U.S. Department of Sate Passport and Consular Consolidated Database (CCD) Crash update as of August 4th, 2014
The Department of State (DOS) continues to work and make progress to restore the visa system to full capacity and functionality. It is anticipated it will take weeks to resume full visa processing capacity. Visa [...]
GOING, GOING, GONE! USCIS’ FY 2015 H-1B CAP
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on April 7, 2014, that it had received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap for fiscal year 2015, which begins on October 1, [...]
DOMA is DEAD
On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court unequivocally affirmed there is no legitimate reason for the federal government to discriminate against married couples based on sexual orientation. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) of 1996 [...]
Fiscal Year 2015: H-1B filing date coming up quickly
The H-1B visa category is used by employers hiring a foreign national in a professional level position (“specialty occupation”) requiring at least a Bachelor’s degree or the equivalent. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) [...]
OSC electronic I-9
An 8/20/13 Technical Assistance Letter (TAL) from the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) Office of Special Counsel, Deputy Special Counsel Seema Nanda, discourages pre-population of employee information in Section 1 of the I-9 Form by electronic [...]
H-1B Deadline Fast Approaching!
The H-1B visa category is used by employers hiring a foreign national in a professional level position (“specialty occupation”) requiring at least a Bachelor’s degree or the equivalent. This year, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration [...]
DS-160, The New Non-Immigrant Visa Application
The Department of State (“DOS”) will require that all U.S. Embassies and Consulates abroad use the new online DS-160 for nonimmigrant visa applications by April 30, 2010. The DS-160 will replace the paper based application, [...]
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Launches ‘I-9 Central’ on USCIS.gov
Since 1986, U.S. employers have been required to verify the identity and employment authorization of every worker hired, regardless of the employee’s immigration status. To comply with the law, employers must complete form I-9, available [...]
H-1B Cap Gap Relief
In April, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) reminded employers that some foreign national employees may qualify for Cap Gap relief. H-1B Cap Gap Relief pertains to F-1 students with pending or approved H-1B [...]
USCIS CONTINUES TO ACCEPT H-1B PETITIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2011
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) recently announced that it will continue to accept H-1B nonimmigrant petitions for the 2011 fiscal year cap. USCIS will monitor the number of petitions received for both the 65,000 [...]
Employment Based Preference Categories and Priority Date Retrogression
The Immigration and Nationality Act sets limits on how many green cards or immigrant visas may be issued each Fiscal Year (October 1st through September 30th ) in all visa categories. Every year, the government [...]
I-94 Card Automation
On April 30, 2013, Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) began automating the issuance of Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record for foreign nationals entering the U.S. by eliminating the paper form I-94. The form I-94 will be [...]