Today, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the June 2023 Visa Bulletin. Most cutoff dates in the employment-based categories remain unchanged. All cutoff dates listed refer to those in the final action chart (i.e., Chart A), unless otherwise specified. Visa Bulletin Summary Employment-Based, First Preference (EB1)...
Today, the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) announced that it is postponing the implementation date for using the new Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system until June 1, 2023. The full announcement reads as follows: "Following up on the announcements of April 21, April 27,...
The U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has extended the suspension of the biometrics requirement for certain I-539 applicants through September 30, 2023. The prior policy had suspended the biometrics requirement through May 17, 2023. Biometrics Suspension to Aid in Processing Backlogs Prior to May 17, 2021,...
The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) soon will cease accepting form ETA 9089, application for permanent employment certification (PERM), via the legacy PERM online filing system, and instead will require all such applications to be submitted through the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system....
The concept of priority dates is confusing for many. There are statutory limits to the number of foreign nationals who may be granted permanent residency (commonly, green cards) under all employment-based (EB) and most family-based (FB) categories. For these types of green card cases, priority...
This morning, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released data relating to the FY24 H1B registration lottery in an eMail to stakeholders and on its H1B Electronic Registration Process website. While the USCIS announced on March 27, 2023, that enough initial registrations were submitted...
On March 31, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) removed the requirement that civil surgeons sign the report of immigration medical examination and vaccination record (form I-693) within 60 days of the date of application for the underlying immigration benefit. The policy has...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is now accepting petitions for H2B workers for the late second half of fiscal year 2023 (FY2023), with employment start dates from May 15, 2023, to September 30, 2023. These 10,000 additional H2B visa numbers are available based...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) recently published a final rule in the Federal Register to raise fees charged by U.S. consulates for many categories of nonimmigrant visas. The cost for border crossing cards for citizens of Mexico is also going up. These fee increases...
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has agreed to review denials of ETA form 9089, application for permanent employment certification (PERM labor certification) based on question H.10-B, which asks employers to identify an acceptable alternate occupation in which applicants could gain prior qualifying experience. After...
