The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is now accepting petitions for H2B workers for the late second half of fiscal year 2023 (FY2023), with employment start dates from May 15, 2023, to September 30, 2023. These 10,000 additional H2B visa numbers are available based...
Answer In order to qualify for an H-4 EAD, the principal H1B spouse must either (1) be the beneficiary of an approved I-140, or (2) have extended H1B status beyond six years based on the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act (AC21). If your husband's...
Answer The USCIS technically considers an H1B applicant counted against the numerical H1B cap if s/he is issued an H1B visa "stamp" from a U.S. consulate abroad. In general, a foreign national who has been counted against the H1B cap may work in H1B status for...
Answer There was a brief period under the Trump Administration when the USCIS took the position that certain wage level 1 positions may not qualify as H1B positions. For the past several years, however, this has not really been an issue. While there still may be...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) recently published a final rule in the Federal Register to raise fees charged by U.S. consulates for many categories of nonimmigrant visas. The cost for border crossing cards for citizens of Mexico is also going up. These fee increases...
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has agreed to review denials of ETA form 9089, application for permanent employment certification (PERM labor certification) based on question H.10-B, which asks employers to identify an acceptable alternate occupation in which applicants could gain prior qualifying experience. After...
This afternoon, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the May 2023 Visa Bulletin. All cutoff dates listed refer to those in the final action chart (i.e., Chart A), unless otherwise specified. Visa Bulletin Summary Employment-Based, First Preference (EB1) Category There is no movement in the EB1 category,...
Answer Historically, a religious organization filing an R-1 petition for the first time was not allowed to use premium processing until a site visit had been conducted. Based on a policy change from a few weeks ago, however, it appears the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services...
Answer At this point, there is no way to know the odds of whether a second H1B lottery will be necessary. The earliest we can reasonably expect to hear from the USCIS about a possible second lottery is July.As a frame of reference, in 2021, the...
Answer No, unfortunately, you generally cannot use a priority date from a family-based case and apply it to an employment-based case. (13.Apr.2023)Sheela Murthy and other senior attorneys provide guidance that clarifies the law. For information on our FREE online services, click here. Access more FAQs here. Copyright...
