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News & EventsWhat Entrepreneurs Need to Consider When Hiring a Foreign Worker who needs U.S. Permanent Residence (“greencard”) Sponsorship
As an entrepreneur, one of the key factors to consider is how to get the right people on board to help you grow your business. Say you just received your second round of financing for your start up that is going to make the world a better place, but in order to...
Recent U.S. Supreme Court Decision is a Major Setback to Principles of Family Reunification
June 17, 2014 In Scialabba v. Cuellar de Osorio, a divided Supreme Court ruled last week that young immigrants who were included in their parents’ visa petition, but “aged out” – that is, turned 21 – before their visas became current, would not be able to retain the...
The Latest News on E-Verify
What is E-Verify? E-Verify is a free service provided by the U.S government for designated agents and employers to access U.S. employment-eligibility records via the Internet. E-Verify evolved in 2006 from the Basic Pilot Program established by the Social Security...
Recent U.S. Supreme Court decision is a major setback to principles of family reunification
In Scialabba v. Cuellar de Osorio, a divided Supreme Court ruled last week that young immigrants who were included in their parents’ visa petition, but “aged out” – that is, turned 21 – before their visas became current, would not be able to retain the original...
Visa Bulletin Retrogression for June 2014
The U.S. Department of State has released the Visa Bulletin for June 2014, and unfortunately, for some categories the priority dates have retrogressed. The Priority Date cut-off for Employment-Based Third Preference workers (except India and Philippines) is currently...
Quick Update: Revalidation of L-1 Blanket Visa Stamps
Currently, when an L-1 Blanket Visa is approved by the U.S. Consulate, a five (5) year visa stamp is issued. However, while the visa stamp (in the passport) is valid for a five-year period, the visa petition (I-129S) must be revalidated after three (3) years in order...
H-1B Cap Reached for FY 2015 – Need for a Plan B
As predicted, more than half of the H-1B petitions filed during the first week of April 2014 will be returned without ever being reviewed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). On April 7, 2014, USCIS announced that the fiscal year (FY) 2015 H-1B cap...
Travel Restrictions for H-1B Applicants
Please be advised that there are travel restrictions while your H-1B petition is pending (and until approval period start date of Oct. 1, 2014). This is because immigration law is overseen by multiple government agencies with overlapping jurisdictions. Therefore,...
HOT TOPIC: L-1B Denial Rates Increase
Today, our office received information from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) which reported that (pursuant to a Freedom of Information Request) on February 26, 2014, the USCIS released statistics regarding the number of L-1B nonimmigrant petitions...
Provisional Waivers for Unlawful Presence: One Year Later
Last year, on March 4, 2013, USCIS began a new provisional unlawful presence waiver program for certain relatives of U.S. citizens. This program is for individuals who are not eligible to adjust their status to lawful permanent residence (also known as a “green...