USCIS has announced that it will resume premium processing services for all H-1B petitions on Tuesday, March 12.
Applicants who have received a request for evidence (RFE) for a pending H-1B petition, should include Form I-907 request for premium processing along with the RFE response, if they wish to upgrade their petition.
What is Premium Processing Service?
The Trump administration is making another bold move, this time the target is H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrant workers seeking permanent residence.
The Department of Homeland Security has published a notice of proposing rule-making (NRPM) to rescind an Obama era rule extending eligibility for employment authorization to certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B workers seeking permanent residence.
We are awaiting publication of the proposed rule in the federal register. At this time, the regulation has preliminarily appeared on the government website reginfo.gov.
DOS Update for Chinese H and L Visa Applicants
The Department of State recently released an update notifying the public that beginning March 1, 2019, interviews for H and L visas will only be conducted at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing or at one of the U.S. Consulates General in either Guangzhou or Shanghai.
H and L interviews will no longer be scheduled at the U.S. Consulates in Chengdu and Shenyang.
Russians May Apply for a U.S. Visa at a U.S. Visa Processing Post in China
The DOS website also provides notice to visa applicants residing in the Russian Federation:
Individuals who normally reside in Russia, but who are unable to apply for a U.S. visa in a timely manner may submit their application at one of the U.S. visa processing-posts in China. Applicants are not required to be a resident of China to apply for a visa at one of these posts, but they must be physically present in China at the time of visa application and visa interview. In-mail applications are not accepted from individuals while they are outside of China. Applicants may include a local address in China such as a hotel, a relative’s residence, or office in China when scheduling an appointment for a visa interview.
This is a good option for Russian applicants doing business in China.
Today February 15, 2019, USCIS announced that the agency will resume premium processing services on Tuesday February 19, 2019, for all H-1B petitions filed on or before December 21, 2018.
Premium processing service remains suspended for H-1B petitions filed on or after December 22, 2018. USCIS will make an announcement at a later date when USCIS plans to resume premium processing for the remaining categories of H-1B petitions as agency workloads permit the agency to resume these services.
USCIS has provided the following guidance for petitioners who received a transfer notice for a pending H-1B petition, who are interested in upgrading their petition to premium processing:
If you received a transfer notice for a pending H-1B petition, and you are requesting premium processing service, you must submit the premium processing request to the service center now handling the petition.
You should also include a copy of the transfer notice with your premium processing request to avoid possible delays associated with the receipt of your premium processing request.
Now is the time to begin preparing for the upcoming H-1B visa lottery. USCIS will begin to accept H-1B cap-subject petitions for fiscal year 2020 beginning Monday, April 1, 2019. Please note: employers cannot file an H-1B petition for an employee more than 6 months before the employee’s intended start date. If accepted, H-1B visa workers can begin employment by October 1st. The H-1B visa is issued for up to three years but may be extended for another three years.
By law, a congressionally mandated cap exists which limits the issuance of H-1B visas to 65,000 per year. That is why the H-1B visa is commonly referred to as a ‘lottery’ visa.
Individuals (such as F-1 students) who hold advanced degrees (U.S. master’s or higher) are exempted from the 65,000 visa cap. Such applicant’s must demonstrate that they have obtained an American master’s degree or higher to be exempted from the cap, however only the first 20,000 petitions received by USCIS will benefit from this cap exemption.
In order to qualify for an H-1B visa:
As you gear up for a chance to win one of the 65,000 coveted H-1B visas that will be up for grabs beginning April 1, 2019 through April 5, 2019, we bring you our top frequently asked questions—H-1B edition—to help you make the most of your H-1B filing. As always, to determine whether you qualify for an H-1B visa, please contact our office to schedule a free first time consultation.
When will USCIS begin to accept H-1B petitions for fiscal year 2020?
USCIS will begin to accept petitions for fiscal year 2020 beginning on April 1, 2019 and from then on will continue to accept H-1B petitions during the first five business days until USCIS has received more than enough petitions necessary to fill the regular cap and advanced degree exemption. An H-1B petition may be filed no more than six months before the employment start date requested for the beneficiary.
How long is the H-1B visa valid for?
The H-1B visa is issued for a three-year period that can be extended for an additional three years. Spouses of H-1B workers may live and work in the United States on an H-4 visa, for as long as the H-1B worker remains in lawful H-1B status.
What happens after USCIS receives the necessary petitions to meet the regular cap?
Once USCIS has received more than enough petitions necessary to meet the regular cap, USCIS will conduct a computer-generated lottery to select the petitions needed to meet the general cap and the advanced degree exemption.
