The recent overhaul of the U.S. Department of State (DOS) visa bulletin system, which goes into effect on October 1, 2015, has generated enormous excitement. While the changes to the visa bulletin tend to primarily benefit those applying for permanent residency (green cards) through the...
The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) issued a decision on August 17, 2015 addressing whether an incorrect heading in an online advertisement was a valid reason for denying the PERM labor certification. In Matter of SDG Post Oak, BALCA held that an advertisement...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has designated Yemen for temporary protected status (TPS) due to ongoing armed conflict in that country. Effective September 3, 2015, nationals of Yemen living in the United States may be eligible to apply for permission to remain in...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) is introducing a major beneficial change to the visa bulletin system, as officially announced in the release of the October 2015 Visa Bulletin. As previously rumored, effective October 1st, the monthly visa bulletin now will include two separate cutoff date charts...
The October 2015 Visa Bulletin from the U.S. Department of State (DOS) reflects a newly revised system of dual cutoff dates. As of October, the visa bulletin contains a new, separate cutoff date chart for filing the application for adjustment (form I-485). The cutoff dates...
On August 17, 2015, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued final guidance on its updated L1B adjudications policy. This USCIS policy memorandum, which went into effect August 31st, is substantially similar to the draft guidance released on March 24, 2015. Change to L1B Trend? The...
In a recent Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) decision, BALCA agreed with the employer that a handwritten date noted on a printout of an advertisement for a job satisfies the employer's requirement for documenting dates of the ads on the company's website. As...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) is reportedly working to implement a significant change to the monthly visa bulletin system, as part President Obama's push to streamline the U.S. immigrant visa system. According to an article published in The National Law Review, the DOS plans to begin...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced at the end of August 2015 that certain family-based immigration cases will be moved from the Vermont Service Center (VSC) to the California Service Center (CSC). Such internal case transfers are fairly routine, and typically are to balance...
On August 10, 2015, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a draft memorandum regarding certain legal requirements for the employment-based, fifth preference (EB5) immigrant investor category. The memo specifically addresses two key EB5 requirements: job creation and sustaining the EB5 investment over the two-year...
