The results of the U.S. Department of State (DOS) diversity visa (DV) lottery for fiscal year 2015 (FY15) are now available. The DV lottery is a DOS program that runs on an annual basis. Eligibility for participation is limited to people from designated countries with...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the June 2014 Visa Bulletin. As predicted, the family-based, second preference "A" (FB2A) category retrogresses for all countries of chargeability, as has the employment-based, third preference (EB3) category for all countries, save India. EB3 China was hit especially...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has issued the June 2014 Visa Bulletin. As expected, the family-based, second preference "A" (FB2A) category for spouses and (unmarried, minor) children of lawful permanent residents retrogresses by more than a year for all countries of chargeability. Also, the...
Charles Oppenheim, Chief of the Immigrant Visa Control Unit at the U.S. Department of State (DOS), recently provided expectations for cutoff date movement for the remainder of fiscal year 2014 (FY14). There is no one better positioned than Mr. Oppenheim, as the chief of the...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun issuing requests for evidence (RFEs) for updated medical examinations in connection with long-pending adjustment of status cases (I-485 forms). The reason for this development is that many medical examinations are set to expire on May 31,...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has issued the May 2014 Visa Bulletin. There is little to cheer for in this month's bulletin, with no unexpected forward movement in any of the categories. Further, the DOS again warns that retrogression may be necessary for the...
The USCIS Idea Community is an online tool created by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to solicit public feedback and ideas on its services and initiatives. The "idea campaign" pertains to welcoming immigrants and citizenship preparation. The public is free to submit comments through...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced its intent to voluntarily reopen certain denied I-601A waivers. This applies, as of March 18, 2014, to I-601A waiver cases that were denied prior to January 24, 2014, and only to those cases that were denied solely...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) system for filing and tracking Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests has recently been improved. A FOIA request is a powerful tool used to obtain case-specific government records and other internal government documents. FOIA requests submitted to the...
The March 2014 Visa Bulletin has been released by the U.S. Department of State (DOS), offering little in the way of movement or surprises. Perhaps the most significant change is the retrogression of the family-based, second preference "A" (FB2A) category for anyone born in Mexico...
