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News & EventsJUNE 2017 VISA BULLETIN ISSUED
The Department of State (DOS) has issued its June 2017 Visa Bulletin. Most notably, there has been a significant retrogression for the priority dates for EB-1 for China and India. Prior to the June 2017 Visa Bulletin, the priority dates for EB-1 for China and India...
NEXT STEPS FOR SELECTED FY 2018 H-1B CAP PETITIONS
As mentioned previously, USCIS completed the initial data entry of all 85,000 fiscal year 2018 H-1B CAP petitions that were selected for this year’s random selection process. USCIS will now adjudicate these 85,000 petitions over the next several months. In the event...
DEPARTMENT OF STATE PROPOSES EXPANSION OF VISA APPLICATIONS QUESTIONS
On March 6, 2017, a Presidential Memorandum directed the Departments of State, Justice, and Homeland Security to implement heightened screening and vetting of applications for visas and other immigration benefits. In light of this memorandum, a notice was published on...
USCIS COMPLETES DATA ENTRY OF FY 2018 H-1B CAP PETITIONS
On May 3, 2017, USCIS announced that it has completed the data entry of all fiscal year 2018 H-1B CAP petitions that were selected. All H-1B CAP petitions that were not selected will begin to be returned. Unfortunately, the high volume of H-1B CAP filings prevents...
H-1B CAP FOR FY2018 REACHED
On April 7, 2017, USCIS announced that the H-1B Cap for fiscal year 2018 had been reached. What this means is that USCIS received over 65,000 petitions for the congressionally mandated regular visa cap and over 20,000 petitions for the congressionally mandated...
MAY 2017 VISA BULLETIN ISSUED
The Department of State (DOS) has issued its May 2017 Visa Bulletin. For the categories that are not current, there continues to be slow advancement for EB-2 and EB-3 categories. Notably, EB-2 India has made no advancement since the April 2017 Visa Bulletin....
USCIS ANNOUNCES MEASURES TO DETECT H-1B FRAUD AND ABUSE
Beginning on April 3, 2017, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will take a more targeted approach when visiting worksites of H-1B petitioners and H-1B employees. As a part of an ongoing initiative to deter and detect H-1B fraud and abuse,...
APRIL 2017 VISA BULLETIN ISSUED
The Department of State (DOS) has issued its April 2017 Visa Bulletin. For the categories that are not current, there continues to be slow advancement for EB-2 and EB-3 categories. Notably, EB-3 India has made an advancement of 2 days after a period of no...
NEWS UPDATE: REVISED EXECUTIVE ORDER
On March 6, 2017, President Trump signed a newly revised Executive Order titled, “Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States.” The newly revised Executive Order is set to supersede the January 27, 2017 Executive Order and come...
COUNSELING CAUTION WITH INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL UNDER THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
In light of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) recent immigration enforcement memoranda, additional scrutiny in all areas of immigration should be expected, particularly at the border. When traveling internationally, it is important for everyone to be...