Category: USCIS

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on May 2, 2016, that it has completed data entry of all fiscal year 2017 H-1B cap-subject petitions selected randomly. USCIS has begun returning all H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected. USCIS said that due to the high volume of filings, the agency is unable to provide a definite time frame for returning these petitions.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently released the latest “SEVIS By the Numbers,” a quarterly report on international student trends prepared by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). The report notes that nearly 1.2 million international students with F (academic) or M (vocational) status are studying in the United States. Full report available… Read More

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on April 22, 2016, that the agency will begin premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions requesting premium processing, including petitions seeking an exemption for individuals with a U.S. master’s degree or higher. Premium processing guarantees a 15-calendar-day processing time. USCIS had previously announced that it would temporarily adjust… Read More

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently designated two decisions of the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) as “adopted decisions,” meaning that they “establish policy guidance that applies to and binds all USCIS employees.” USCIS directs its personnel to follow the reasoning in these decisions in similar cases.  Matter of Z-A-. USCIS designated Matter of Z-A-,… Read More

On February 25, 2016, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Ombudsman hosted a public teleconference on issues related to Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) benefits for certain nonimmigrant workers, including H and L nonimmigrants. Individuals whose employers timely file for extension of nonimmigrant status receive an automatic 240-day extension of work authorization while the… Read More