The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has issued instructions for entry into the fiscal year (FY) 2021 diversity visa (DV) lottery, more commonly known as the "green card" lottery. The FY21 diversity lottery will grant 55,000 immigrant visas to qualified applicants. Registration for FY21 begins...
Since its introduction, the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act (H.R. 1044 / S. 386) has been the subject of great interest and excitement within immigration circles. The bill would eliminate the per-country cap on employment-based green card petitions and increase the cap on family-based petitions....
Most months, Charles Oppenheim, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, provides visa bulletin explanations and predictions. Following the release of the October 2019 Visa Bulletin, Mr. Oppenheim provided some updated information on what to expect in the...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released policy guidance, effective October 29, 2019, modifying certain residency requirements for obtaining U.S. citizenship. Notably, this policy impacts children born abroad to U.S. government employees and U.S. armed forces members. Under the new policy guidance, "children...
The Canada-United States Preclearance Agreement was signed in 2015, but it only recently went into full effect. Prior to the implementation of the agreement, only a handful of Canadian airports offered preclearance. The agreement will expand that number, and will affect all modes of travel...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the October 2019 Visa Bulletin, which is the first visa bulletin of fiscal year 2020. Further, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the more favorable dates for filing (DF) chart may be used...
On September 16, 2019, representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) submitted a filing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, indicating that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is still actively working on a rule to terminate...
Changing status to H1B often involves a lengthy and somewhat unpredictable process. Because of the annual cap and uncertainties of lottery selection, many foreign nationals consider alternative processes as backup plans. As a result, there are a number of situations in which a foreign national...
The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that, as of 12:00 EST on October 1, 2019, labor condition applications (LCAs) required for H1B, H1B1, and E-3 petitions must be submitted via the Foreign Labor Application Gateway...
Recent college graduates in F-1 status are sometimes able to bridge the time between the expiration of their optional practical training (OPT) and the October 1st start date of H1B status through a benefit known as "cap gap" OPT. This benefit extends the OPT period...
