Per a notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register on May 4, 2016, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is seeking to raise filing fees for most types of immigration filings. This notice specifies the amount of the proposed fee increases and explains...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) June 2016 Visa Bulletin sent shock waves through the immigrant community, with years of retrogression in the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category for India and China, as well as the employment-based, third preference (EB3) category for China. The rollback...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) have special, expedited procedures for active duty U.S. military personnel stationed overseas who are petitioning for immigration benefits for their family members. These procedures help to greatly reduce the paperwork processing...
Cutoff dates in the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category for India and China suffer substantial retrogression in the June 2016 Visa Bulletin, which was released this afternoon by the U.S. Department of State (DOS). In the final action (FA) chart, EB2 India rolls back more than...
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) has revised the guidance for 24-month STEM OPT filings. This guidance reflects accommodations for delays during the transition to the new 24-month STEM OPT program. These changes are only applicable to students with optional practical training (OPT) expiration...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has adopted a decision of the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) addressing the requirements for medical specialists seeking a physician-specific national interest waiver (NIW). This solidifies a long-standing practice by the USCIS, which allows all physicians, both primary care...
Tomorrow, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be publishing a proposed increase in filing fees in the Federal Register that would apply to nearly all case types. A pre-publication version of the proposal is available online. Table 9, which can be found beginning...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a news alert this afternoon, informing stakeholders that the data entry process has been completed for all cases selected in this year's H1B lottery. The USCIS will now begin returning all cap-subject petitions that were not selected....
Representatives from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently revealed to members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) that USCIS adjudicators have been "… testing social media review in adjudications." They further indicated that the agency is reviewing social media as part of...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that, on May 12, 2016, the agency will begin to adjudicate H1B cap cases filed requesting premium processing. This is consistent with the earlier statement by the USCIS, indicating that the 15-calendar-day processing period for these...
