Many of our clients and readers are already aware of the move by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service ("USCIS") to issue what are hundreds, or perhaps even thousands, of very similar, if not identical, requests for evidence ("RFE") on pending employment-based primary and derivative Form I-485, Application to Adjust Status. Most of the RFEs were [...]
Created in 2002, the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) is used to track and monitor foreign students (F-1 visa holders) and exchange visitors (J-1 visa holders), as well as their accompanying dependents (F-2 and J-2 visa holders). While SEVIS has streamlined many formerly cumbersome data reporting requirements and improved information accuracy, there are [...]
Our office receives a number of inquiries from current and prospective clients, employers and individuals, as to whether an H-1B worker who is beneficiary of a pending H-1B transfer petition can be readmitted into the U.S. based on the valid H-1B visa stamp and the pending H-1B transfer petition. Reported Incidents of Refused H-1B Admissions [...]
Our office has received confirmation from AILA and from E-Verify that in certain cases, E-Verify would not verify employment authorization for an employee who is working for an employer under H-1B portability and where the employee previously held H-1B status but has since held an intervening status. For example, an employee holds H-1B status but [...]
As many of our clients and readers know, the H-1B program allows stay in the U.S. on H or L status of up to six years. Time spent abroad during this period may be "recaptured" and added towards the six years of H-1B time. However, many foreign nationals who are not eligible to extend their [...]
A few minutes ago USCIS announced that as of December 21, 2009, it has received sufficient petitions to reach the statutory cap for FY2010. USCIS has also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption. No New FY2010 Cap-Subject H-1B Filings Accepted USCIS will reject all [...]
USCIS released updated information on the numbers of cap-subject H-1Bs filed since April 1. As of December 10, 2009, USCIS has received approximately 62,500 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap (an increase of 1,000 in the past three days). The updated count means that as of December 10, 2009, there were 2,500 H-1B visas [...]
USCIS released updated information on the numbers of cap-subject H-1Bs filed since April 1. As of November 20, 2009, USCIS has received approximately 56,900 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap (an increase of 1,300 in the past week). The updated count means that as of November 20, 2009, there were 8,100 H-1B visas left [...]
H-1B Duration and Limits By law, the maximum duration of stay in any H status is six years. As a result, if a foreign employee held one or more kinds of H status, or held L status, then the total period spent in the U.S. in all of these statuses are added together to determine how [...]
USCIS released updated information on the numbers of cap-subject H-1Bs filed since April 1. As of Friday, August 28, USCIS has received approximately 45,100 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap. USCIS will continue to accept petitions subject to the general cap. Additionally, USCIS has received approximately 20,000 petitions for aliens with advanced degrees; however, [...]