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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.
The Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for the month of June reports that during the past two months, there have been extremely high levels of employment-based demand for adjustment of status cases filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This has necessitated retrogression of final action dates in several categories in an effort to hold… Read More
On April 14, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced fraud charges and an asset freeze against a Vermont-based ski resort and related businesses allegedly misusing millions of dollars raised through investments solicited under the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. The SEC alleges that Ariel Quiros of Miami, William Stenger of Newport, Vermont, and their… Read More
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
Between 2009 and 2014, nearly one million Mexican nationals (including their U.S.-born children) left the United States for Mexico of their own accord. That number is higher than the number of legal Mexican migrants who came to the United States. This increased tendency for repatriation from Mexico to the United States began to take shape… Read More
The Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) continues to experience significant delays in processing employers’ H-2B applications for certification and is therefore extending the availability of emergency procedures through April 29, 2016. OFLC explained that the delays have been generated by several factors, the most significant of which was a 17-day certification… Read More
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson recently announced that effective April 1, 2016, Visa Waiver Program (VWP) participants must have an e-Passport to travel to the United States. Under the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act, VWP travelers who do not have an e-Passport from a participating VWP country must… Read More