The Department of State has announced that it will deploy the DS-160 fully web-based nonimmigrant visa application form worldwide. DS-160 has been used so far successfully in 24 consular posts and will be expanded to cover all consular posts by April 30, 2010. About DS-160 The DS-160 application form combines all information previously collected on the DS-156, [...]
The January 2010 Visa Bulletin was just released by the State Department. The fourth visa bulletin for the fiscal year 2010 and the first for the calendar 2010 does not bring much movement. For many categories, the only forward movement is in the 1-2 months range. Here is a summary of the January 2010 Visa [...]
USCIS released updated information on the numbers of cap-subject H-1Bs filed since April 1. As of December 10, 2009, USCIS has received approximately 62,500 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap (an increase of 1,000 in the past three days). The updated count means that as of December 10, 2009, there were 2,500 H-1B visas [...]
USCIS released updated information on the numbers of cap-subject H-1Bs filed since April 1. As of December 8, 2009, USCIS has received approximately 61,500 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap (an increase of 3,000 in the past week). The updated count means that as of December 8, 2009, there were 3,500 H-1B visas left [...]
In a recent AILA-Nebraska Service Center (“NSC”) teleconference, the NSC Director provided some helpful statistics about the Nebraska Service Center operations in 2009: The NSC processed over 950,000 applications and petitions in 2009, including 250,000 cases for EADs and more than 200,000 travel documents, including Travel Documents for refugees, asylees and permanent residents. 252,000 cases were pending [...]
In an article dated November 17, 2009, we wrote about the CDC reversing course and eliminating the requirement of HPV vaccine for immigrant applicants, including I-485 adjustment applications. The new rule had an effective date of December 14, 2009, so our office has received a number of inquiries about (1) what happens with pending adjustments [...]
USCIS released updated information on the numbers of cap-subject H-1Bs filed since April 1. As of November 27, 2009, USCIS has received approximately 58,900 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap (an increase of 2,000 in the past week). The updated count means that as of November 27, 2009, there were 6,100 H-1B visas left [...]
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) announced recently that ICE would be issuing Notices of Inspection (NOI) to 1,000 employers across the United States associated with critical infrastructure. The NOIS will seek to determine the employers’ compliance with employment eligibility verification laws. What is Critical Infrastructure Employer? The announcement seems to focus on employers associated with [...]
USCIS released updated information on the numbers of cap-subject H-1Bs filed since April 1. As of November 20, 2009, USCIS has received approximately 56,900 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap (an increase of 1,300 in the past week). The updated count means that as of November 20, 2009, there were 8,100 H-1B visas left [...]
We would like to remind our clients and readers that the Department of State DV-2011 Diversity Visa (a.k.a. “green card”) lottery is currently open but is scheduled to close at noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), on Monday, November 30, 2009. If you are planning to submit a DV-2011 entry, please do so well before the [...]