The U.S. State Department has temporarily suspended the issuance of non-immigrant visas at all U.S. government diplomatic facilities in Turkey on October 8, 2017. “Recent events have forced the United States government to reassess the commitment of government of Turkey…
Blog Archives
Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman Recommends U Visa Parole Policy
The Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman has issued its Recommendation to USCIS regarding a U visa parole policy. The policy would facilitate parole for individuals who are eligible for U nonimmigrant visa status and who reside outside…
SEVP Issues STEM Designated Degree Program List
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) has created a STEM Designated Degree Program list, which includes the fields of study that the Department of Homeland Security considers to be science, technology, engineering or mathematics fields for the purpose of…
USCIS Transfers Workload from the Vermont Service Center to the California Service Center
USCIS has issued an alert on workload transfer from the Vermont Service Center (VSC) to the California Service Center (CSC) to balance workloads and decrease processing times. The CSC will now be processing some: Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant…
Tagged with: case processing, CSC, L-1 Visa, L-2, USCIS, VSC
Posted in In The News, Nonimmigrant Visas, USCIS New Policies/Procedures
Posted in In The News, Nonimmigrant Visas, USCIS New Policies/Procedures
DHS Extends OPT Period to Improve Opportunities for F-1 Visa STEM Students
The Department of Homeland Security published a final rule in the Federal Register on March 11, 2016 that will allow certain international students to stay and work in the United States on their student visas as long as three years…
Tagged with: Department of Homeland Security, F-1 Visa, Optional Practical Training, STEM
Posted in In The News, Nonimmigrant Visas
Posted in In The News, Nonimmigrant Visas
DHS Announces Final Rule Improving Certain Programs for Highly Skilled Workers
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security published a final rule that improves the programs for the H-1B1 (specialty occupations from Chile, Singapore), E-3 (specialty occupations from Australia) and CW-1 (CNMI-Only Transitional Worker) nonimmigrant classifications and the EB-1 (employment-based first…
Tagged with: Amended Regulations, CW-1, Department of Homeland Security, E-3, EB-1, H-1B1
Posted in Immigrant Visas, In The News, Nonimmigrant Visas
Posted in Immigrant Visas, In The News, Nonimmigrant Visas
New Bill Increases L-1 and H-1B Visa Application Fees for Certain Companies
Last week, the President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 which provides full-year appropriations through September 2016 for all government agencies. Included in this bill are fee increases for certain L-1 and H-1B petitions for companies with more than…
Tagged with: 50/50 Companies, Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016, Fee Increases, H-1B Visa, L-1 Visa
Posted in In The News, Nonimmigrant Visas
Posted in In The News, Nonimmigrant Visas
Visa-Issuing Embassies and Consulates Back Online
The State Department advised that all visa-issuing embassies and consulates are back online, though problems are still occurring with some online immigrant visa application forms. DOS stated that it will continue scheduling visa interviews and issuing nonimmigrant and immigrant visas…
Tagged with: DOS, Nonimmigrant Visas, Technical Problems
Posted in Immigrant Visas, In The News, Nonimmigrant Visas
Posted in Immigrant Visas, In The News, Nonimmigrant Visas
USCIS Temporarily Suspends Premium Processing for Extension of Stay H-1B Petitions
Effective May 26, 2015, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) temporarily suspended premium processing for all H-1B Extension of Stay petitions until July 27, 2015. Petitioners will not be able to file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, for…
Tagged with: Form I-129, H-1B Extension of Stay, Request for Premium Processing Service
Posted in In The News, Nonimmigrant Visas
Posted in In The News, Nonimmigrant Visas
H-4 Visa Holders Soon To Be Able To Work
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it will extend eligibility for employment authorization to certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants who are seeking employment based lawful permanent resident status effective May 26, 2015. The change is expected…
Tagged with: Employment Authorization, Extended Eligibility, H-1B Nonimmigrant Workers, H-4 Dependent Spouses
Posted in In The News, Nonimmigrant Visas
Posted in In The News, Nonimmigrant Visas
