There are various nonimmigrant options that may be available to foreign national artists, athletes, entertainers, and those who wish to participate in a cultural exchange program in the United States. Choosing the right classification for an individual or group engaged in any such activities may...
Once again, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has extended the response time flexibility, initially announced on March 30, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This flexibility applies to applicants and petitioners responding to any of the following, issued from March 1, 2020 through...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has launched a new monthly program on YouTube, to allow Charlie Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, to provide insight and predictions related to the visa bulletin. This month, Mr. Oppenheim provides some updated predictions for...
Today, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it may reopen and/or reconsider a denial issued on an H1B petition if the decision was based on one or more policies in three rescinded policy memos. The three rescinded memos are:"Determining Employer-Employee Relationship...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the April 2021 Visa Bulletin. All cutoff dates listed refer to the dates in the final action chart (i.e., Chart A), unless otherwise specified. Visa Bulletin Summary Employment-Based, First Preference (EB1) Category The EB1 category is current for all countries...
The Biden Administration has designated Venezuela for temporary protected status (TPS), due to a severe political and economic crisis in that country. Effective March 9, 2021, TPS has been granted for a period of 18 months. Qualifying nationals of Venezuela living in the United States...
Effective immediately, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is permanently ending enforcement of the public charge rule finalized by the Trump Administration in August 2019. This stems from successful legal challenges to the final rule, and the Biden Administration's decision to cease the federal...
In the wake of the rush of I-485 filings in October 2020, reports began to surface of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) rejecting many applications filed by derivatives. Specifically, the USCIS rejected these applications for leaving boxes 3.a. and 9 blank in Part...
With the arrival of fiscal year 2022 (FY22) H1B cap season, foreign nationals and employers should be aware of some important nuances of the H1B advanced-degree exemption, often referred to as the "master's cap." Clearly, the 20,000 H1B cap exemptions can be quite valuable for...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is providing additional flexibilities to qualifying F-1 students filing form I-765 based on OPT. These flexibilities are being provided because of ongoing processing delays at the USCIS and are available only to I-765 applications submitted to the USCIS...
