How to get a receipt at the Social Security office to present to an employer for Employment Verification (Form I-9) purposes?
After the SSA stopped issuing the detailed SSN printouts, also called numidents, some have reported problems in obtaining evidence for Employment Verification (Form I-9) purposes. The SSA has clarified in an email that it is still their policy that they will continue to issue those simple receipts. As stated in the email “If you request […]
New Executive Order on Immigration Will Affect Both Individuals and Businesses
The DHS has issued official directives that policies and regulations be made based on President Obama’s executive order on immigration that will affect both individuals and businesses. For individuals, the DHS has stated that they should begin accepting applications for “deferred action” within 90 days of November 20, 2014 for certain childhood arrivals and within […]
New Visa Reciprocity Agreement Between the U.S. and China – Longer Visa Validity for Business Visitors, Tourists, and Students
On November 10, the State Department announced that the U.S. and China were concluding a reciprocal visa validity arrangement that would strengthen the ever-broadening economic and people-to-people ties between the two countries by increasing the validity of short-term tourist and business visas, and student and exchange visitor visas issued to each other’s citizens. Chinese applicants […]
Experiences at the Airport and Ports of Entry
Has your foreign national colleague or employee encountered problems with the Customs and Border Protection at the airport or at the port of entry? How do you deal with a rude, unresponsive and intransient officer? The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) has now embraced the philosophy that “complaints are to be viewed as […]
News Update: Want the express lane at the U.S. border? There’s an app for that.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has released a new app for your iPhone and iPad to speed up your trip through border control. Want the express lane at the U.S. border? There’s an app for that. Just get off a nine hour flight from London? Well, you can take off your earphones but […]
News Update: DOS Makes Significant Progress After Software Crash Slows Visa Issuance
Last week the Department of State (DOS) issued an updated FAQ on the status of their visa issuing system outage stating that they had “made significant progress and issued most of the worldwide backlog of nonimmigrant visa cases.” DOS Makes Significant Progress After Software Crash Slows Visa Issuance Last week the Department of State (DOS) […]
News Update: Emergent Alert
We have just received information from the American Immigration Lawyers Association that the Consular Consolidated Database, the Department of State system for issuing visas, has encountered significant performance issues, including outages since Saturday, July 19. This computer system is the backbone of the consular processing procedures as it approves, records and prints the visas. Because […]
News Update: H-1B Visa and Visa Bulletin Updates
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 […]
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 […]