Dear Readers, viewers and listeners, The dreaded ‘no-RFE’ memo goes into effect tomorrow. Of all dates, USCIS chooses September 11th as the start date of such a drastic policy change. Not sure who came up with this date as there is no real difference between a Monday (like today) and Tuesday. But here we are. […]
Every month, the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s (AILA) Department of State Liaison Committee checks in with Charlie Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division at the Department of State. This month’s check-in included clarification about the numerous retrogressions and changes announced in the September 2018 Visa Bulletin. Charlie confirmed that the F-1 and[…]
The September 2018 Visa Bulletin was released today. Most notably, EB2 and EB3 worldwide had final action dates imposed and EB2 China and EB2 and EB3 India retrogressed further. All of these dates are expected to return to current or to their August 2018 dates in October. However, contrary to previous visa bulletins, EB1 is[…]
Yesterday, the Dept. of Justice posted the below press release (copied from their website) that DOJ has partnered with the Dept. of Labor in an effort to protect American workers. The partnership will allow detailed information sharing to find discriminatory practices by employers using the following visas: H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, H-2A, H-2B, D-1 and PERMs[…]
As discussed in Friday’s blog post, the EB-1 category will retrogress on August 1st. A note in the visa bulletin stated that this retrogression would be immediate. It does look like this retrogression has already gone into effect and that USCIS’s system is currently not letting officers issue green cards for EB-1 applicants. This just[…]
The August 2018 Visa Bulletin was released this morning. Most notably, EB1 worldwide will retrogress, most likely becoming current again at the start of the new fiscal year. Additionally, EB3 India is now within 2.5 month of moving past EB2 India. If you are now eligible to file your adjustment of status, you can go[…]
Every month, the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s (AILA) Department of State Liaison Committee checks in with Charlie Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division at the Department of State. This month’s check-in included information about retrogression in employment-based immigrant categories in future visa bulletins. In particular, there is a chance that EB-1 China[…]
The July 2018 Visa Bulletin was released this morning. Most notably, there was major movement in the EB2 India, EB3 India, EB2 China, and F2B categories. Additionally, EB3 China retrogressed, most likely through the end of the fiscal year. If you are now eligible to file your adjustment of status, you can go ahead and[…]
Columbia International Finance is hosting an informative webinar Thursday, May 31, 2018, from 5:30 pm to 7 pm. It is my honor to present on this two lawyer panel. This informational event is free to attend! You simply to have to join us through the Facebook Live event page. This is a timely and important[…]
On Friday, May 11th, USCIS released updated statistics of H4 EADs. It is anticipated that the rule allowing H4 visa holders applying for work permits will be rescinded in June. Here is a link to the USCIS data on the issue. Also, here is an article in which I saw the report. A snapshot[…]