Effective April 15, 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will begin allowing stakeholders to submit documents electronically, via the PERM case management system (CMS), for labor certification (LC) cases, "while the application is pending review and up to 30 calendar days after the notice...
The U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a policy memorandum, on March 31, 2017, that addresses whether the position of computer programmer qualifies as a "specialty occupation" for H1B purposes. The memo rescinds a December 22, 2000 memo that instructed USCIS adjudicators to generally...
The May 2017 Visa Bulletin was released this afternoon. In the final action (FA) chart, India sees virtually no movement, with the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category holding steady at June 22, 2008, and the employment-based, third preference (EB3) category inching forward by a single...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has rejected a request by California's Chief Justice that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers be instructed to stop arresting undocumented immigrants at courthouses. Per a joint letter written by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that the H1B cap limit for fiscal year 2018 (FY18) has been reached. This applies to both the 65,000 regular H1B cap limit as well as the 20,000 advanced degree (masters) cap exemptions.As the H1B case...
Shortly after the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced plans for increased enforcement efforts against H1B employers, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its own news release that summarizes how it will "protect U.S. workers from H1B program discrimination by providing greater transparency...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a news release on April 3, 2017, announcing "multiple measures to further deter and detect H1B visa fraud and abuse." Per the release, the USCIS will use new criteria to determine which H1B employers and worksites to...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is "actively reconsider[ing] whether to revise …" the regulation that allows certain H-4 spouses to apply for employment authorization documents (EADs). This news comes via a DHS court filing, which asks the court to suspend any action on...
On March 31, 2017, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a policy memorandum that may affect the ability of some persons employed as computer programmers to obtain H1B status. The new memorandum specifically revokes a December 22, 2000 memo that had been issued ...
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...
