On March 31, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) removed the requirement that civil surgeons sign the report of immigration medical examination and vaccination record (form I-693) within 60 days of the date of application for the underlying immigration benefit. The policy has...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is now accepting petitions for H2B workers for the late second half of fiscal year 2023 (FY2023), with employment start dates from May 15, 2023, to September 30, 2023. These 10,000 additional H2B visa numbers are available based...
Answer The USCIS technically considers an H1B applicant counted against the numerical H1B cap if s/he is issued an H1B visa "stamp" from a U.S. consulate abroad. In general, a foreign national who has been counted against the H1B cap may work in H1B status for...
Answer Historically, a religious organization filing an R-1 petition for the first time was not allowed to use premium processing until a site visit had been conducted. Based on a policy change from a few weeks ago, however, it appears the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services...
Answer At this point, there is no way to know the odds of whether a second H1B lottery will be necessary. The earliest we can reasonably expect to hear from the USCIS about a possible second lottery is July.As a frame of reference, in 2021, the...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) recently announced a new mail delivery process for lawful permanent residents (LPRs) to receive an alien documentation, identification, and telecommunication (ADIT) stamp (also known as an I-551 stamp) as temporary evidence of the LPR's status. Under the new...
Answer While it is possible to file an H1B petition while the beneficiary is outside the United States, the case would have to be filed for consular notification (also commonly called "consular processing"). If the case is filed for consular notification, the USCIS will not approve...
On March 15, 2023, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated its ability-to-pay guidance, which can be found in Volume 6, Chapter 4 of the USCIS Policy Manual. The new guidance from the USCIS regarding the sponsoring employer's ability to pay applies only...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is expanding premium processing service for F-1 students applying for employment authorization documents (EADs) pursuant to OPT and STEM OPT extensions. The USCIS goal is to offer a more predictable process for timely adjudication for F-1 students applying...
This afternoon, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that enough initial registrations were submitted to the fiscal year 2024 (FY24) H1B cap, including the advanced degree exemption (master's cap). The online accounts should now show one of the following for each registration:Submitted...
