The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the June 2014 Visa Bulletin. As predicted, the family-based, second preference "A" (FB2A) category retrogresses for all countries of chargeability, as has the employment-based, third preference (EB3) category for all countries, save India. EB3 China was hit especially...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has issued the June 2014 Visa Bulletin. As expected, the family-based, second preference "A" (FB2A) category for spouses and (unmarried, minor) children of lawful permanent residents retrogresses by more than a year for all countries of chargeability. Also, the...
In light of the rising popularity of massive open online courses, or MOOCs, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently issued a press release to remind F-1 and M-1 students of some important rules pertaining to foreign students enrolling in online classes. Although F-1 and...
On May 6, 2014, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a press release that provides details on the proposed rule that would allow certain H-4 spouses to obtain employment authorization. This rule, which will soon be published in the Federal Register, would allow H-4 spouses...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) revises application and petition forms from time to time. These changes are often tied to new legal and procedural requirements, or efforts to enhance security and/or efficiency. A recent change was made to the application for naturalization (form...
Charles Oppenheim, Chief of the Immigrant Visa Control Unit at the U.S. Department of State (DOS), recently provided expectations for cutoff date movement for the remainder of fiscal year 2014 (FY14). There is no one better positioned than Mr. Oppenheim, as the chief of the...
On April 10, 2014, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) completed the fiscal year 2015 (FY15) lottery process for both advanced degree (or master's) cap and regular H1B cap cases. However, many employers, potential H1B workers, and family members are still anxiously awaiting the...
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) WebSite provides detailed and helpful information about the wait times at various U.S. ports of entry (POEs). While there can be considerable variation at any given port, the information provided by the CBP can be useful in making...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has issued the May 2014 Visa Bulletin. There is little to cheer for in this month's bulletin, with no unexpected forward movement in any of the categories. Further, the DOS again warns that retrogression may be necessary for the...
On April 10, 2014, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the completion of the random selection lottery of H1B cap subject petitions filed for fiscal year 2015 (FY15). The USCIS has completed both the lottery for selection of the 20,000 advanced-degree exemptions (or,...
