Exciting news! On January 24, 2024, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a new update to its Policy Manual, which clarifies that officers have the discretionary power to excuse a nonimmigrant’s failure to timely file an extension of stay or change of status request, if the delay was…
We kick off the week with a brand-new update from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for those applying to extend or change their nonimmigrant status using Form I-539. The agency has announced that it will be exempting all I-539 applicants from paying the biometrics service fee of $85…
Welcome back to Visalawyerblog! We hope you had a wonderful holiday break and wish you a prosperous new year ahead. We kick off the new year with some important updates in the world of immigration. Today, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officially announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that…
As a reminder, we would like to inform our readers that USCIS has published a revised Form I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status. Beginning March 21, 2019, after close of business, USCIS will no longer accept Form I-539 with an edition date of 12/23/16 or earlier. Applicants must send revised…
Good news for H-1B FY 2020 applicants requesting a change of status. Premium processing services will be offered for applicants filing an H-1B petition in the April 2019 lottery who are requesting a change of status. Premium processing will be offered in a two-phased approach during the FY 2020 cap…
Beginning March 22nd, USCIS will only accept the revised version of Form I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status with edition date 02/04/2019. USCIS will reject any Form I-539 with an edition date of 12/23/16, or earlier, that is received by USCIS after March 21st. USCIS will accept the 12/23/16 version…
In 2013, as a Polish citizen who worked in Ireland, I started very seriously considering going to the United States to become a student and receive education to excel at my job. Little did I know how difficult it could actually be to cross the doorstep of the US embassy and…