Our office has been receiving a number of inquiries about a lawsuit challenging the H-4 Spouse EAD program as it is about to become effective on May 26th. We have been monitoring this lawsuit and related developments very closely as our office is helping many H-4 Spouse EAD applicants and as of the time of [...]
Many of our readers are aware that as of April 7, 2015, USCIS had received a sufficient number of H-1B cap-subject petitions to fill the annual H-1B quota. This year's number of filings (233,000) is at an all-time high, meaning that about 1 in 3 H-1B cap applications will be selected for review. As USCIS [...]
As our office is gearing up for May 26, 2015 when the first H-4 Spouse EAD applications under the new rule can be filed, we are still looking forward to clarifications and updates from USCIS on a number of important topics. Here are four major issues which affect a number of H-4 EAD applicants [...]
A recent Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) decision which highlighted the requirement for an H-1B amendment any time there is a change in the job site requiring a new Labor Condition Application (LCA) has created a lot of conversation in some H-1B circles and our office has been handling many inquiries, concerns and reactions to the [...]
The U.S. State Department has just released the May 2015 Visa Bulletin which is the eighth Visa Bulletin for the FY2015 fiscal year. The major headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is the significant 7.5-month forward movement in EB-2 India and the 14-month forward movement in EB-2 China. EB-3 Philippines moves back by seven [...]
Our office just learned that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has completed the intake and processing of all of the fiscal year (FY2016) H-1B cap petitions. According to USCIS, there were nearly 233,000 H-1B cap petitions filed during the April 1st-7th filing period. This marks a 35% percent increase in the number of [...]
Our office serves many first-time and returning reentry permit applicants and our clients and readers often want to know the options for extending (technically, obtaining a new) reentry permit if their circumstances require continued stay outside of the United States. We have addressed the renewal options and strategies in earlier articles; however, an additional follow-up [...]
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced that, as of today, April 7th, they have received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to meet the annual H-1B cap for the 2015 fiscal year (FY2016). According to USCIS, they have received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed for beneficiaries with U.S. master’s degree and more [...]
On March 17, 2015 the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to discuss the H-1B visa program, which allows U.S. employers to import foreign workers in specialty occupations. At the hearing Iowa Senator Chuck Grassly (R) challenged the H-1B visa program as being widely misused by employers to “undercut wages and offshore high-paying American jobs.” [...]
This week the House Homeland Security Committee will consider legislation to change background checks requirements of the Visa Waiver Program for individuals who come to the United States, amidst growing concerns about extremist groups like ISIS. What is the Visa Waiver Program? The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) has been in place since 1986, and allows [...]
