Extraordinary Ability
One of the most frequent questions we get from our clients is about the Letters of Recommendations needed for the self-sponsored applications (we actually call them Expert Review or Expert Opinion Letters). People want to know who the best referees are, what the letters need to say, etc. For
Adjustment of Status
The April 2014 visa bulletin was released late last week. For the Employment based categories, China 2nd Preference moved to March 8, 2009 and 3rd Preference worldwide, China and Mexico moved up a month to October 1, 2012. India Second and Third Preference stayed the same and Philippines 3rd Preference
USCIS
Here is the scenario: An H-1B employee works for Employer A. The employee receives a better off from Employer B, and Employer B files an H-1B transfer for them. When the employee informers Employer A about the new filing, Employer A tells them that, per their employment contract,
Visas
Every employer who wants to sponsor an immigrant for an H-1B has to file, and get certified, a Labor Condition Application (LCA). But what is the LCA and why is it important? The LCA has two specific purposes. First, it is there to make sure that foreign workers are
Adjustment of Status
The March 2014 visa bulletin was just recently published by the Department of State. This month’s bulletin not only gave us the new cutoff dates but also provided us with some guidance as to how much the Department of State (DOS) think s that various categories will move forward
Immigration
Just the other day House Republicans released what they called their principles for pursuing Immigration Reform. These included creating a method for many of those in the US to illegally to legalize their status, the need to strengthen our border controls as well as our tracking systems for when non-
H-1B
Under the H-1B statutes and regulations there are two concepts related to the wages that are required to be paid: The "prevailing wage" and the "actual wage". The "prevailing wage" is general determined by the Department of Labor (DOL) through a prevailing wage
Visas
Many employers would prefer not to pay for the H-1B process for their employees that they agree to sponsor. It can be an expensive process, and it would ease the concern of many employers if they did not have to foot all of the bill. Alternatively, some employers want
Immigration
As many of you know, the H-1B process has become a lottery. For the past several years, USCIS has received more applications with the first week of availability (First week of April) than they have H-1B visas. This means that they take all applications received and randomly select
Visas
Below is the update on visa number availability as reflected in the lated February 2014 Visa Bulletin. EB-2 China has moved forward to January 8. 2009 (a one month move) while India has stayed at November 15, 2004. The worldwide availability is still current. As stated before, it is
Immigration
Being sponsored by an employer for a green card is prospective in nature. What this means is that the future employer and employee are attesting that they have the intent to enter into the employer-employee relationship UPON approval of the I-485 (or upon receiving the immigrant visa and
Family Preference
The January 2014 Visa Bulletin was recently released by USCIS last week. Perhaps the most notable movement was for the worldwide EB-3 and China and Mexico EB3 numbers. In all three of those cases, the priority date moved up almost 1 year to April 1, 2012. The Philippines moved