U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will implement the Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds "public charge" final rule on Feb. 24, 2020, except for in the State of Illinois where the rule remains enjoined by a federal court as of Jan. 30, 2020. Under the Final Rule, USCIS will look at the factors required under …
Continue reading New Public Charge Rule will take effect February 24, 2020
Each month, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) checks in with Charlies Oppenheim, who is the Department of State (DOS) official responsible for managing the visa bulletin. Here are AILA DOS Liaison Committee notes of its most recent monthly "check-in" with Charlie. AILA Doc. No. 14071401 | Dated June 21, 2019 General Trends and Observations: …
Continue reading Visa Bulletin Trends for Employment Based Green Cards
From the USCIS: USCIS has completed data entry for all fiscal year 2020 H-1B cap-subject petitions selected in our computer-generated random selection process, including those selected under the U.S. advanced degree exemption. As in previous years, we will now begin returning all H-1B cap-subject petitions that we did not select and will issue an announcement …
Continue reading USCIS Completes Data Entry of Fiscal Year 2020 H-1B Cap Subject Petitions
WASHINGTON— U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced the start of the fiscal year (FY) 2020 H-1B cap season, start dates for premium processing of cap-subject H-1B petitions, and the launch of its new H-1B data hub, while reminding petitioners of its new H-1B cap selection process. These new efforts underscore the agency’s commitment …
As of March 12, 2019, all H-1B petitions will be eligible for premium processing. Acccording to the USCIS recent annoucement: USCIS will resume premium processing on Tuesday, March 12, for all H-1B petitions. If you received a request for evidence (RFE) for a pending petition, you should include the RFE response with the premium processing request. When …
Continue reading Premium Processing is now available for all H-1B petitions
Employers who still have pending H-1B petitions filed on or before December 21, 2018 can now request premium processing of those cases. With this latest announcement, only the following categories of H-1B petitions are eligible for premium processing at this time: Petitions filed by cap-exempt employers, i.e. universities, colleges, or non-profit organizations affiliated with universities …
As expected, the government has significantly changed the H-1B visa rules for H-1B visa applications subject to annual numerical limitations ("H-1B cap"). The new rule (1) adds an electronic registration requirement for employers seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions, and (2) reverses the order of selecting petitions under the H-1B cap and the advanced degree ("master's …
Continue reading H-1B Visa Lottery Change Could Favor Employees with U.S. Master’s Degree or Higher
Are you aware of the Trump administration’s latest plans to further change legal immigration policies that will impact many foreign born professionals and their employers? Watch this informative webinar, “Immigration 2019: A Look at the Year Ahead,” for the information you need to know to prepare for these important changes as well as current trends …
Continue reading Immigration 2019: A Look at the Year Ahead Webinar Recording Now Available
Are you aware of the Trump administration's latest plans to further change legal immigration policies that will impact many foreign born professionals and their employers? Join me for a webinar, "Immigration 2019: A Look at the Year Ahead," for the information you need to know to prepare for these important changes as well as current trends and …
Ann Massey Badmus 