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News & EventsJANUARY 2017 VISA BULLETIN DOS & USCIS
DEPARTMENT OF STATE JANUARY 2017 VISA BULLETIN FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED CATEGORIES EB-1 REMAINS CURRENT WORLDWIDE EB-2 WORLDWIDE REMAINS CURRENT EB-2 Slow ADVANCEMENT FOR INDIA AND CHINA EB-3 ONE MONTH ADVANCEMENT WORLDWIDE EB-3 SLOW ADVANCEMENT FOR CHINA AND THE...
SOME GOOD NEWS IN A SEA OF BAD NEWS
USCIS has announced the publication of new rules, to take effect January 17, 2017. In general, the new rules will establish grace periods for non-immigrant workers before and after their employment, and provides automatic work authorization extensions to adjustment...
President-Elect Trump and Immigration
The immigration laws in the United States are clearly going to undergo some important changes and be a key issue in President-Elect Donald Trump’s administration. There have been some iterations of support for skilled immigration, but most of Mr. Trump’s rhetoric to...
Revised I-9 form
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published today, November 14, 2016, a revised version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. By January 22, 2017, employers must use only the new version, dated 11/14/2016 N. Until then, employers may...
H-1B CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST WALT DISNEY AND IT COMPANIES DISMISSED BY FEDERAL JUDGE
A class action lawsuit led by two former Walt Disney IT department employees against Walt Disney World, HCL America Inc. (HCLA) and Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS) recently was dismissed by the United States District Court in Orlando, Florida. The two former...
NEW USCIS FILING FEES TAKE EFFECT ON DECEMBER 23, 2016
On December 23, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will increase the fees of certain U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) applications. Fee increases generally range from 8 to 60%. However, as we previously mentioned, filing fees related to...
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE ANNOUNCES NEW REQUIREMENT FOR VISA PHOTOS
The U.S. Department of State announced that effective November 1, 2016, individuals will no longer be allowed to wear glasses for the visa photos. However, other detailed instructions regarding the visa photos are still in effect. The visa application process still...
Information About The Department Of State’s November 2016 Visa Bulletin For Employment-Based Categories
The Department of State (DOS) has issued its November 2016 Visa Bulletin. There has been slower progress compared to the October 2016 Visa Bulletin. USCIS also has release its dates for filing, which are ahead of the Visa Bulletin priority dates. In the November Visa...
US Supreme Court Denies Motion for Rehearing in US v. Texas
The Supreme Court has denied the Department of Justice’s Motion for Rehearing in U.S. v. Texas without comment. The DOJ sought a rehearing of the decision because the Supreme Court had issued a split, 4-4, decision, and the the Department wanted a panel of nine...
October Visa Bulletin Update: USCIS to Honor Filing Dates for Most Employment-Based Categories Next Month
USCIS has announced that there are more immigrant visas available for FY-2017 than known visa applicants, therefore, instead of using the “Final Action Dates” chart in the October 2016 Department of State Visa Bulletin, adjustment of status applicants may use the...