This afternoon, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the December 2015 Visa Bulletin. There is no movement in the dates for filing (DF) chart for any of the employment-based or family-based categories. As for the final action (FA) chart, the only major movement is in...
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has released data on labor conditions applications (LCA) filed in connection with H1B petitions during fiscal year 2015 (FY15). The information reflects the number of LCA filings, as well as the most common occupations, the...
Earlier today, the Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), León Rodríguez, made a presentation during the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman Fifth Annual Conference. During his speech, Mr. Rodríguez only spent a few minutes discussing issues related to the...
A decision issued by the U.S. Department of Labor earlier this year illustrates the importance of systematizing the selection of the wage levels when filing H1B petitions. In Quintanilla v. Myriad RBM Inc. the DOL considered whether the employer had paid the correct wage to...
In response to the unjust changes made to the October 2015 Visa Bulletin, sixteen members of Congress have signed on to a letter sent to Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and Secretary of State John Kerry, urging the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to "…implement...
There has been a great deal of confusion surrounding recent changes to the U.S. Department of State (DOS) visa bulletin system. There are now two cutoff charts each for the family-based (FB) and employment-based (EB) preference categories. As previously discussed, however, those seeking to file an...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released guidance on how to pay the application for naturalization (N-400) filing fees by credit card. The N-400 is the only form that allows for fee payment by credit card. This change is part of President Obama's efforts...
The rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to revise and reauthorize the STEM optional practical training (OPT) program was published in the federal register on October 19, 2015. The proposed rule would increase the duration of STEM OPT extensions to 24...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that, effective October 19, 2015, there will be a change in the filing location for a limited group of form I-140 employer petitions. This change is simply an effort to balance workloads between the Texas Service Center...
On Monday, October 19, 2015, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is expected to publish the new STEM optional practical training (OPT) rule in the federal register. This rule, if enacted, would allow for STEM OPT extensions of up to 24 months, which is seven...
