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News & EventsL-1B Statistics data
The following excerpts are taken from a report by The N A T I O N A L F O U N D A T I O N F O R A M E R I C A N P O L I C Y The denial rate for L-1B petitions to transfer high-skilled employees into the United States increased to an historic high of 35 percent...
Employer-Provided Wage Surveys in the H-2B Program
On December 5, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a decision in Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas (CATA) v. Perez, which vacated the portion of the Department’s H-2B Wage Rule and 2009 Wage Guidance permitting the use of...
ID Requirements for Public Schools in New York
In 1982, the Supreme Court ruled that in the United States, any individuals including illegal immigrants are secured with the right of free education from elementary to higher education (secured in the U.S. constitution). However, some public schools in New York...
What About H-1b visas for Nurses?
On February 18th, the USCIS issued a memo with further guidance as to if nursing positions would qualify as a specialty occupation and thus qualify for an H-1b visa. The following is a summary of that memo. One of the main requirements for a position to be eligible...
L-1 Blanket Petitions at foreign U.S. embassies
For L-1 blanket petitions at a foreign U.S. embassy, a visa stamp and I-129S (with Petition Expiry Date endorsed) will be issued to the applicant. The duration of the visa stamp's validity will depend on the nationality of the applicant and can vary anywhere from 3...
Block on Executive Action
On Monday, February 16, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen temporarily blocked President Barack Obama's executive action on immigration, giving a coalition of 26 states time to pursue a lawsuit aimed towards permanently stopping the orders. Hanen issued a memorandum...
H-4 Employment Authorization extended.
 The following is a summary of a notice diffused by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services on February 24, 2015. Effective May 26, 2015, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is extending eligibility for employment authorization to certain H-4 dependent...
March 2015 Visa Bulletin Released with Few Changes
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) recently released its March 2015 Visa Bulletin. The Visa Bulletin regulates adjustment of status (AOS) and consular immigrant visa applications by setting priority date cutoffs. Foreign nationals can file their AOS applications or...
H-1B Cap Reminder
There are only eight (8) weeks before the start of the FY 2016 H-1B Cap filing season and to ensure timely filing, it is recommended that employers start submitting LCAs and gathering the necessary documents. Last year, the United States Citizen and Immigration...
BIOMETRICS OUTSIDE OF THE US
Anyone who has filed for a re-entry permit or I-90 (green card renewal) knows that they need to be fingerprinted in the US. This has caused much disruption for those living abroad. We have always wondered why the USCIS could not process these biometrics abroad....