A very common question by the holders of visas which have employment restrictions is, “Can I engage in unpaid volunteer work under my visa?” We deal with this question on a daily basis when we are asked by clients whether someone who is in the U.S. (on a status which does not allow employment) [...]
After the recent devastation throughout the U.S. east cost caused by Hurricane Sandy, our office is receiving a number of inquiries by foreign nationals regarding relief options and alternatives in various U.S. immigration situations. USCIS has also indicated that they would provide relief in a number of situations understanding that a disaster may affect the [...]
USCIS has announced that effective October 30, 2011, it would issue redesigned Employment Authorization Document Cards (also known as “EAD” or "work permit" cards ) The redesign is mainly driven to incorporate new security features to deter counterfeiting, tempering and document fraud, generally. Design Samples of the front and back are shown below: No Changes [...]
After the recent earthquakes and tsunami in Japan, our office is receiving a number of inquiries by Japanese nationals regarding relief options and alternatives in various U.S. immigration situations. USCIS has also indicated that they would provide relief in a number of situations understanding that a disaster may affect the ability of an individual to [...]
In early January we wrote about a USCIS proposal to create a pre-registration system for new H-1B cap cases in order to make the H-1B cap application process more efficient and to eliminate waste associated with H-1B cap petitions which are filed on or shortly after April 1st (when the H-1B cap filing window opens) [...]
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is set to begin accepting H-1B visa applications pursuant to its Fiscal Year 2012 (FY2012) quota. The first day on which USCIS will accept new, cap-subject H-1B petitions, is April 1, 2011. About the H-1B Program and the Annual Cap The H-1B visa category was created in 1990 [...]
USCIS released the weekly FY2011 information on the numbers of cap-subject H-1Bs filed since April 1. As of May 28, 2010, USCIS has received approximately 20,800 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap (a weekly increase of only 1,200). Similarly, as of May 28, there were 8,700 H-1B visas filed subject to the U.S. Masters [...]
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) announced recently that ICE would be issuing Notices of Inspection (NOI) to 1,000 employers across the United States associated with critical infrastructure. The NOIS will seek to determine the employers’ compliance with employment eligibility verification laws. What is Critical Infrastructure Employer? The announcement seems to focus on employers associated with [...]
The increasing unemployment rate inevitably affects foreign nationals living and working in the U.S. on a work visa. We have been happy to help many clients over the past months who have either been laid off or have decided to seek a better opportunity to attend school by changing their status to F, J or [...]
Holders of F (student), J (exchange visitor) or M (student) status in the U.S. are subject to certain requirements in order to maintain a valid status and be entitled to the benefits of their status (e.g. OPT, visa revalidation, etc.). With the beginning of a new academic year, we have been advising a number of [...]
