Our office has been handling an increasing number of expedited processing Form I-131 reentry permits for legal permanent residents (”LPR”) who are or are planning to spend extended periods of time abroad and who wish to maintain their legal permanent resident status. Reentry Permits Are Generally Valid for Two Years One of the questions we receive very [...]
USCIS has instituted a new (and supposedly more streamlined and reliable) process for directing case status inquiries with USCIS service centers. Case status inquiries should be conducted by following these steps: Step 1: Contact the National Customer Service Center (NCSC) at 1-800-375-5283. The NCSC can assist customers, community-based organizations and liaison groups with case related inquiries. [...]
The H-2B filing period for fiscal year 2009 (FY2009) has been reopened by USCIS due to insufficient applications filed under the cap. Accordingly, USCIS accepts immediately new H-2B petitions under the FY2009 cap for starting work date before October 1, 2009. FY2009 H-2B Numbers Are Under the Quota On January 7, 2009, USCIS announced that it has [...]
We have reported previously on the Department of State’s (DOS) efforts to introduce an electronic form (DS-160) for submitting nonimmigrant visa (NIV) application at its consulates around the world. The goal is to have DS-160 replace the paper forms currently used for NIV applications at all U.S. consulates. The DS-160 online NIV application form is being [...]
The September 2009 Visa Bulletin was released by the State Department. The only change, in comparison to the August 2009 Visa Bulletin, is the forward movement in the EB-2 China and India categories which changed from January 1, 2003 to January 8, 2005. All other categories remain unchanged. Here is a summary of the September [...]
USCIS released updated information on the numbers of cap-subject H-1Bs filed since April 1. As of Friday, July 24, USCIS has received approximately 44,900 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap. USCIS will continue to accept petitions subject to the general cap. Additionally, USCIS has received approximately 20,000 petitions for aliens with advanced degrees; however, [...]
Our firm handles a fair amount of appeals with the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) and we often receive inquiries not only about about the procedural aspects of an AAO appeal but also about the current processing times for AAO cases. About the AAO As a short preliminary background matter, the AAO is an appeals office which handles [...]
Our firm handles a fair amount of appeals with the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) and we often receive inquiries not only about about the procedural aspects of an AAO appeal but also about the current processing times for AAO cases. About the AAO As a short preliminary background matter, the AAO is an appeals office which handles [...]
In many areas around the U.S. driving is as essential as being able to read. In our practice we face constantly foreign nationals who have been denied (correctly or incorrectly) a driver’s license due to their inability to show a certain document. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (”ICE”) division has released a guide targeted to [...]
The U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (”ICE”) has released a supplemental guidance sheet with respect to gap-cap extensions available to holders of F-1 status who work pursuant to their optional practical training and who are beneficiaries of a cap-subject H-1B work visa petition. The guidance sheet is helpful in not only describing in more detail what [...]