Backlog
The Department of State released the visa bulletin for October 2016 recently. Below is a summary of movement and changes. Family Based Immigrant Visa Numbers F1 - Unmarried Sons and Daughters of US Citizens: This category moved forward about 1 week to September 22, 2090 for every country except Mexico
H-1B1
USCIS published a proposed regulation that would allow them to ask for social media ids (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) for certain nonimmigrants seeking entry into the US. It would affect those filing the online application for a visa waiver entry. The "optional" question would be placed in the application
Immigration
The Department of State, on August 19, 2016, updated its medical exam requirements per a decision by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The CDC, looking at Gonorrhea testing requirements, found that only testing those who are exhibiting systems of the disease was insufficient to protect the American public. As
Immigration
Recently the American Immigration Lawyer's Association asked USCIS about the lengthy adjudication times. Particularly they also asked about the fact that USCIS will list the processing times "as of" a particular date, which is usually 30 or more days previous to the update, making the processing
Immigration
In September of 2015 I wrote a post about appealing self-sponsored and EB-1B cases and the statistics of those type of appeals. As I reported then, the chances of winning on appeal are extremely small - less than 6% in most cases. So, in general, for the majority of case
Immigration
The Department of State released the September Visa Bulletin today. While there are no real surprises, below is a listing of the updated information on the new bulletin. Family Based Immigrant Visa Numbers: Unmarried Sons and Daughters of US Citizens (F1): This are moved the most in the family category
Adjustment of Status
Charlie Oppenheim, the officer at the Department of State in charge of visa numbers and the Visa Bulletin, recently released an update to his predictions for the upcoming months. Below is a summary of some of that update. Family Based Visa Numbers According to Charlie, in September most of the
Adjustment of Status
The August 2016 visa bulletin was released by the Department of State yesterday. It features backlogs for ALL countries in the EB-2 category and other changed. However, readers should understand, that while certain countries (India and China) have regular backlogs in the EB-2 category, those for other countries in the
F-1
Under the new rules that went in effect on May 10, 2016, all students seeking STEM extensions for additional OPT time must have a training plan that is developed by them and their employer. Below are some important points to keep in mind about the new training plan requirement 1.
Extraordinary Ability
USCIS frequently is juggling around case types between various service centers to try and assure that all case types are adjudicated as quickly as possible. Fairly recently they started transferring EB-1A Extraordinary Ability cases to Nebraska from the Texas Service Center. Even more recent certain H-1Bs were sent from Vermont
PERM
We get this, and similar questions, from our clients frequently. This is a very complex issue and every situation is different. However, there are some key considerations you should think about. The key questions are: * Are you carrying out the activity for profit? * Are you just trying to get rid
DACA
The Supreme Court issues its ruling today on DAPA/DACA case that was before it, and was split 4-4 on whether to uphold the temporary injunction issued by the lower court or to overturn it. Since it is an even split, the lower court decision to implement the temporary injunction