On January 5, 2024, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) issued updated guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding how officers are to adjudicate pending immigrant petitions for alien workers (form I-140) when an employee ports to a new employer under the American Competitiveness...
Today, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the February 2024 Visa Bulletin. Unsurprisingly, there is little-to-no movement in most of the employment-based categories. 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...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently published a final rule in the Federal Register announcing an increase in premium processing fees that will go into effect February 26, 2024. The fee increase is based on the inflation index from June 2021 through June...
To apply for status as a lawful permanent resident ("LPR") in an employment-based category, a foreign national typically must be sponsored by a U.S. employer. One exception to this, however, is the national interest waiver (NIW), which falls under the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category....
The PERM labor certification process can be lengthy for employers and employees. During the wait, a company pursuing a labor certification for a prospective employee may be acquired, merge, change corporate structure, or change ownership. In such an event, the new entity may be able...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the January 2024 Visa Bulletin this afternoon. There is significant movement in the employment-based, first preference (EB1) category, and far more modest movement in some of the other oversubscribed categories. All cutoff dates listed refer to those in...
This afternoon, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the December 2023 Visa Bulletin. The last visa bulletin of the calendar year sees almost no movement from the previous month. All cutoff dates listed refer to those in the final action chart (i.e., Chart A),...
In each permanent resident (“green card”) case, one must decide whether to request consular processing (CP) or adjustment of status (AOS). There are two possibilities for this last step in the green card process: adjustment of status within the United States or processing for an...
On October 12, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) launched the new Enterprise Change of Address (E-COA) self-service tool for an individual to notify the USCIS of a change in address. The tool is intended to improve the speed and efficiency of updating...
Any foreign national who wishes to practice medicine in the United States must take into account certain immigration considerations. For Canadian citizens, however, there are a number of unique issues that tend to arise. Canadian Physicians Do Not Need to Obtain ECFMG A physician who graduates from...
