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 [...]
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 [...]