Visa Lawyer Blog

Articles Posted in Professionals

by

man-4365597_1280

It’s a brand-new week full of important updates from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This time for employment authorization documents (EADs).

Recently, USCIS announced that certain applicants who have filed to renew their employment authorization cards (EADs) on Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, may qualify for an automatic extension of their expiring employment authorization and/or employment authorization documents (EADs) while their renewal applications are pending with USCIS.

Beginning October 27, 2023, those who are eligible will receive 180-day automatic extensions of their EADs, including those who have applied for or have received Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or asylum.

Previously, USCIS had passed a regulation that increased the automatic extension period for certain EAD applicants from 180 days to 540 days. This announcement will not impact EADs that were already issued for up to the 540-day period. Those extensions will remain in place. For such individuals, the increased automatic extension will end when they receive a final decision on their renewal application or when the “up to 540-day period” expires (counted from the expiration date of the employment authorization and/or their EAD), whichever comes earlier.

Continue reading

by

september-3614870_1280

In this blog post, we summarize the movement of the family-sponsored and employment-based preference categories of the September Visa Bulletin.

This information will be helpful to those applying for an immigrant visa at a U.S. Consulate overseas, and those applying for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the United States.

Overview

What is the Visa Bulletin?

The Department of State releases the visa bulletin on a monthly basis, which summarizes the availability of immigrant visa numbers for that particular month in the employment and family preference categories. The purpose of the visa bulletin is to inform immigrants who are subject to the numerical quota system of when they are eligible to apply for an immigrant visa or adjustment of status application. Applicants can determine their place in line by looking at the priority date on their underlying immigrant petition. Applicants with a priority date that is “current” on the Visa Bulletin can move forward with the immigration process, because that means a visa number is available to them.

What are the preference categories that are subject to the numerical limitations?

The Family Sponsored Preference Categories and their annual limits are as follows:

First: (F1) Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens:  23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference.

Second: Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents:  114,200, plus the number (if any) by which the worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,000, plus any unused first preference numbers:

  1. (F2A) Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents:  77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;
  2. (F2B) Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents:  23% of the overall second preference limitation.

Third: (F3) Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens:  23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.

Fourth: (F4) Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens:  65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.

The Employment-Based Preference Categories and their annual limits are as follows:

First:  Priority Workers:  28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required for fourth and fifth preferences.

Second:  Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability:  28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required by first preference.

Third:  Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers:  28.6% of the worldwide level, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences, not more than 10,000 of which to “*Other Workers”.

Fourth:  Certain Special Immigrants:  7.1% of the worldwide level.

Fifth:  Employment Creation:  7.1% of the worldwide level, of which 32% are reserved as follows: 20% reserved for qualified immigrants who invest in a rural area; 10% reserved for qualified immigrants who invest in a high unemployment area; and 2% reserved for qualified immigrants who invest in infrastructure projects. The remaining 68% are unreserved and are allotted for all other qualified immigrants.

Continue reading

by

multitasking-2840792_1280

Did you recently file an L-1 petition as an Intracompany Transferee under a previously approved blanket petition? Then you may want to hear about this important new update.

On Thursday August 3, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship, and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced new changes to the way that the agency will be issuing receipts for L-1 nonimmigrant intracompany transferees under a previously approved blanket L petition, including executives, managers, or specialized knowledge professionals.

What’s Changed?

When filing Form, I-129S, nonimmigrant petition based on blanket L Petition, together with Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, the petitioner will now receive two notices: the receipt notice and the approval notice (if the petition is approved).

Previously, petitioners would receive a stamped and signed Form I-129S along with the Form I-129 approval notice. USCIS will now do away with this practice.

Moving forward, the petitioner will receive a separate approval notice for the Form I-129S, which will serve as the endorsement.

