The November 2019 Visa Bulletin has been released by the U.S. Department of State (DOS). In November, there is some advancement in the oversubscribed employment-based (EB) categories for China. Unfortunately, India receives nearly no relief. Visa Bulletin Summary All cutoff dates listed refer to the dates in...
Answer On November 21, 2019, a new regulation will go into effect that raises the minimum investment amount for EB5 cases to $1.8 million, or $900,000 if the investment is made in a targeted employment area (TEA). A TEA is a rural area or area of...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is scheduled to publish in the Federal Register a final rule related to the employment-based, fifth preference (EB5) immigrant investor program that will dramatically increase the minimum investment requirements, among other changes. The final rule will apply only...
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...
President Trump indicated today that he will sign a spending bill that funds the federal government through September 30, 2019, despite the fact that it does not include the funding he demanded to build a wall on the U.S. / Mexico border. The bill will...
This afternoon, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memorandum that provides officers with more discretion to deny an application or petition without first having to issue either a request for evidence (RFE) or notice of intent to deny (NOID). This memo...
Most months, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, Charles Oppenheim, provides visa bulletin explanations and predictions. For the May 2018 Visa Bulletin, Mr. Oppenheim only provides some very minor, short-term predictions. Family-Based Preference Categories For most family-based (FB) preference...
Today, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the May 2018 Visa Bulletin. In it, the cutoff date for the employment-based, third preference (EB3) category for India moves forward by a few months. Also, a cutoff date is established for the employment-based, fifth preference (EB5)...
This afternoon, President Trump signed a federal spending bill that keeps the government open through September 30, 2018. This bill also extends the employment-based, fifth preference (EB5) regional center program for the same time period. The bill does not, however, provide any protections to beneficiaries...
Congress must pass a spending bill to extend government operations by midnight of March 23, 2018, or else another temporary shutdown of the federal government will go into effect. A government shutdown at this time would be especially problematic because H1B cap season is upon...