Last H-1B season, USCIS announced that the cap was reached within the first 5 business days of the H-1B filing period.
The Department of Homeland Security has published an advanced copy of the final rule that will amend the way the H-1B visa program will be run in the future. The official version of the final rule is set to be published in the Federal Register tomorrow January 31, 2019, and become effective April 1, 2019, the beginning of the H-1B cap visa season for fiscal year 2020.
Beginning with the upcoming FY 2020 H-1B cap season, which kicks off on April 1, 2019, USCIS will reverse the order by which it selects H-1B petitions under the H-1B regular cap and the advanced degree exemption.
USCIS will first select H-1B petitions (or registrations, once the registration requirement is implemented) submitted on behalf of all beneficiaries, including those that may be eligible for the advanced degree exemption. USCIS will then select from the remaining eligible petitions, a number projected to reach the advanced degree exemption.
According to USCIS, “Changing the order in which USCIS counts these allocations will likely increase the number of petitions for beneficiaries with a master’s or higher degree from a U.S. institution of higher education to be selected under the H-1B numerical allocations.”
USCIS recently announced that beginning January 28th premium processing services for all fiscal year 2019 H-1B cap petitions will resume, including petitions filed under the advanced degree exemption (also known as the “master’s cap”).
This means that any petitioner with a pending FY 2019 cap-subject petition may now upgrade the H-1B petition to premium processing service.
Petitioners who have received a request for evidence for a pending FY 2019 cap-subject petition may also upgrade the petition to premium processing service by including a Form I-907 with the response to the request for evidence.
What is premium processing service?
Premium processing is a service provided by USCIS for certain employment-based immigration benefit requests. The service gives petitioners the benefit of receiving 15-day processing of their petition. Premium processing is typically used in connection with Form I-129 Petitions for Nonimmigrant workers and I-130 Immigrant Petitions for Alien Workers.
At the moment, premium processing service has only resumed for pending petitions subject to the FY 2019 cap.
Premium processing services remain temporarily suspended for all other categories of H-1B petitions (except those outlined below).
In this post, we discuss the different options available for foreign nurses to work in the United States.
First, let’s discuss licensure requirements.
Registered Nurse License Requirements by Examination Educated Outside the U.S.
All applicants who graduated from nursing schools outside the United States must have their transcripts evaluated in a course by course evaluation by one of the following Nursing Commission approved service providers:
*Please review the RN educational requirements of the state in which you wish to be licensed.
An English Proficiency test is required for all LPN and RN license applicants who received their nursing education out of the United States except for Canada (Quebec requires the English Proficiency test), United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and Virgin Islands.
You must take and pass either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) www.toefl.com or International English Language Testing System (IELTS, academic version) www.ielts.org. This exam is required regardless of whether the program was taught in English.
Foreign nurses must take and pass the national licensure examination known as the NCLEX. Once the Nursing Commission approves your application you will need to register with Peasrsonvue at http://home.pearsonvue.com/ to take the national exam (NCLEX). Do not register for the NCLEX before the commission has approved your application. Once you register, our office will make you eligible on the Pearsonvue website. Pearsonvue will then email you the “authorization to test” (ATT). At that point you can schedule to take the NCLEX exam.
Photo credit: Scott Kirkwood/NPCA
Today marks the fifth day of a partial government shutdown that began on Saturday. The government was forced into a shutdown after Democrats refused to concede $5 billion dollars to fund the President’s wall along the southwest border.
Since then, Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have not opened negotiations to appease the President. If a resolution is not reached before the end of December, it is highly unlikely that the President will receive the money demanded to fund the border wall. When the new House of Representatives convenes after the holidays, the Democrats will command a majority in the House of Representatives, making it more difficult for the President to obtain the necessary funding.
The government shutdown will affect various government entities including the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Labor.
Here’s how it will affect immigration:
EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program:
Without congressional authorization to continue the EB-5 Regional Center Program beyond December 21, 2018, USCIS will not accept new Forms I-924, Application for Regional Center Designation Under the Immigrant Investor Program. Any Form I-924 applications that are pending as of December 21, 2018, will be placed on hold until further notice.
Per the USCIS Website:
“We will continue to receive regional center-affiliated Forms I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur, and Forms I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, after the close of business on Dec. 22, 2018. As of Dec. 22, 2018, we will put unadjudicated regional center-affiliated Forms I-526 and I-485 (whether filed before or after the expiration date) on hold for an undetermined length of time.
All Forms I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status, filed before or after the expiration date, will not be affected by the expiration of the program.”
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