Answer H1B time is calculated based on the person's time in the United States in H1B status. Time spent outside the U.S. after an H1B has been approved does not count toward the standard 6-year max. (17.Jun.2021)Sheela Murthy and other senior attorneys provide guidance that clarifies...
Answer If the PERM labor certification is at the service center where the I-140 is being filed, it appears the USCIS will honor the premium processing request. However, there have been reports of cases being rejected when a premium processing request was included. As a precaution,...
Answer The EB5 program is permanent, so it will not expire. However, the regional center portion of the EB5 program is "temporary," so it periodically must be renewed. Presently, if no action is taken, the program will expire at the end of June. However, there are...
Today, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the July 2021 Visa Bulletin. All cutoff dates listed refer to the dates in the final action chart (i.e., Chart A), unless otherwise specified. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has not yet indicated whether stakeholders...
Alejandra Mayorkas, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was the opening keynote speaker at the AILA Annual Conference on Thursday, June 10, 2021, held virtually. He is the first Latino and immigrant Secretary of the DHS. He shared some updates, including...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has designated Burma (Myanmar) for temporary protected status (TPS) and provided flexibility for employment authorization to Burmese F-1 students based on severe economic hardship. These accommodations are due to the ongoing political crisis in Burma.The Burma designation for TPS...
During a U.S. Department of State open forum, Mr. Charles Oppenheim, the Chief of the Immigrant Visa Control Unit, provided a couple of updated predictions for the July 2021 Visa Bulletin. Mr. Oppenheim expects that the cutoff date for EB3 India will move ahead to...
Answer I-485 processing times generally are based on the local field office processing your case. Current processing times can be found on the USCIS website. Your priority date must be current at the time of adjudication in order for the I-485 to be approved. But the...
Answer Technically speaking, to qualify for AC21 portability when the I-140 is still pending, the I-140 must be "approvable when filed." Assuming all the standard AC21 requirements are met (e.g., porting to the same or similar job), this may be an option, but it is not...
Answer Withdrawing the pending I-485 at this point is probably not the best option. It may be possible to interfile, or one could potentially file a second I-485 and have both cases pending. Eventually, the USCIS will ask the applicant to choose one of the cases...
