The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Texas Service Center (TSC) is still denying advance parole (AP) applications (form I-131) for applicants who travel abroad before their AP applications are approved. As previously reported, this is contrary to the longstanding practice by the USCIS to...
Answer Ordinarily, once a person changes to H1B status, any remaining period of OPT is lost and cannot be regained. (23.Oct.2017)In frequent sessions of our Chat, Sheela Murthy and other senior attorneys provide guidance that clarifies the law in real time. For details on chat participation,...
Answer Generally speaking, travel while a COS to H-4 is pending will automatically result in the application being considered abandoned. One in this scenario could enter on the existing H1B visa (assuming the visa and H1B petition are still valid, and one will be returning to...
Answer No, not all nonprofits qualify to hire cap-exempt H1B workers. In general, nonprofit and government research organizations qualify. Not-for-profit universities and their nonprofit affiliates are also cap exempt. (23.Oct.2017)In frequent sessions of our Chat, Sheela Murthy and other senior attorneys provide guidance that clarifies the...
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a new policy memorandum regarding the definitions of affiliate and subsidiary for the purposes of H1B filing fee determinations. The policy is being instituted to clarify a previously ambiguous portion of the American Competitiveness and Workforce...
Following the release of a memorandum in March 2017 related to H1B petitions filed for computer programmers, the United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has been issuing requests for evidence (RFEs) on the majority of H1B petitions accompanied by labor condition applications (LCAs) that...
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is considering regulatory changes to form ETA-9035, which is the labor condition application (LCA) used in the H1B petition process. Included in the proposal are significant changes that address offsite placement and H1B dependency. The proposed changes were issued...
Just as employers and their respective attorneys were getting ready to file thousands of H1B cap subject petitions for fiscal year 2018, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a memorandum dated March 31, 2017 that called into question whether a position classified as...
Answer If an H1B extension is timely filed and the person's I-94 then expires, an H1B change of employer (frequently referred to as a "transfer") typically would only be approved for consular processing unless the extension is approved. One should consult a qualified attorney in this...
Answer The "green card" process can typically be started at any time, regardless of one's current nonimmigrant status. (02.Oct.2017)In frequent sessions of our Chat, Sheela Murthy and other senior attorneys provide guidance that clarifies the law in real time. For details on chat participation, click here.Access...
