H-1B Visa and Visa Bulletin Updates U.S. consular posts accepting H-1B visa applications with October 1, 2014 start date The Department of State’s Foreign Affairs Manual instructs posts to begin processing H-1B visa applications up to 90 days in advance of the petition’s start date. Accordingly, as of July 3, 2014, U.S. consular posts are […]
Category Archives: Non-Immigrant-Visa-NIV
News Update: USCIS Announces Expanded Site Visits for the L-1 Classification
On April 24, 2014, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced during a stakeholder teleconference that its Administrative Site Visit and Verification Program (“ASVVP”) will be expanding to include L-1 petitions On April 24, 2014, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced during a stakeholder teleconference that its Administrative Site Visit and Verification Program (“ASVVP”) […]
News Update: New Countries Eligible for H-2A & H-2B Visa Programs
New countries eligible to participate in the H-2A & H-2B visa programs for 2015 Fiscal Year U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of State (DOS), has added Austria, Italy, Panama, and Thailand to the list of countries whose nationals are eligible to […]
News Update: L-1 USCIS Site Visits
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently acknowledged that its fraud detection and national security division will be making unannounced pre- and post-adjudication site visits at L-1 intracompany transferee petitioners. I believe the expansion of their verification program is a direct result of the Office of Inspector General’s report published in August 2013 listing many […]
News Update: Governmental Agencies Communicating
The Texas Department of Public Safety recently announced The Texas Department of Public Safety recently announced that before they will be issuing a valid driver’s license to a foreign national they will need verification from the USCIS SAVE verification process program of the individual’s legal status in the U.S. A problem has arisen when the […]
News Update: Encountering L Petition Problems
At the request of a number of senators and congressmen, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) has reviewed the L intra-company transferee visas… At the request of a number of senators and congressmen, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) has reviewed the L intra-company transferee visas issued over the past 10 years and has found […]
News Update: Reported Phone Scam
Reported USCIS Phone Scam The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has recently announced that they are aware of a telephone scam where applicants and petitioners are being contacted by phone. Apparently, the scammers have obtained a list of petitioners and applicants and have spoofed the caller ID system so it appears that the […]
News Update: Financial Sequester Causes Delays at the Consulates, Airports and the Border
As part of the Federal government’s effort to force more than $1 trillion in spending cuts As part of the Federal government’s effort to force more than $1 trillion in spending cuts over the next 10 years, the sequestration law would require $85 billion in reductions for 2013. This $85 billion sequester affects the U.S. […]
News Update: H-1B Cap Update
H-1B Cap Update Between April 1, 2013 and April 5, 2013, USCIS received approximately 124,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions. On April 7, 2013, USCIS conducted a lottery to select a sufficient number of petitions for the caps of 65,000 for the general category and 20,000 under the advanced degree exemption limit. USCIS conducted the lottery for […]
News Update: FY 2014 H-1B Cap Reached
FY 2014 Annual H-1B Cap Reached USCIS announced this afternoon that it has received enough H-1B petitions to reach the H-1B cap for the 2014 fiscal year. The final day for petitions to be accepted was Friday, April 5, 2013 for both the regular cap and the U.S. Master’s cap. All H-1B petitions received after […]