News, Alerts and Analysis

What Are The Most Common H-1B RFE Issues?

Navigating the H-1B work visa program can be a daunting task for both employers and foreign professionals.   USCIS's adjudication standards change from time to time based on political and other factors making the H-1B program subject to varying degrees of scrutiny.   This scrutiny is most often exercised during the Request for Evidence (RFE) process [...]

By |2023-11-07T14:54:56-05:00October 31st, 2023|Articles, H-1B, News, News Alert|

How to Address H-1B RFEs Questioning the Beneficiary’s Educational Qualifications?

One of the common RFE issues raised by USCIS in connection with H-1B petitions is the suitability of the beneficiary’s educational (and experience) qualifications.  There are two aspects to this RFE issue — whether the degree itself is a US-equivalent [...]

By |2023-10-31T21:47:42-04:00October 31st, 2023|Articles, H-1B, News Alert, PERM|

Analysis of USCIS Proposal to Improve and Expand the H-1B Program

USCIS has released a proposed rule which seeks to change the H-1B visa program regulations.    The changes are generally positive and seek to allow greater flexibility for petitioners and to strengthen the H-1B cap lottery program.  Also, the proposed [...]

By |2023-10-31T12:00:03-04:00October 31st, 2023|Articles, H-1B, News, News Alert|

USCIS Increases Maximum EAD (and AP) Validity Period to Five Years

USCIS has announced (and already implemented) that certain work authorization documents (EAD) will be issued with validity of up to 5 years; a significant increase from the current 2-year maximum.   Similarly, advance parole documents (issued separately or together as [...]

By |2023-10-22T07:26:44-04:00October 21st, 2023|Articles, I-485, News, News Alert|

US Stateside Visa Renewal Process Pilot Expected in Early 2024

Many nonimmigrants in the U.S. have been eagerly awaiting news about the proposed introduction of a process to allow U.S. visa stamp issuance from within the U.S.   On October 17, 2023, the Department of State (DOS) announced that they are planning to lay out more details about the process with possible start date of a [...]

By |2023-10-19T11:20:51-04:00October 19th, 2023|Articles, News, News Alert, Travel|

November 2023 Visa Bulletin – No Forward Movement (Almost) Everywhere

The U.S. State Department has released the November 2023 Visa Bulletin which is the second Visa Bulletin for the new fiscal year.  The headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is lack of pretty much any movement in almost all [...]

By |2023-11-26T16:54:24-05:00October 8th, 2023|Articles, News, News Alert, Visa Bulletin|

New H-1B Status Holders Become Subject to FICA Withholding

October 1 is the first day of the government fiscal year and also the date when H-1B “cap” applicants in the U.S. have their status changed automatically to H-1B.    This is a reminder that employees who may not have been [...]

By |2023-10-05T09:41:51-04:00October 5th, 2023|Articles, H-1B, News, News Alert|

Happy New (Fiscal) Year – The New Government Fiscal Year and Immigration

While few, if any, of our clients and readers spent too much time planning and celebrating, October 1st is an important date as it marks the beginning of the new government fiscal year.     The beginning of [...]

By |2023-10-05T09:59:59-04:00October 5th, 2023|Articles, News, News Alert|

DV-2025 Diversity Visa (Green Card) Lottery Opens October 4, 2023

The Department of State has announced the DV-2025 Diversity Visa (a.k.a. “green card”) lottery dates. The dates for electronic entry submission for this year’s lottery are between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Wednesday, October 4, 2023, and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. Applicants may access the electronic Diversity [...]

By |2023-10-05T09:55:00-04:00October 4th, 2023|Articles, News, News Alert|

PERM Labor Certification Overview and Processing Times

Our office handles many ETA Form 9089 Permanent Labor Certification (“PERM”) applications and one of the most common questions is what is an overview of the entire PERM process and how long it would take.   Below are are [...]

By |2024-03-21T11:24:08-04:00September 26th, 2023|Articles, DOL, News, News Alert, PERM|

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