Archives
International Student Enrollment Is Tapering, But Not for the Reasons You May Think
Unlike many lawyers I know, I did not go directly from my undergraduate studies to law school. In fact, when I graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do and law was only on the back of my mind. After a stint as a […]
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 […]
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 […]
U.S. Citizenship And Immigration Services (USCIS) & Department of Labor (DOL) Announce Further Measures to Detect H-1B Fraud & Tighten Rules
U.S. Citizenship And Immigration Services (USCIS) & Department of Labor (DOL) Announce Further Measures To Detect H-1B Visa Fraud & Tighten Rules While the H-1B petitions submitted for the lottery this cap season were still in transit to the USCIS, both the USCIS and the DOL announced several measures aimed at detecting H-1B visa […]
What’s New for This H-1B Cap Season
The week following Thanksgiving often signals the beginning of the holiday shopping season for those who did not dive in while still digesting their turkey dinner. As an immigration attorney, this week always turns my thoughts to preparation for the coming H-1B season. Not unlike holiday gift-giving for many, this year’s changes to the H-1B […]