Answer The USCIS oftentimes will approve an application to change status to F-1, even if the applicant has an approved I-140, but there is always a risk that the USCIS may deny the case based upon immigrant intent. Applying for an F-1 visa "stamp" at a...
Answer It normally would be possible to schedule a new interview based on the new approved H1B petition. One likely would be required to withdraw the pending visa application, however. (25.Jun.2018)In frequent sessions of our Chat, Sheela Murthy and other senior attorneys provide guidance that clarifies...
Charles Oppenheim, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, provides visa bulletin explanations and predictions most months. For June 2018, Mr. Oppenheim discusses the possibility of movement in the employment-based, second preference (EB2) and employment-based, third preference (EB3)...
Answer The H-4 COS will be abandoned when one leaves the U.S., but one can apply for an H-4 visa stamp to return at any time (assuming the principal spouse is in valid H1B status). A COS approval is not required to apply for a visa...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) is proposing a number of changes to both the online application for a nonimmigrant visa (form DS-160) and the electronic application for an immigrant (form DS-260). The most significant changes to the forms would be to include requests for...
Answer Travel outside the U.S. while an H1B petition is pending will automatically cancel any change of status request and convert the petition to consular processing. So, assuming the H1B petition is approved, in order to move then to H1B status, one typically must first get...
This afternoon, President Trump signed a federal spending bill that keeps the government open through September 30, 2018. This bill also extends the employment-based, fifth preference (EB5) regional center program for the same time period. The bill does not, however, provide any protections to beneficiaries...
Effective April 1, 2018, interviews for all immediate-relative immigrant visas in India will be conducted at the U.S. Consulate in Mumbai. Anyone with an immediate-relative interview in India, scheduled for April 1, 2018, or later, will be required to go to Mumbai, even if it...
Congress must pass a spending bill to extend government operations by midnight of March 23, 2018, or else another temporary shutdown of the federal government will go into effect. A government shutdown at this time would be especially problematic because H1B cap season is upon...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has updated the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) with regard to how consular officers should analyze whether a foreign national will be considered a public charge. This update to the FAM also addresses the use of affidavits of support, which...
