On April 13, 2015, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the completion of the H1B random lottery process for fiscal year 2016 (FY16). As previously noted, the total count of about 233,000 greatly exceeded the cap limits, and was substantially higher than the approximately...
This afternoon, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the May 2015 Visa Bulletin. As expected, the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category for people born in India and China continues to advance. EB2 India moves ahead by more than seven months, to April 15, 2008. EB2...
From time to time, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) internally reassigns pending cases by moving them from one USCIS service center to another. These case transfers are an effort to balance workloads between service centers. Such a shift was announced at the end...
Historically, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been available to make corrections on I-94s issued at U.S. ports of entry that contain errors. Many such requests for correction are addressed during in-person visits to CBP deferred inspection units (DIUs). Now, the Houston Field...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today, (April 7, 2015) that the H1B cap has been reached for fiscal year 2016 (FY16). The USCIS confirms receipt of filings in excess of both the 65,000 regular cap as well as the 20,000 advanced-degree exemptions...
Effective April 1, 2015, the U.S. embassy and consulates in India will be retiring the Business Executive Program (BEP). This program, which was created in the 1990s, was a U.S. government effort to facilitate business travel through registration and recognition of established companies. BEP Service Benefits The...
Each month, Charles Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division of the U.S. Department of State (DOS), provides insight into the contents of the latest visa bulletin and, when possible, offers predictions for future visa bulletin developments. The information provided by Mr. Oppenheim...
The use of unpaid internships has come under close scrutiny, following lawsuits over the past couple of years alleging back wage debts against major fashion, entertainment, media and publishing companies. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), however, has long recognized the potential use of unpaid...
The USCIS Service Center Operations (SCOPS) participated in a March 4, 2015 teleconference with members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), during which a number of key immigration concerns were addressed. One topic of particular note to many stakeholders is that of ongoing delays...
Earlier today, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a draft version of a long-awaited policy memorandum on the L1B classification. The USCIS will accept feedback regarding the memo through May 8, 2015, and, barring any changes, this policy memo will go into effect on...
