The Department of Labor has provided some updates for the first quarter of the Fiscal Year 2014 (October 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013) on their processing of PERM cases and we are happy to share them with our clients and readers. Please note that this period reflects the period of the partial government shutdown [...]
Our office had received a number of inquiries and we have worked with a number of individuals, universities and their DSOs who had seen a spike in OPT extension (STEM OPT extensions, most often) which were denied by USCIS due to the fact that the F-1 holder had engaged in volunteering or unpaid work during [...]
The U.S. State Department has just released the March 2014 Visa Bulletin which is the sixth Visa Bulletin for the FY2014 fiscal year. The major headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is the expected lack of movement in EB-2 India, the continued forward movement in EB-3 ROW, China and Mexico, the fact that FB-2A [...]
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service ("USCIS") just announced that they have released the revised FormN-400, Application for Naturalization. The main changes in the new N-400 form are the new questions required by anti-terrorism and child soldier prevention statutes, the (according to USCIS) clearer eligibility instructions and the addition of a dynamic 2D data barcode [...]
The Department of State ("DOS") has issued travel warning for Russia, alerting U.S. citizens planning to attend the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia that they should remain attentive regarding their personal security at all times. “There is no indication of a specific threat to U.S. institutions or citizens, but U.S. citizens should be aware [...]
The Department of Labor (DOL) has released the most recent annual report for the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC). Even though the report was recently released, it is for the 2012 fiscal year (FY2012) which covered the period between October 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012. While we understand that the relevant period is [...]
On April 1, 2014 the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will start accepting applications for one of the most popular U.S. work visas, H-1B, for fiscal year (FY) 2015. Our intelligence and past experience suggest that this year's H-1B cap season will be very short -- five business days. Our office is already [...]
Our foreign national clients and readers often ask us about the requirements on carrying specific immigration documents with them while they are in the U.S. - whether around town or for domestic U.S. travel. We find that this topic is not very well covered and many foreign nationals are not aware of the applicable requirements [...]
Unknown to many, the SAVE system allows DMV agencies throughout the United States to verify valid status of driving license applicants (where this is required). The SAVE system is run by DHS and allows states and agencies to confirm an individual's status and eligibility to certain benefits. It all works well most of the time; [...]
Our office has established a reputation as one of the leading practices for handling appeals with the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) and we often receive inquiries not only about the procedural aspects of an AAO appeal but also about the current processing times for AAO cases. The AAO processing times are published monthly, at the [...]
