June 2019 Visa Bulletin Commentary
The June 2019 Visa Bulletin was just released. Most jarring was the massive retrogression that occurred for the EB1 India category, which retrogressed an astonishing 2 years, 1 month, and[…]
Category: Employment-Based Immigration
Trumps Issues Executive Order Banning Iranian Immigrants and Nonimmigrants Associated with Certain Industries
Today President Trump issued an Executive Order imposing new sanctions on Iran with respect to the iron, steel, aluminum, and copper industries. More importantly, Section 5 of the EO suspends[…]
U.S. Secretary of Labor Proposes to Increase H-1B Filing Fees
The Trump administration continues its attack on the H-1B visa program on all fronts. Earlier this month, while testifying before a Congressional Committee on the annual budget of the Department[…]
Federal District Judge Issues Nationwide Preliminary Injunction Blocking Implementation of USCIS Unlawful Presence Memo for Fs, Js, and Ms
On Friday a Federal Judge issued a nationwide preliminary injunction enjoining USCIS from implementing its August 2018 Unlawful Presence Memo affecting F, J, and M students and exchange visitors. The[…]
New Associate Attorney at Watson Immigration Law
We are thrilled to introduce our associate attorney Luka Jurić. A graduate of University of Washington, he is an experienced immigration lawyer who has specific expertise in dealing with current[…]
Israeli Nationals Eligible for Treaty Investor Visas
USCIS has announced that, on May 1st, certain Israeli nationals lawfully present in the United States will be eligible to change status to E-2 classification. Copied from USCIS: […]
USCIS Commemorates Second Anniversary of Buy American and Hire American Executive Order
Below is a list of policies and regulations that USCIS has enacted since Buy American and Hire American (BAHA) went into effect. Despite its seemingly benign and lofty ideals of[…]
USCIS Completes the H-1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY 2020 and Reaches the Advanced Degree Exemption Cap
USCIS has announced that, on April 10th, they completed the random selection process to select enough H-1B petitions to meet the congressionally mandated 85,000 H-1B visas allotted each fiscal year.[…]
USCIS Reaches FY 2020 H-1B Regular Cap
USCIS has announced that they have received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the annual 65,000 visa cap for fiscal year 2020. The past several years have seen[…]
Premium Processing Begins for Certain Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions on May 20
The USCIS published the below notice re. H1B Premium Process service today. Good luck to those filing H1b applications! – Tahmina ___________ On May 20, USCIS will begin premium processing[…]