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Washington DC, United States
Aik Wan Kok Fillali at Tiya represents companies, employers, individuals and families in U.S. immigration law in areas including, but not limiting to, green card, work visa and waiver matters. We also have a focus on self-petition green card cases such as extraordinary ability and national interest waiver, and employer-sponsored PERM labor certification; and all types of work visas such as Hs, Ls and Es. We represent clients within the U.S. and abroad. With decades of professional immigration law experience with excellent results, we are your best source of professional U.S. immigration law services. PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITES AT http://www.tiyaimmigration.com , http://www.immigrationresource.net AND http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com , THANK YOU.
Showing posts with label Green Card Immigration Services. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Green Card Immigration Services. Show all posts

Thursday, May 3, 2018

Immigration News & Policy: USCIS & FAM for Sibling DNA Testing



Immigration News & Policy: USCIS & FAM for Sibling DNA Testing USCIS officer and US Consulate may suggest or consider a direct sibling-to-sibling DNA test by an AABB-accredited lab when establishing sibling relationship.

For additional information on immigration policies on direct sibling-to-sibling DNA testing, please see https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-updates-policy-dna-evidence-support-sibling-relationships and https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/policy_updates/17%20STATE%206984%20Permitting%20Direct%20Sibling-to-sibling%20and%20Half-Sibling%20DNA%20Testing%20as%20Evidence%20of%20Relationship.pdf
This article is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be relied on as legal advice or attorney-client relationship. By Aik Wan Kok, Lawyer USA Immigration Services, at Tiya; Tel: 703-772-8224 & info at tiyaimmigration dot com; Direct dial from abroad: 001-703-7728224; http://www.tiyaimmigration.com ; http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com ; http://immigrationresource.net

Aik Wan Kok Fillali at Tiya represents companies, employers, individuals and families, located nationwide and internationally, in U.S. Immigration & Nationality Law. We focus on diverse immigration cases such as extraordinary ability; national interest waiver; PERM; green card; N-400 Naturalization; various waivers; H cases; L executive, manager and specialized knowledge professional; E treaty investor/trader; cases with USCIS, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Consulates and National Visa Center.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

36,700 H-1B Regular Cap Work Visas, and 14,800 H-1B Master’s Degree Exemption Visas Received for FY2013 (May 11, 2012)

36,700 H-1B Regular Cap Work Visas, and 14,800 H-1B Master’s Degree Exemption Visas Received for FY2013 (May 11, 2012)

What is H-1B?

H-1B petitions are temporary work visas for positions requiring theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields for qualified foreign nationals to live and work in the U.S. Many H-1B foreign nationals have successfully gone on to apply for and obtain lawful permanent residence status (also known as, green card).

Foreign nationals with at least a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent (equivalent degree and/or work experience) may be sponsored for H-1B petitions. A broad range of positions may fall under H-1B specialty occupations; each case depends on a position’s own set of circumstances.

H-1B Annual Work Visa Cap

As of May 11, 2012, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received 36,700 H-1B Regular Cap, and 14,800 H-1B Master’s Degree Exemption.

On April 2, 2012, the USCIS began accepting H-1B nonimmigrant petitions that are subject to the government-mandated annual H-1B cap of 65,000 and the 20,000 U.S. advanced degree cap exemption. The advanced degree exemption applies to an H-1B beneficiary who has successfully obtained a U.S. Master’s degree or higher. These H-1B petitions are for Fiscal Year 2013 (FY2013) visa quota (for employment start-date of October 1, 2012 or later). The FY2012 visas quota (for October 1, 2011 employment start-date or later) was already closed. Up to 6,800 visas are set aside from the 65,000 cap during each fiscal year for the H-1B1 program under the terms of the legislation implementing the U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreements. Unused numbers in this pool are made available for H-1B use for the next fiscal year; in recent years, all visa numbers had been exhausted eventually.

H-1B petitions can be filed under premium processing (faster processing of certain employment-based petitions and applications). Premium processing H-1B petitions filed during an initial five-day filing window are undergoing a 15-day processing period that began April 9. For all other H-1B petitions filed for premium processing, the processing period begins on the date that the properly filed petition is physically received at the correct USCIS Service Center.

When the H-1B cap is exhausted is the date USCIS informs the public that the cap has been reached (“final receipt date”), and this may differ from the actual final receipt date. In ensuring a fair system, on the final receipt date, the USCIS may utilize the random selection approach by selecting the number of petitions that will be considered for final inclusion within the cap. The USCIS will reject H-1B cap petitions that are not selected, as well as those received after the final receipt date. The final receipt date will be the date the USCIS physically receives the petition, and it is not based on the date that the H-1B petition has been postmarked.

