better opportunity to attend school by changing their status to F, J or [...]
It is often that minor children are included in immigration filings done by one or both of their parents. In such cases, a separate application, often accompanied by a G-28 form, are prepared and properly filed. In many of those instances, a question arises as to who can or must sign the paperwork on behalf [...]