Created in 2002, the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) is used to track and monitor foreign students (F-1 visa holders) and exchange visitors (J-1 visa holders), as well as their accompanying dependents (F-2 and J-2 visa holders). While SEVIS has streamlined many formerly cumbersome data reporting requirements and improved information accuracy, there are [...]
Only a day after we published our own predictions for the outlook of EB-2 India and China cutoff dates over the next few months, Mr. Charles Oppenheim, the Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division at the U.S. Department of State and also known as the person responsible for the Visa Bulletin cutoff dates [...]
In a recent report the National Foundation for American Policy (which claims to be a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to public policy research on trade, immigration, education, and other issues of national importance) has analyzed the USCIS rates of issuing requests for evidence (RFE) and denials of L-1 and H-1B petition over the past several [...]
Our office has actively monitored the Visa Bulletin developments for the past several months, not only by analyzing each Visa Bulletin but also by seeking input from other sources such as demand data, economy and unemployment and, most importantly, by consulting with Mr. Charles Oppenheim (Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division at the [...]
The U.S. State Department just released the April 2012 Visa Bulletin which is the seventh Visa Bulletin for the FY2012 fiscal year. The major headline in the upcoming month’s bulletin is lack of any movement EB-2 India and China. Also, there is some continued forward movement in FB-1. Summary of the April 2012 Visa [...]
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 [...]
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is set to begin accepting H-1B visa applications pursuant to its Fiscal Year 2013 (FY2013) quota. The first day on which USCIS will accept new, cap-subject H-1B petitions, is Monday, April 2, 2012. About the H-1B Program and the Annual Cap The H-1B visa category was created in [...]
We are in the peak of the Republican Party primary season and we are very close to have the general Presidential election campaign under way. Some of the 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 [...]
Among increased scrutiny and often long waiting period to obtain an H-1B (and sometimes even H-4 for their dependents) visa stamp, a number of US-based IT consulting employees are understandably nervous about traveling abroad and attending the H-1B visa stamp interview. Our office handles a substantial number of such H-1B petitions and H-1B visa stamp [...]
Under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), certain Canadian and Mexican professionals are allowed to enter the U.S. under the TN nonimmigrant classification to engage in certain TN-eligible occupations. We wrote recently about Admission of TN Canadian Workers in the U.S. This article is the second of the series and pertains to requirements and [...]