F-1
There are two relevant updates to discuss. First, in terms of the STEM OPT court fight, the District Court this week dismissed the action against USCIS for the STEM OPT rules. The Court found that USCIS had fixed the necessary issues and did not agree that USCIS overstepped its bounds
Adjustment of Status
In the last week, the Department of State released the June, 2016 visa bulletin, USCIS has announced which tables they will utilize for this month and Charlie Oppenheim, the Department of State employee in charge of immigrant visa numbers, issued guidance for the coming months. Below is a summary of
F-1
With the publishing of the new STEP OPT rule just last month, many thought that this could be the end of the lawsuit brought against USCIS over this issue. The Court overseeing this case found that USCIS had violated procedures surrounding the rule making of that last OPT extension, which
Adjustment of Status
USCIS has proposed a new fee structure - raising certain fees, keeping certain fees at their current level, and even lowering some fees. As part of its bi-annual review, USCIS determined that what it was receiving in user fees was insufficient to allow it to continue its current operations (USCIS
Immigration
USCIS indicated this H-1B season that they would not be initiating premium processing immediately on receipt of H-1B cap cases. The reason for this is that they have to take the time to conduct the lottery, receipt cases, and return cases not selected prior to actually adjudicating cases. USCIS has
Adjustment of Status
The visa bulletin for May 2016 was released and there has been very little movement. I have included some highlights below followed by the actual charts. Please note that, for this month, USCIS has indicated that they will be using the final action dates for both employment and family based
Extraordinary Ability
Does the National Interest Waiver (a self-sponsored green card application) require that you be working for or funded by the US Government? The short answer is no, it most certainly does not. Is it as hard as the Extraordinary Ability application? Again, the short answer is no, definitely not. The
H-1B
USCIS just announced that they have completed the random lottery for the H-1B cap. This means that, shortly, they will begin sending out receipt notices for those applications that were selected, and then they will return those applications that were not. Although no timeframe was given, we would assume that
Adjustment of Status
Many clients want to know about getting their case expedited for various reasons. This is especially true for those filing the I-485 application, who are counting on getting the EAD card quickly so that they can work. While it is not impossible to get a case expedited, it can be
EAD
For those who are wondering about the new STEM rules, and how the old rules will be stopped and the new rules will be implemented, keep reading. If My Application Was Filed On Or Before May 9, 2016, Under Which Rules Will It Be Adjudicated? USCIS will transition into the
Immigration
From AILA-DC: http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2016RS/bills/hb/hb0950f.pdf AILA-DC has submitted written testimony in opposition to this Bill, as has the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, and others. Nonetheless, support for this Bill appears to be growing. It is critical that the
Immigration
The Department of State has released their April Visa Bulletin. In addition Mr. Oppenheim from the Department of State has also updated AILA about future visa movement. I will summarize both updates for you below. April Visa Bulletin: Family Based: Final Action Dates: Most categories moved forward about 3-4 weeks.