Adjustment of Status
The February 2017 visa bulletin was released by the Department of State yesterday. Below is a summary of the changes. Family Based Application: F1: Most countries moved forward about 1 month to 1.5 months (except the Philippines, which moved forward about 2 months). This means that most countries are
Immigration
The Department of State changed their photo requirements for visa and passport pictures at the end of 2016. They will no longer accept photos with glasses in the picture. You must remove your glasses for any, and all pictures. Their other requirements are: * In color * Sized such that the head
Immigration
Immigration Briefs is now at immigrationbriefs.com! Same blog, same great content, just a new home. Thank you for your support.
Immigration
On December 28th, 2016 the Administrative Appeals Office issued a decision in Matter of DHANASAR that has changed the landscape for National Interest Waiver cases. This is of major importance as the National Interest Waiver is one of only two self-sponsored applications and many scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs, and others use
Immigration
On December 23, 2016 USCIS issued new versions for many, many of its form, including the I-129, I-140, etc. Unfortunately, USCIS also stated that as of that date it would no longer accept prior versions of ANY of the new forms. This is despite the fact that no notice was
H-1B
For those seeking an H-1B, the most important criteria that must be met, is that the occupation that they are applying for be a "specialty occupation". USCIS has listed four methods of determining if a position is a specialty occupation: * A bachelor’s degree or higher degree or
Adjustment of Status
The American Immigration Lawyer's Association recently met with Charlie Oppenheim of the Department of State about the upcoming year and what the trends look like in terms of immigrant visa availability. Here is what Charlie said in regards to employment-based visas: EB-1: First, in terms of EB-1 Employment-based
AC21
USCIS has just issued its final rule to amend and add to its regulations regarding highly skilled worker. These are the same changes I discussed about 1 year ago when USCIS issued a draft rule on these issues. They have now been adopted. Below is a summary of the provisions
Immigration
Surprisingly USCIS is again using the dates for filing in December of 2106 for all categories EXCEPT for EB-5 filings. This means that, even though your priority date is not current (i.e. there is no immigrant visa available) you may still be able to file the I-485. Below are
Adjustment of Status
DOS released the December Visa bulletin and there are only some modest moves forward, as detailed below. Unfortunately, USCIS has not yet stated if they will still allow the Dates for Filing to be used to determine when you are able to file the adjustment application. We will update you
Immigration
I am sure a big concern on everyone's mind right now is what are the consequences for immigration based on the victory last night by Donald Trump. I think (and this is my opinion) that there will actually not be much change, but there will be some significant
DOL
Recently, an Administrative Law Judge ruled against the Department of Labor (DOL) in a very interesting case allowing the employer to recoup fees from an employee for the H-1B visa process. Before going into the specifics of the case, it is important to understand what the DOL regulations are in