Today, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the data entry process has been completed for all cases selected in the fiscal year 2020 (FY20) H1B lottery. The USCIS will now begin returning all cap-subject petitions that were not selected.The USCIS notes that,...
The June 2019 Visa Bulletin has been released by the U.S. Department of State (DOS). The most notable movement is that the employment-based, first preference (EB1) category for India retrogresses significantly, albeit only temporarily. In addition, the latest visa bulletin cautions that the employment-based, fifth...
When filing for a STEM OPT extension, an international student must complete and submit a training plan for STEM OPT students (form I-983) to the academic institution's designated school official (DSO). The form includes sections for both the student and the employer to complete and...
As of May 20, 2019, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will accept only the latest version of the petition for a nonimmigrant worker (form I-129), which has a 01/31/19 date printed at the bottom of each page. The USCIS will reject any prior...
Answer Usually, the receipt notice arrives within 2-to-3 weeks (if not filed with premium processing). However, in some cases where the lockbox is significantly backlogged, it can take longer. Regardless of how long it takes to issue the notice, the receipt date is determined by when...
Answer If the original petition is still valid, then yes, you should be able to keep working pursuant to that petition. In the meantime, your employer may wish to challenge the H1B denial, and/or consider refiling the H1B extension, providing additional evidence to support the argument...
Today, a federal district court judge ordered immigration officials to temporarily cease enforcement of the August 9, 2018 policy memorandum that greatly expanded the situations in which those in F, J, or M status may begin accruing unlawful presence. This order stems from a lawsuit...
Answer Unfortunately, we have continued to see approvals like this - H1B approval notices that provide only a short validity period, and are already expired by the time that the notice is received by the employer. Unless one has another H1B approval to rely on, one...
Beginning in May 2019, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will begin issuing form I-94 arrival/departure records with alphanumeric "numbers" (i.e., composed of letters and numbers). This change will have no impact on the validity of I-94 cards and numbers issued prior to the...
Effective May 1, 2019, citizens of Israel will be able to access the E-2 (treaty investor) visa category. The United States and Israel had signed a qualifying treaty in June 2012. However, the E-2 visa program for Israeli citizens could not become effective until Israel...
