H-1B Visas: What You Need to Know About Filing in 2019
As a dedicated immigration attorney, I’ve been steadfast in my H-1B visa service and searching for a nugget of good news on this front during the past few years. My search yielded little until this government shutdown. That’s when I realized that both the Department of Labor (DOL) and United States Citizenship and Immigration […]
USCIS Is Phasing Out Online Self-Scheduled InfoPass Appointments
As your immigration attorney I try to take care of as much of your application process and answer as many of your questions as I can. On occasion an issue or question arises which requires the attention of an immigration officer. Until recently I would counsel you to schedule an InfoPass appointment to move the […]
New Unlawful Presence Guidelines Increase Vigilance on International Students and Exchange Visitors
Recently a student called my office asking to talk to the “F-1 attorney.” The student was employed using his STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) and his employer was seeking to change his status to H-1B for continued employment. Last year their H-1B petition was accepted in the H-1B lottery only to be denied for various […]
Get Set for GDPR Compliance
As the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, many Americans see this May 25th as the unofficial kick-off for summer. Businesses around the world have been preparing for this day for months, however, and not with beach plans but with major investments to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which goes into effect that […]
Uncertain U.S. Immigration Future May Still Benefit International Students
As an Italian-American it saddened me to read in The New York Times that Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas may be eliminating its Italian classes. Before I was an immigration attorney I studied Italian and obtained a master’s degree in Italian Studies from Brown University. Even sadder was the cause: a sharp drop […]
Buy American, Hire American Creates Additional Bumps in H-1B Path
Have you ever driven a car on an unpaved road? It’s bumpy, and the path isn’t always clear. This is the situation immigration attorneys and their clients are facing with the H-1B process this year. In the past, once your petition was selected in the H-1B lottery, your chances of receiving the H-1B approval […]
Green Card Process Lengthens with New Interview Requirement
For the first time since I began practicing immigration law, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) will require an interview for workers seeking green cards. This requirement goes into effect on October 1, 2017. Until now USCIS had requested interviews on a case-by-case basis and waived the interview most of the time. USCIS has […]
Universities and IT Firms Challenge USCIS Policies on Unlawful Presence and Third-Party Worksites
As a lifelong fan and supporter of the foreign national community, it has been hard for me to watch the Trump Administration enact increasingly stringent visa policies and practices. Today I’m happy to report that in both the student and employment visa arenas, some of these policies and practices are being challenged in court. Pushback […]