The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposed rule, on January 13, 2017, in the Federal Register, that would make a number of modifications to the employment-based, fifth preference (EB5) immigrant investor program, including a massive increase in the minimum investment required to...
Answer To file for AOS, there must still be a valid offer of employment from the I-140 sponsor (and normally an updated offer of employment letter to submit with the I-485.) In most circumstances, if the I-140 position is not still available, the I-485 cannot be...
Charles Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division for the U.S. Department of State (DOS), supplies visa bulletin explanations nearly every month. This month's update regarding the February 2017 Visa Bulletin provides insights and predictions related to several backlogged categories; unfortunately, many of...
On December 27, 2016, the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) issued a precedent decision in Matter of Dhanasar that modifies the framework for how the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will now adjudicate national interest waiver (NIW) petitions. On its face, the new three-prong test...
On January 17, 2017, a final immigration rule, primarily impacting high-skilled workers, goes into effect. The rule is intended to "improv[e] the ability of U.S. employers to hire and retain high-skilled workers … [and] increase[e] the ability of those workers to seek promotions, accept lateral...
There is virtually no movement of significance in the employment-based categories of the February 2017 Visa Bulletin, which was released by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) earlier today. The few advances that do occur are all in the final action (FA) chart; the dates...
Answer Generally, a start-up may sponsor workers for green cards. But, like all other companies, an 'ability to pay' the foreign worker being sponsored likely will be required. Depending on the circumstances, this can be a bit more challenging to prove for a new company. (09.Jan.2017)In...
Answer The I-140 and H1B are completely separate. One's I-140 will remain valid in this situation, and can be used to obtain permanent residence when the priority date becomes current, assuming the job is still available. (09.Jan.2017)In frequent sessions of our Chat, Sheela Murthy and other...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) adjudicates visa applications for aspiring immigrants whose cases will be processed at a U.S. embassy or consulate overseas - that is to say, foreign nationals applying for lawful permanent residency (i.e. "green cards") at an embassy or consulate, rather...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued the following announcement this afternoon: When new fees for most of our forms went into effect on December 23, 2016, we published updated versions of the forms at uscis.gov/forms. We strongly encourage customers to submit these new versions,...