Significance of the Approval Notice

The I-129S approval notice will serve as evidence that a USCIS officer has determined the beneficiary is eligible for L-1 status based on an approved blanket L petition and constitutes an endorsement of Form I-129S as required by 8 CFR 214.2(l)(5)(ii)(E). A copy of that notice will also be provided to the beneficiary to be included with their visa and/or admission papers.

Continue reading

by

business-g8a72ae439_1280

The news we have all been waiting for is finally here. Today, July 31, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship, and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that they have conducted a second lottery to select from previously submitted electronic registrations to reach the FY 2024 numerical cap.

At this time, USCIS has notified all prospective petitioners with selected registrations from this round of selection (the second lottery) that they are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary named in the applicable selected registration.

Only petitioners with selected registrations are eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions for FY 2024, and only for the beneficiary named in the applicable selected registration notice.

Please see the information below for a reminder about what you can expect now that the second lottery has been completed.

How will I know if I was selected in the second lottery?

Petitioners with selected registrations will have their myUSCIS online accounts updated to include a selection notice, which includes details of when and where to file. If you submitted your electronic registration with the assistance of an attorney, you must contact your legal representative/case manager to determine whether you were selected in the second randomized lottery.

Continue reading

by

graphic-gbdf40bd31_1280

Did you participate in the H-1B electronic registration for Fiscal Year 2024? If so, we have some exciting news for you.

On Thursday, July 27, 2023, USCIS issued a news alert informing the public that they will conduct a second H-1B lottery to select additional H-1B registrations to reach the fiscal year (FY) 2024 H-1B numerical allocations, including the advanced degree exemption.

As our readers may recall, USCIS conducted its initial lottery in March of 2023, selecting a total of 110,791 registrations to meet the annual H-1B numerical cap for fiscal year 2024. Registrants had about a 14.6% chance of being selected in the initial lottery.

When will the second lottery take place?

In its announcement, USCIS has said that it they will soon select from previously submitted electronic registrations to reach the FY 2024 numerical allocations through a randomized selection process, aka “the second lottery.” However, a date has not been disclosed.

This means that in the coming weeks, petitioners or their authorized representatives should keep an eye out on their myUSCIS online accounts to know if they were selected in the second lottery.

Once the second lottery has taken place, USCIS will make an official announcement on its webpage indicating the lottery’s completion. At that point, USCIS will notify all prospective petitioners with selected registrations that they are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary named in the applicable selected registration.

Continue reading

by

india-7277703_1280

Readers of the July Visa Bulletin may have been surprised to learn that the final action date for the employment-based third preference category for nationals of India retrogressed by more than 3 years and 5 months from June 15, 2012 (in the June Visa Bulletin) to January 1, 2009 (in the July Visa Bulletin).

What is the Employment-Based Third Preference Category also known as EB-3?

The employment-based third preference category (or EB-3) is reserved for three types of subcategories of immigrants: skilled workers, professionals, or other workers. No matter the subcategory, immigrants must have an approved labor certification from the Department of Labor and a permanent full-time job offer from a U.S. employer.

What are the subcategories?

  • “Skilled workers” are defined as persons whose jobs require a minimum of 2 years training or experience, that is not of a temporary or seasonal nature. The skilled worker must meet the educational, training, or experience requirements of the job offer. Relevant post-secondary education may be considered as training.
  • “Professionals” are defined as persons whose job requires at least a U.S. baccalaureate or foreign equivalent degree and are a member of the professions.
  • The “other workers” subcategory is for persons performing unskilled labor requiring less than 2 years training or experience, not of a temporary or seasonal nature.

Continue reading

by

bag-gf3e0d3e13_1280

Certain types of nonimmigrants will be expected to shell out more money for the nonimmigrant visa process.

The State Department has announced that starting June 17, 2023, nonimmigrant visa (NIV) application processing fees for visitor visas for business or tourism (B1/B2s and BCCs), and other non-petition based nonimmigrant visas such as student and exchange visitor visas (F, M, and J visas), will increase from $160 to $185.

Additionally, processing fees for certain petition-based nonimmigrant visas for temporary workers (H, L, O, P, Q, and R categories) will increase from $190 to $205.

