Numerous questions have been generated by movement of the EB2 cutoff date for India and China, as reflected in the U.S. Department of State (DOS) visa bulletin during the early portion of fiscal year 2012 (FY12). Among these is one important series of questions concerning...
It has been announced that the USCIS will NOT be holding a lottery of H1B cap-subject cases filed on the final day of filing for fiscal year 2012 (FY12). The cap for FY12 was reached on November 22, 2011. The USCIS typically does not have...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently acknowledged problems with data transmission involving the National Benefits Center (NBC). The NBC had not been receiving proper information regarding the entry of appearance for attorneys and representatives (Form G-28). As a result, important case-related notices were...
Summer has come and gone, and even fall is on the wane, as the trees drop the last of their leaves, still glowing in sunset colors and blowing around the yard. Almost four hundred years ago, in 1621, the Pilgrims marked this time of year...
The issues forcing a temporary unavailability of visas in the F, M, and J category have been resolved. The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) confirmed on November 21, 2011 that F, M, and J visa processing has resumed. Given the short duration of the...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has issued the anxiously-awaited December 2011 Visa Bulletin. As predicted, the employment-based, second reference (EB2) cutoff date for December 2011 is advancing considerably. The EB2 cutoff for India and China is March 15, 2008, effective during the month of...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced in November 2011 that it will be allowable to "bundle" together L-1 petitions for multiple employees when filed for identical positions by the same employer. The L-1 petitions may be bundled in order to streamline and improve...
The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India recently announced a change in L-1 visa application procedures within India. As of December 1, 2011, all L-1 visa applications filed under an approved L-1 blanket case must be submitted to the U.S. Consulate General in Chennai, India....
As President Obama is no doubt tired of hearing, he promised to tackle immigration reform within his first year in office. For a variety of reasons, that promise remains unfulfilled - the financial collapse and its aftermath, two wars, a string of natural disasters, the...
The USCIS H1B cap count had reached 56,300 as of November 14, 2011. This means that there are fewer than 9,000 cap numbers remaining out of the 65,000 limit for fiscal year 2012 (FY12). As expected, the rate of filings has increased in the past...
