January 2016 Visa Bulletin – Filing Cutoff Dates Remain Largely Unchanged; Very Gradual Movement in the Approval Dates; EB-2 India Advances by Eight Months GalleryJanuary 2016 Visa Bulletin – Filing Cutoff Dates Remain Largely Unchanged; Very Gradual Movement in the Approval Dates; EB-2 India Advances by Eight Months
January 2016 Visa Bulletin – Filing Cutoff Dates Remain Largely Unchanged; Very Gradual Movement in the Approval Dates; EB-2 India Advances by Eight Months
The U.S. State Department has just released the January 2016 2015 Visa Bulletin which is the fourth Visa Bulletin for the FY2016 fiscal year. The major [...]
The Automatic Visa Revalidation Program Allows Travel to Contiguous Territories Without Needing a Visa Stamp
Foreign nationals who are in the U.S. on a nonimmigrant status are aware (we hope) that normally they need to have a valid U.S. visa stamp in order to reenter the U.S. after a trip [...]
US Elections – How Can Foreign Nationals Be Involved in the Political Process?
As we are about to get into the peak of the U.S. election season, some of the U.S. presidential candidates have expressed opinions on immigration, in connection with the campaign, or previously, and it is natural for some foreign citizens, both living in the U.S. and abroad, to be interested in contributing money and/or services [...]
Proposed STEM OPT Rule Expands Scope and Validity; Adds Employer Requirements
Many employers and F-1 STEM students have been anxiously expecting a draft of the proposed STEM OPT extension rule which had to be rushed as a result of the August 2015 District Court decision invalidating the existing 2008 STEM [...]
USCIS to Start Monthly Determination on Filing Date Eligibility for I-485
The last few weeks have brought a lot of attention to the way the Visa Bulletin cutoff dates are allocated and how USCIS uses the dates to accept I-485 filings. Starting with the initial version of the October 2015 Visa Bulletin in early September, and throughout the subsequent October 2015 Visa Bulletin revision and litigation, [...]
November 2015 Visa Bulletin – Filing Cutoff Dates Remain Unchanged; Very Gradual Movement in the Approval Dates
The U.S. State Department has just released the November 2015 Visa Bulletin which is the second Visa Bulletin for the new FY2016 fiscal year. The major headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is the lack of any movement whatsoever in the Filing cutoff dates section of the Visa Bulletin, possibly caused by the October [...]
Public Law 111-230 Sunset Means Lower H-1B Filing Fees for Certain Employers
September 30, 2015 was the last day on which the additional filing fee required to be paid by certain H-1B dependent employers was required. The Public Law 111-230 additional filing fee of $2,000 was required to be paid [...]
Happy New (Fiscal) Year – Immigration Implications of the New Government Fiscal Year
While few, if any, of our clients and readers will be planning major celebrations, October 1st is an important date as it marks the beginning of the new government fiscal year. This has some immigration implications for many folks — for example, H-1B cap petitions are becoming effective and the quotas for green [...]
DV-2017 Diversity Visa (Green Card) Lottery Opens October 1, 2015
The Department of State will open the DV-2017 Diversity Visa (a.k.a. “green card”) lottery on Thursday, October 1, 2015. The entries for this year’s lottery must be submitted electronically between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Thursday, October 1, 2015, and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), Tuesday, November 3, 2015. Applicants may access [...]