WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has once again received more than enough H-1B petitions within the first five business days of the fiscal year (FY) 2020 filing period to reach the annual cap of 85,000 new H-1B visas. 201,011 petitions were received, an increase from last year’s total of […]
Read more...12 April 2019
SUMMARY: In 2016, DHS reduced Greece’s Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) travel authorization validity period for travel by nationals of Greece under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) from two years to one year. The reduction was based on a 2015 VWP assessment of Greece, which had identified a number of shortcomings in satisfying VWP […]
Read more...9 April 2019
This new policy memorandum, which went into effect on December 10, 2018, applies to all I-751 petitions received by USCIS on or after December 10. According to the memorandum, a waiver of the interview requirement can only be considered if the USCIS officer is satisfied that all of the following conditions have been met: A […]
Read more...8 April 2019
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that current beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under South Sudan’s designation who want to maintain their status through the 18-month extension period ending on Nov. 2, 2020, must re-register between April 5, 2019 and June 4, 2019. Re-registration procedures, including how to renew employment authorization documents […]
Read more...5 April 2019
USCIS has launched an H-1B Employer Data Hub to provide information to the public on employers petitioning for H-1B workers. The data hub is part of our continued effort to increase transparency in employment-based visa programs by allowing the public to search for H-1B petitioners by fiscal year (back to FY 2009), NAICS code, employer […]
Read more...2 April 2019
USCIS announced that it will begin accepting petitions for employment with start dates in FY2020 under the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) -Only Transitional Worker program (CW-1) on 4/4/19. All CW-1 filings must include an approved temporary labor certification. USCIS will reject any CW-1 petition with an employment start date on or after […]
Read more...29 March 2019
USCIS has recently updated the filing addresses for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker. The most up-to-date filing addresses are listed on the USCIS webpage entitled “Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker” which appears to have last been updated on February 28, 2019. Notably, the P.O. Box addresses, and […]
Read more...27 March 2019
Processing times for USCIS cases are delayed: The overall average case processing time increased by almost 46% over the past two fiscal years. The processing times for 94% of USCIS’ form types (the different types of case documents) have been severely delayed, including the processing of green cards for family members, employment authorization applications, […]
Read more...26 March 2019
For Family-Sponsored Filings: You must use the Dates for Filing chart in the Department of State Visa Bulletin for April 2019. For Employment-Based Preference Filings: You must use the Final Action Dates chart in the Department of State Visa Bulletin for April 2019. Source: AILA Doc. No. 19031832.
Read more...22 March 2019
Start of FY 2020 Cap Season USCIS will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the FY 2020 cap on April 1, 2019, and will reject any FY 2020 cap-subject H-1B petitions filed before April 1. Premium Processing for FY 2020 Cap-Subject Petitions Premium processing will be offered in a two-phased approach during the FY 2020 […]
Read more...19 March 2019
