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 [...]
The U.S. State Department just released the March 2012 Visa Bulletin which is the sixth Visa Bulletin for the FY2012 fiscal year. The major headline in the upcoming month’s bulletin is the continuing significant (but decreasing) forward movement in EB-2 India and China (by four months) and the continued forward movement in FB-1. Summary of [...]
Mr. Oppenheim is the Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division at the U.S. Department of State. For many, he is simply known as the person responsible for the monthly and annual visa number allocations for family- and employment-based green cards. He is also the person who prepares and publishes the monthly visa bulletin [...]
The Department of Labor has provided some updates (as of January 6, 2012) on their processing of employment-based cases and we are happy to share them with our clients and readers. This kind of information is generally available, but if rarely combined in one place while it is still fairly recent information. DOL Processing [...]
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. TN Admission Requirements It is important to note that requirements for admission of Canadian and Mexican TN workers vary. A Canadian citizen TN worker may [...]
Many of our clients and readers are familiar with the requirement to submit to biometrics (digital fingerprinting and/or photograph, please see below) in connection with certain USCIS applications. The biometrics are often taken at USCIS Application Support Centers (ASC) after a notice, showing a specific ASC address and appointment date/time, is issued and mailed to [...]
The U.S. State Department just released the February 2012 Visa Bulletin which is the fifth Visa Bulletin for the FY2012 fiscal year. The major headline in the upcoming month’s bulletin is the significant forward movement in EB-2 India and China (by twelve months) and the continued forward movement in FB-1. Summary of the February 2012 [...]