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
Adjustment of Status
It is official now: As of December 23, 2016 USCIS applications fees will be rising an average of about 21%. For those interested, all the new fees are listed on the USCIS web page here. In terms of the most common applications, I am listing the old fee and new
Adjustment of Status
DOS released the November Visa bulletin and there has been some forward movement. Importantly, USCIS is still allowing the Dates for Filing to be used for almost all applications (except EB-5 applications) to determine when you are able to file the adjustment application. Below we will go through each category
DOL
The DOL recently reported that Prevailing Wage requests for both H-1B and PERM cases are taking about 5 months to process. For those planning to file an employer sponsored PERM case, this means really advance planning is needed. Prior to advertising it is important to have the prevailing wage determination,
DOL
The current labor certification process known as PERM has been around for several years now. While it was originally touted as being a streamlined, easier way to do the labor certification process that would get rid of backlogs, etc. it has not turned out that way at all. Instead, it
Adjustment of Status
USCIS, for the first time in almost a year, has agreed that the Date for Filing, as opposed to the Final Action Date, can be used for the October Visa Bulletin. What does this mean? For Employment Based Cases: EB-1: Will be Current for All. EB-2: While the Worldwide numbers