We have reported of increased H-1B employer site visits as part of USCIS’ Administrative Site Visit Verification Program (ASVVP). Some of our clients have experienced such site visits and in this article we aim to describe the process and the kind of information sought by the site inspectors during each visit. Generally, site inspectors arrive unannounced [...]
The November 2009 Visa Bulletin was released by the State Department. The second visa bulletin for the fiscal year 2010 does not bring much movement. The slight forward movement can be observed in EB-2 and EB-3 China and in EB-3 India. All other categories, including EB-3 Rest of World (ROW) remain unchanged. Here is a [...]
We wrote in September about the gap in expected revenue by USCIS following the filing fee increase of Summer 2007. We noted that the agency has a $282 million shortfall in expected revenues. As a result of the announced 2007 fee increase, USCIS saw a surge in applications and hiring in 2007, ahead of a hefty [...]
H-1B Duration and Limits By law, the maximum duration of stay in any H status is six years. As a result, if a foreign employee held one or more kinds of H status, or held L status, then the total period spent in the U.S. in all of these statuses are added together to determine how [...]
The H-1B regulations impose certain additional recruitment and attestation requirements to so called “H-1B dependent employers.” Therefore, it becomes to understand the definition of H-1B dependent employer. Definition of H-1B Dependent Employer Pursuant to 20 CFR 655.736, an H-1B dependent employer is one which meets one of the following standards: The employer has 25 or fewer full-time equivalent [...]
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 The AAO is an appeals office which handles appeals of certain decisions made by [...]
USCIS released updated information on the numbers of cap-subject H-1Bs filed since April 1. As of Friday, September 25, USCIS has received approximately 46,700 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, [...]
The Department of State opens the DV-2011 Diversity Visa (a.k.a. “green card”) lottery. The entries for this year’s lottery must be submitted electronically between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Friday, October 2, 2009, and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), Monday, November 30, 2009. Applicants may access the electronic Diversity Visa entry form (E-DV) at [...]
USCIS has released a schedule of the inventory of pending Form I-485, Application to Adjust Status. The statistics are fairly recent - as of August 25, 2009 - and are very helpful to understanding the relative queue positions for adjustment of status applicants. How Can I Determine My Place in the AOS Queue? An AOS application’s preference [...]
USCIS released updated information on the numbers of cap-subject H-1Bs filed since April 1. As of Friday, September 18, USCIS has received approximately 46,000 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, [...]