Some H-1Bs Are Not Subject to H-1B Annual Work Visa Cap

Not all H-1B petitions are subject to annual visa cap, depending on the types of H-1B petition being filed, and the types of entity-sponsor. For examples, foreign nationals who already have approved H-1B petitions or H-1B status may still have H-1B petitions filed for them to extend their H-1B status or to change H-1B employers. These H-1B petitions may not be subjected to the annual visa cap.

Duration of H-1B

In general, H-1B petitions/work visas are approved for three years each time (up to a total of 6 years). Under certain circumstances, H-1B work visas can be extended beyond the 6-year maximum time limitation.

H-1Bs Not Selected or Filed When All H-1B Annual Work Visas Are Used Up

Potential H-1B candidates who do not make it to the Fiscal Year 2013 H-1B visa quota (October 1, 2012 employment start-date or later) have the options to have their H-1B cap petitions submitted or resubmitted to the USCIS on or after April 1, 2013 (October 1, 2013 employment start-date or later) for the Fiscal Year 2014 H-1B visa quota. They can also consider other immigration options such as self-petition green card filings, if eligible.

By Aik Wan Kok Fillali, Attorney at Law, at Tiya; Tel: 703-772-8224 & koka at tiyalaw dot com

http://www.tiyaimmigration.com ; http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com ; www.immigrationresource.net

We represent employers, and individuals and their families in green card and work visa matters in U.S. immigration law. We also have a focus on self-petition green card cases such as extraordinary ability and national interest waiver.

All Rights Reserved.

This article is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be relied on as a legal advice or an attorney-client relationship.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Provisional Extreme Hardship Waiver is Not Yet in Effect

Provisional Extreme Hardship Waiver is Not Yet in Effect

Not too long ago, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has made a proposed change to allow certain immediate relatives (spouse, parent and/or children of a US citizen) who can demonstrate the required extreme hardships to apply for a provisional extreme hardship waiver for unlawful presence prior to departing the United States of America (US). The provisional extreme hardship waiver for unlawful presence, if eventually implemented, will reduce separation of many families.

Extreme Hardship Waivers

Foreign nationals or non-U.S. citizens (including green card holders) with certain histories may need waivers (such as I-601 and/or other waivers) OR other filings to be allowed to enter, remain or return to the U.S. These certain histories include, but are not limited to: (a) commission of certain crime, or possible commission of misrepresentation/fraud to obtain or attempt to obtain immigration benefits in or to the U.S.; (b) certain medical conditions; (c) certain period(s) of illegal presence in the U.S.; (d) abandonment (intentional/unintentional) of green card; and/or (e) certain removal/deportation experience within the U.S. immigration law.

At present, the wait-time for an I-601 extreme hardship waiver varies widely. As a result, family separation is often lengthy and uncertain, and for the unfortunate ones, permanent.

Proposed Provisional Waiver Procedures Are Not Effective Yet

The provisional extreme hardship waiver for unlawful presence procedures are not yet in effect until the USCIS publishes a final rule in the Federal Register specifying the effective date, which may be the end of this year. Prior to it becoming effective, any applications to the USCIS for provisional waivers for unlawful presence will be rejected.

By Aik Wan Kok Fillali, Attorney at Law, at Tiya; Tel: 703-772-8224 & koka at tiyalaw dot com

www.tiyaimmigration.com ; http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com ; www.immigrationresource.net

We represent employers, and individuals and their families in green card and work visa matters in U.S. immigration law. We also have a focus on self-petition green card cases such as extraordinary ability and national interest waiver.

All Rights Reserved. This article is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be relied on as a legal advice or an attorney-client relationship.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

USCIS Texas or California Service Centers’ Processing Delays for Certain I-130 Immediate Relative Petitions

USCIS Texas or California Service Centers’ Processing Delays for Certain I-130 Immediate Relative Petitions

Recently, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a notification indicating delay in their processing of approximately 36,000 immediate relative petitions (Form I-130) that were transferred from the California Service Center (CSC) to the Texas Service Center (TSC). Some cases have been transferred back to the CSC. TSC and CSC are USCIS service centers.

As of February 22, 2011, the USCIS’ updates on the above cases (CSC and TSC) are:
Approved: 18,572
Denied: 165
Request for Evidence (RFE)/Intent to Deny: 6779
Referred to District Office for Interview: 4023

The petitioners or beneficiaries are encouraged to monitor their I-130 case progress on the USCIS My Case Status online at https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/Dashboard.do . However, by March 1, 2011, if the parties concerned do not see any action on their cases, such as an approval, denial or an RFE, they may contact USCIS at: I-130Inquiries.Tsc@dhs.gov

By Aik Wan Kok Fillali, Attorney at Law, at Tiya PLC; Tel: 703-772-8224 www.tiyaimmigration.com ; http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com ; www.immigrationresource.net .

We represent employers, and individuals and their families in green card, work visa and waiver matters in U.S. immigration law.

All Rights Reserved. This article is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be relied on as a legal advice or an attorney-client relationship.

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