Newly released data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has shown that thanks to policy guidance released in January 2022, more foreign nationals working in the STEM fields are receiving O-1A visas than ever before. In just the first year of issuing its revised guidance for example, issuance…
Articles Posted in Temporary Workers
New Year, Big Victories in Worldwide Visa Operations
The past year saw big victories for worldwide visa operations. The Department of State recently provided statistics summarizing its visa processing capacity in the year 2023. The recent data shows tremendous advancement in visa processing capacity at Consular posts globally and provides a strong outlook for visa processing in the…
USCIS Announces Increase in Premium Processing Filing Fees Starting February 26, 2024
As the new year approaches, we have some unfortunate news to report for certain employment-based applicants who may wish to file their petitions with premium processing service in 2024, including those filing: Form I-129 Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, as well as Certain…
DOS Announces Extension of Interview Waiver for Certain Nonimmigrant Visa Applicants
In the nick of time, on December 21, 2023, the Department of State announced that it will continue its interview waiver policy for certain nonimmigrant visa applicants. The agency’s interview waiver policy was previously set to expire on December 31, 2023. However, its implementation will continue starting on January 1,…
DHS Announces Countries Eligible for H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs
In continuance of the information provided in our blog post concerning additional visa allocations for the H-2B cap, we share new updates recently from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). On November 9, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of State (DOS), published…
H-2B Cap Will be Supplemented by 65,000 Additional Visas for FY 2024
We are happy to share some exciting news for H-2B FY 2024 visa applicants and their employers. On November 3, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship, and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the government will make available an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024. This is…