The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the September 2021 Visa Bulletin, which is the last visa bulletin for fiscal year 2021. All cutoff dates listed refer to the dates in the final action chart (i.e., Chart A), unless otherwise specified. The U.S. Citizenship...
This afternoon, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that, effective August 12, 2021, the validity period of a report of medical examination and vaccination record (form I-693) will temporarily be extended from two years to four years. Per the announcement, the USCIS may...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requires foreign nationals to submit biometrics in-person at an application support center (ASC) before granting certain categories of immigration benefits. After the USCIS schedules the biometrics appointment, if the individual fails to attend and does not take any...
Answer It is true that the USCIS has now implemented a process so that one may apply for a Social Security Number as part of the I-485 application process. However, it appears this option is only available for I-485 applications that have not yet been filed....
In most situations, to obtain U.S. lawful permanent resident status (i.e., a "green card") through an employment-based (EB) category, one must be sponsored by a U.S. employer for a position that is full time and permanent. The foreign national must intend to work in that...
Answer The USCIS does not appear to have an official policy on this. Anecdotally, however, we have had cases where we have provided an updated I-94 to the USCIS while the form I-765 application for employment authorization was pending. For at least some of those cases,...
Foreign nationals frequently are confused by the specific instructions found in certain denial decisions issued in response to their immigration filings. The standard language used by these government agencies is often wrongly perceived as either requiring or recommending specific action. The terminology discussed here is...
Answer A U.S. citizen who is at least 21 years old typically can sponsor a sibling for a green card under the family-based, fourth preference (FB4) category. However, the pending or approved I-130 petition does not provide any immediate immigration benefits. Rather, one would need to...
With the ongoing pandemic, there have been severe backlogs in immigrant visa processing at U.S. consular posts. The overwhelming majority of consular posts still have limited capacity to process immigrant visas. Due to the delayed visa interviews during the pandemic, the National Visa Center (NVC)...
Answer Generally speaking, a U.S. citizen living abroad may sponsor her parents for green cards when she turns 21, as long as she plans on moving to the U.S. once the immigrant visas are issued. (On occasion, we have seen consulates require the U.S. citizen child...
