Today, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the data entry process has been completed for all cases selected in the fiscal year 2020 (FY20) H1B lottery. The USCIS will now begin returning all cap-subject petitions that were not selected.The USCIS notes that,...
The June 2019 Visa Bulletin has been released by the U.S. Department of State (DOS). The most notable movement is that the employment-based, first preference (EB1) category for India retrogresses significantly, albeit only temporarily. In addition, the latest visa bulletin cautions that the employment-based, fifth...
When filing for a STEM OPT extension, an international student must complete and submit a training plan for STEM OPT students (form I-983) to the academic institution's designated school official (DSO). The form includes sections for both the student and the employer to complete and...
As of May 20, 2019, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will accept only the latest version of the petition for a nonimmigrant worker (form I-129), which has a 01/31/19 date printed at the bottom of each page. The USCIS will reject any prior...
Answer Usually, the receipt notice arrives within 2-to-3 weeks (if not filed with premium processing). However, in some cases where the lockbox is significantly backlogged, it can take longer. Regardless of how long it takes to issue the notice, the receipt date is determined by when...
Answer If the original petition is still valid, then yes, you should be able to keep working pursuant to that petition. In the meantime, your employer may wish to challenge the H1B denial, and/or consider refiling the H1B extension, providing additional evidence to support the argument...
Today, a federal district court judge ordered immigration officials to temporarily cease enforcement of the August 9, 2018 policy memorandum that greatly expanded the situations in which those in F, J, or M status may begin accruing unlawful presence. This order stems from a lawsuit...
Answer Unfortunately, we have continued to see approvals like this - H1B approval notices that provide only a short validity period, and are already expired by the time that the notice is received by the employer. Unless one has another H1B approval to rely on, one...
A recent report released by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that conducts public policy research on trade, immigration, education, and other issues, provides further confirmation that the Trump Administration has radically changed how the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services...
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has reported on developing changes in adjudication policies related to L-1 petitions at several ports of entry (POEs) along the U.S. / Canada border. According to AILA, numerous practitioners have reported that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers...
