The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a revised Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record (I-693 form). The new version of the form has been updated to better comply with the gonorrhea testing requirement implemented in August 2016. Effective April 28, 2017,...
The Nebraska Service Center (NSC) advised the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) today that it is taking longer than normal to issue receipt notices via eMail for petitions filed requesting premium processing. The NSC provided AILA with the following statement: "NSC is receiving record high volumes...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will reject any H1B cap case filed with a fee payment that is "… not honored by the bank or financial institution," (e.g., a check 'bounced' for insufficient funds). This is a change from prior years, when the...
The Nebraska Service Center (NSC) is taking longer than normal to adjudicate H-4 I-539 applications and I-765 applications for H-4 employment authorization documents (EADs) that are filed concurrently with H1B petitions for premium processing.While there is no premium processing available for H-4 or EAD applications,...
The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) recently decided in a non-precedent decision that a provisional certificate from an Indian university was the equivalent of a degree. This favorable decision hopefully will lead the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to institute a formal policy of recognizing...
On January 17, 2017 a regulation went into effect that permits the automatic extension of certain categories of employment authorization documents (EADs) for up to 180 days based on timely filed EAD renewal applications. This immigration benefit applies to applicants with new, qualifying renewal applications,...
Due to a technical error, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently issued a number of H1B approvals that were incorrectly annotated with the H1B1 annotation. The USCIS is expected to issue corrected approval notices to reflect the proper H1B designation. Background on H1B1 Category The...
Starting April 3, 2017, the USCIS will temporarily suspend premium processing for all H1B petitions. This suspension may last up to six months. While H1B premium processing is suspended, petitioners will not be able to file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, for a...
Many U.S. employers that normally engage in providing tech consulting services seek to expand revenue streams by also developing their own proprietary software that can be marketed to clients. As part of the development process, these companies may seek to hire H1B workers to serve...
On February 14, 2017, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published the long-awaited application for employment authorization for abused nonimmigrant spouses (form I-765V). The new form allows certain categories of nonimmigrant spouses, including those in A, E-3, G, or H status, to now apply...