Fees for a treaty trader, treaty investor, and treaty applicants in a specialty occupation (nonimmigrant E category) visa will also increase from $205 to $315.

What if I pay my nonimmigrant visa fee prior to June 17, 2023?

In this case you are in luck. Nonimmigrant visa fees paid prior to June 17, 2023, will remain valid through the expiration date on your nonimmigrant visa fee payment receipt.

Why the increase?

The Department of State has said that nonimmigrant visa fees are set based on the actual cost of providing nonimmigrant visa services and are determined after conducting a study of the cost of these services.

The agency uses Activity-Based Costing (ABC) methodology to calculate, annually, the cost of providing consular services, including visa services.

Continue reading

by

laura-chouette-FyIuYxpCNrw-unsplash-scaled

In this blog post, we discuss major changes in the April 2023 Visa Bulletin for both family-sponsored and employment-based categories.

To help you prepare for your upcoming immigrant visa or green card filing, we share what you can expect to see in the employment based and family preference categories for the month of April.

Before we dive in, here are some of the highlights:

  • For employment-based preference adjustment of status filings, USCIS will use the Final Action Dates chart, putting applicants at a disadvantage given that the Dates for Filing chart has been more flexible
  • EB-1A India and China maintains a Final Action cutoff date of February 1, 2022
  • EB-2 Worldwide Final Action date will retrogress to July 1, 2022 (4 months)
  • EB-2 India Final Action date will retrogress to January 1, 2011 (8 months)
  • EB-2 China Final Action date will remain at June 8, 2019
  • The F-2A category Final Action date (spouses and unmarried children under age 21 of U.S. green card holders) is no longer current for the first time in several years.

What is the Visa Bulletin?

The Department of State releases the visa bulletin on a monthly basis, which summarizes the availability of immigrant visa numbers for that particular month in the employment and family preference categories.

To be eligible to file an employment-based adjustment of status application in April 2023, foreign nationals must have priority dates that are earlier than the Final Action Dates chart of the Department of State’s April Visa Bulletin.

Family-sponsored applicants currently residing in the United States, may file for adjustment of status once their priority dates become current, following the Dates for Filing chart according to the adjustment of status filing guidance published by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Continue reading

by

champagne-glasses-g41d4b6775_1920

We have great news for H-1B visa registrants! Today, March 27, 2023, USCIS announced that it has received enough electronic registrations to reach the FY 2024 H-1B visa cap—just 10 days after the H-1B electronic registration period closed on March 17, 2023.

USCIS randomly selected from among registrations that were properly submitted to meet the 65,000/20,000 annual numerical limitations for the regular cap and advanced degree exemption.

Petitioners who have been selected have been notified of their selection via their myUSCIS online accounts.

Notification of Selection

Now that the selection process has been completed, USCIS has sent electronic notices to all registrants with selected registrations that are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition on behalf of the individual named in the notice within the filing period indicated on the notice.

Account holders who submitted the selected registration have been notified of selection via email or text message stating that an action has been taken on their myUSCIS online account. Account holders can log in to see the full notice and determine whether they have been selected.

A registrant’s USCIS online account will show one of the following statuses for each registration:

  • Submitted: The registration has been submitted and is eligible for selection. If the initial selection process has been completed, this registration remains eligible, unless subsequently invalidated, for selection in any subsequent selections for the fiscal year for which it was submitted.
  • Selected: Selected to file an H-1B cap petition.
  • Not Selected: Not selected – not eligible to file an H-1B cap petition based on this registration.
  • Denied: Multiple registrations were submitted by or on behalf of the same registrant for the same beneficiary. If denied as a duplicate registration, all registrations submitted by or on behalf of the same registrant for this beneficiary for the fiscal year are invalid.
  • Invalidated-Failed Payment: A registration was submitted but the payment method was declined, not reconciled, disputed, or otherwise invalid.

Continue reading