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News & EventsLikelihood of FY2019 Lottery Selection
USCIS has reached the H-1B Cap for the Fiscal Year of 2019. This year, 190,098 H-1B petitions were filed – an approximate 4.5% decrease from last year’s 199,000 filings and still significantly fewer than the record 236,000 H-1B petitions that were filed in 2016. In...
APRIL 2018 VISA BULLETIN ISSUED
The Department of State (DOS) has issued its April 2018 Visa Bulletin. Most notably, there was a retrogression for the priority dates for EB-1 for China and India. There continues to be a steady advancement for the priority dates for EB-2 for China and India and for...
MARCH 2018 VISA BULLETIN ISSUED
The Department of State (DOS) has issued its March 2018 Visa Bulletin. There continues to be a steady advancement for the priority dates for EB-2 for China and India and for the priority dates for EB-3 for China, India, and the Philippines. EB-1-Worldwide: Priority...
New Policy on H-1B Third Party Placement
On February 22nd, the USCIS issued a new policy memo on 3rd party placement. The new guidelines have immediate effect and will apply to this year’s H-1B cap petitions as well as H-1B extension requests. Generally speaking, petitioners planning third-party placements...
FEBRUARY 2018 VISA BULLETIN ISSUED
The Department of State (DOS) has issued its February 2018 Visa Bulletin. Most notably, there has been steady advancement for the priority dates for EB-2 for China and India and for the priority dates for EB-3 for China, India, and the Philippines....
The H-1b Visa Under Attack by the Trump Administration
The following is based on an article in the San Francisco Chronicle Foreign Nationals who were once considered solid candidates for an H-1B visa — those with multiple degrees, high salaries offered by major tech companies – are receiving extra scrutiny and delays on...
JANUARY 2018 VISA BULLETIN ISSUED
The Department of State (DOS) has issued its January 2018 Visa Bulletin. Most notably, there has been steady advancement for the priority dates for EB-2 and EB-3 for China and India. The priority dates for EB-1 worldwide have remained current since the October 2017...
New Regulations May Affect FY 2019 H-1B CAP
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to propose new regulations that, if passed in final form, would significantly change the H-1B program. The F-1 practical training and H-4 employment authorization rules would also potentially change. The main changes...
DECEMBER 2017 VISA BULLETIN ISSUED
The Department of State (DOS) has issued its December 2017 Visa Bulletin. Most notably, there has been steady advancement for the priority dates for EB-2 and EB-3 for China and India. The priority dates for EB-1 worldwide have remained current since the October 2017...
New challenges with Hiring Foreign Workers in the U.S.
The current U.S. immigration landscape focuses on enforcement as opposed to process. This shift started happening in January 2017 after the inauguration of President Trump, and the beginning of new policies of protectionism and national security. The restrictive...