London E Visa Services Temporary Closure Due to 2012 Olympics

London E Visa Services Temporary Closure Due to 2012 Olympics The E Visa Office of the Embassy of the United States of America in London, England will be closed from July 16, 2012 to August 17, 2012...

P Work Visas, Performing Artists and Entertainers

P Work Visas, Performing Artists and Entertainers On May 15, 2012, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) issued a binding precedent decision...

N-400 Naturalization or Citizenship Oath Ceremonies

N-400 Naturalization or Citizenship Oath Ceremonies The district office Washington, D.C. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) located in Fairfax, Virginia, has several large Oath Ceremonies...

Employment-Based ( EB ) Immigrant Visa Numbers for June 2012

Employment-Based ( EB ) Immigrant Visa Numbers for June 2012 Processing time for employment-based lawful permanent residence (green card) preference category cases (EB cases) are tied to immigrant...

H-1B Work Visa Cap Has Been Reached on November 23, 2011 for FY2012

H-1B Work Visa Cap Has Been Reached on November 23, 2011 for FY2012 On November 23, 2011, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received sufficient H-1B petitions to meet the 65,000 statutory H-1B cap. Nov. 22, 2011 was the final receipt date for new H-1B specialty occupation petitions requesting an employment start date (October 1, 2011 or later) in Fiscal Year 2012 (FY 2012). Any petitions...

Haiti TPS Extension for an Additional 18 Months, Until January 22, 2013

Haiti TPS Extension for an Additional 18 Months, Until January 22, 2013 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti has been extended for another 18 month (until Jan. 22, 2013). The re-designation was published in the Federal Register on May 19, 2011, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) encourages applicants to review the Federal Register (at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-05-19/html/2011-12440.htm ) which...

Certain I-130 Petitioners Residing Abroad: New Filing Location

Certain I-130 Petitioners Residing Abroad: New Filing Location On May 16, 2011, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a new regulation stipulating that, effective August 15, 2011, I-130 petitioners residing in foreign countries without international USCIS offices must file their Forms I-130 Petition for Alien Relative with the USCIS Chicago Lockbox facility at: For U.S. Postal Service: USCIS P.O. Box...

As of May 6, 2011: 10,200 H-1B Cap Work Visas Have Been Received for FY2012

As of May 6, 2011: 10,200 H-1B Cap Work Visas Have Been Received for FY2012 As of May 6, 2011, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received 10,200 H-1B Regular Cap, and 7,300 H-1B Master’s Exemption. H-1B petitions are temporary work visas for foreign nationals to live and work in the U.S. Many H-1B foreign nationals have successfully gone on to apply for and obtain green card status. Foreign nationals...

Original Certified PERM form ETA 9089 for Permanent Labor Certification, Lost and Expiring

Original Certified PERM form ETA 9089 for Permanent Labor Certification, Lost and Expiring Recently, there have been reports that original certified forms ETA 9089 for permanent labor certification PERM process were not received. There was also an incident where the original certified form ETA 9089 was lost after being filed with the I-140 Immigrant Petition. Lost of original certified forms ETA 9089 unnecessarily complicates...

On April 15, 2011: 7,100 H-1B Cap Work Visas Have Been Received for FY2012

On April 15, 2011: 7,100 H-1B Cap Work Visas Have Been Received for FY2012 The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received 7,100 H-1B Regular Cap, and 5,100 H-1B Master’s Exemption 20,000, as of April 15, 2011. These numbers include cases that are still pending or have been approved but do not include petitions that have been denied. H-1B petitions are temporary work visas for foreign nationals to live and...

H-1B Cap Work Visa Filing Has Begun and 5,900 H-1B Cap Petitions Received (April 8, 2011)!

H-1B Cap Work Visa Filing Has Begun and 5,900 H-1B Cap Petitions Received (April 8, 2011)! On April 1, 2011, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (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...

Updated I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Procedures

Updated I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Procedures On April 14, 2011, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has updated some of the procedures pertaining to Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) process. The new changes become effective on May 16, 2011. Employers must complete Form I-9 for all newly hired employees to verify their identity and authorization to work in the United...

Cutting-Edge Proposed H-1B Electronic Registration System for H-1B Visa Cap Petitions

Cutting-Edge Proposed H-1B Electronic Registration System for H-1B Visa Cap Petitions The ground-breaking H-1B Electronic Registration System is finally being proposed for implementation for H-1B petitions that are subject to the statutory annual visa cap, after lengthy discussions. An H-1B petition is a temporary work visa for specialty occupation foreign nationals to live and work in the U.S. Many H-1B foreign nationals have...

Current USCIS Policy Memo in Adjudicating Extraordinary Ability, Exceptional Ability, and Outstanding Professors or Researchers Green Card Cases

Current USCIS Policy Memo in Adjudicating Extraordinary Ability, Exceptional Ability, and Outstanding Professors or Researchers Green Card Cases Recently, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Memorandum (PM or immigration Policy Memo) regarding the analysis that USCIS officers should use when evaluating evidence in adjudicating the I-140, Petition for Immigrant Worker (one of the steps for certain...

EAD and Advance Parole Incorporated Into One New Card!

On February 11, 2011, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it is now issuing employment and travel authorization on a single card for certain applicants filing a Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status; and also filing I-765, Application for Employment Authorization (EAD), and I-131, Application for Advance Parole. This new card represents a significant improvement...

H-1B Visa Cap for FY2011 Has Been Met!

H-1B petitions are temporary work visas for specialty occupation foreign nationals to live and work in the U.S. Many H-1B foreign nationals have successfully gone on to apply for and obtaining green card status. On January 27, 2011, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received sufficient H-1B cap petitions to meet the statutory cap for the fiscal year (FY) 2011. The final receipt date...

General Instructions: How to Apply for I-601 Extreme Hardship Waiver in Certain European Countries? What are Extreme Hardships?

Certain foreign nationals may be required to file for a Form I-601 Application for Waiver of Ground of Inadmissibility when applying for immigrant visa at the U.S. Consulate abroad. Immigrant visa is one of the processes for obtaining green card status in the United States. An I-601 extreme hardship waiver is required, for example, when an applicant was unlawfully present in the United States for a certain period of time and...

H-1B Visa Cap for FY2011 is Almost Met!

H-1B petitions are extremely useful for many skilled foreign nationals to live and work in the U.S. Even though H-1B petitions are temporary work visas, many H-1B foreign nationals have successfully moved forward in applying for and obtaining green card status. Potential H-1B candidates who do not make it to the Fiscal Year 2011 H-1B visa quota (October 1, 2010 or later start-date) have the options to have their H-1B cap petitions...

Immigrating to the U.S. Through Green Card Lottery [Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV Lottery)]

Each year, the Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) Program (DV lottery)(also known as green card lottery) makes 50,000 immigrant visas available to eligible applicants who are selected in the lottery. To qualify for the lottery, an applicant must be a native of one of the listed country; and have the U.S. equivalent of a high school diploma, or have 2 years of related experience in the last 5 years in an occupation that requires at...

H-1B Work Visa Quota is Almost Met for Fiscal Year 2011!

H-1B petitions are extremely useful for many skilled foreign nationals to live and work in the U.S. Even though H-1B petitions are temporary work visas, many H-1B foreign nationals have successfully moved forward in applying for and obtaining green card status. Potential H-1B candidates who do not make it to the Fiscal Year 2011 H-1B visa quota (October 1, 2010 or later start-date) have the options to have their H-1B cap petitions...