Dr. Shah holds full-time H-1B status with his employer but would like to work part-time at the hospital emergency room as an independent contractor. Dr. Davita would like to work with a local locum tenens company full-time after he finishes his last year of his current J-1 waiver position. Neither of these positions appear to …
Continue reading H-1B Visa Doctors Can Work Locum Tenens and Other Independent Contractor Positions
The U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) provides estimated time ranges for processing applications and petitions on its website at https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times. For most applications, you can contact the USCIS if your case has been pending longer than the "case inquiry date" posted on our website. The USCIS Contact Center (formerly the National Customer Service Center) is one …
Continue reading How to Contact USCIS when Your Application is Past the Case Inquiry Date
Immigration applicants often want to know how much time it will take to get a decision on their applications. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) does publish processing time estimates, found at https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times. Applicants should keep in mind that the expected processing times are only estimates, which may not be accurate. The USCIS has recently …
Continue reading Fact Sheet: How the Government Estimates Application Processing Times
USCIS announcement - "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that current beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under Nepal’s designation who want to maintain their status through the effective termination date of June 24, 2019, must re-register between May 22, 2018, and July 23, 2018. Re-registration procedures, including how to renew employment authorization …
Continue reading USCIS announces TPS re-registration for qualified Nepal citizens living in the U.S.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it will terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Nepal on June 24, 2019. According to DHS, the country conditions in Nepal have improved since the 2015 earthquake and subsequent aftershocks. Currently, TPS is set to expire on June 24, 2018. Renewal for those who currently …
Continue reading Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Citizens of Nepal Will End on June 24, 2019
On March 30, the USCIS announced a new pilot program for L-1 visa applicants who are Canadian citizens. Read on for the full announcment: "From April 30, 2018, to Oct. 31, 2018, the USCIS California Service Center (CSC) and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Blaine, Washington, port of entry (POE) will implement a …
Continue reading USCIS and CBP Announces New Form I-129 Pilot Program for Canadian L-1 Nonimmigrants
USCIS released the following statement today: Starting April 2, 2018, USCIS will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 cap. We will temporarily suspend premium processing for all FY 2019 cap-subject petitions, including petitions seeking an exemption for individuals with a U.S. master’s degree or higher. This suspension is expected to …
In a recent statement, the government belittled our family reunification immigration laws, adopting the pejorative term "chain migration." It further claimed family immigration “has depressed wages and job opportunities for comparably skilled American workers.” Aside from offering no valid proof of this claim, the current government disregards the objective of keeping families together, which America has …
Continue reading It’s Family Reunification, not Chain Migration
Several immigration programs that have authorized over a million immigrant workers are expected to end in 2018 and 2019. The cancellation of these programs will terminate employment eligibility for these workers, making most of them deportable. The loss of these legally authorized workers is likely to destabilize many employers’ workforce and disrupt the economy as a …
Based on past government shutdowns, we should see business as usual for most immigration cases. Of course, we won't know for certain until the immigration agencies officially announce their procedures. Here's a short breakdown of what we can expect from some of the various immigration agencies, subject to further notice: US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) …
Continue reading What Could Happen to Immigration Cases if the Government Shuts Down?
Ann Massey Badmus 