On April 7, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reached the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa cap for the government’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. USCIS also confirmed it had reached the cap under the 20,000 H-1B petitions allocation for U.S. advanced degree holders. The agency has not yet indicated the anticipated timelines of the
CBP recently released statistical data regarding the migration at the U.S. Southwest border. The data suggests a drastic decline in traffic, evidenced by a significant (i.e., nearly 40 percent) decline in arrests. The number of border apprehensions from January to February usually increases by approximately 10 to 20 percent, thus making the current decrease highly
The May 2017 DOS Visa Bulletin “Final Action” chart for employment-based preference cases indicates slight movement as we head into the eighth month of the government’s FY2017. EB-2 “Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability” category for China advances only 3 weeks to a cut-off date of February 8, 2013.
Starting April 3, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will temporarily suspend premium processing (i.e., 15-day expedited processing) for all H-1B petitions for up to 6 months. Importantly, since April 3, 2017 marks the start of the cap-subject H-1B petitions acceptance for the Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18), the suspension will affect all petitions filed
On March 6, 2017, President Trump signed a new Executive Order (EO), once again suspending U.S. entry for nationals of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen for a minimum of 90 days, among other things. The new order is to take effect on March 16, 2017. Of note, Iraq has been removed from the
H-1B Season is Nearing! April 1, 2017 marks the beginning of the new H-1B petition filing season with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). As in prior recent years, the filing season is likely to be brief (i.e., most likely, limited to the first week of April) and, if more petitions are received than
On January 27, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order (“EO”), “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States”, which, among other things, suspended immigrant and nonimmigrant entry for nationals of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, for a minimum of 90 days. The state of Washington, later joined by
The March 2017 DOS Visa Bulletin “Final Action” chart for employment-based preference cases reflects progress as we head into the sixth month of the government’s fiscal year (“FY”) 2017: EB-2 “Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability” category for China and India progresses 1 month and 6 weeks to cut-off
Reminder: Beginning January 22, 2017, employers must begin using the new version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, edition date 11/14/16. On January 17, 2017, the new rule, “Retention of EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 Immigrant Workers and Program Improvements Affecting High-Skilled Nonimmigrant Workers,” which includes significant changes to several immigration programs, took effect. It is
The February 2017 DOS Visa Bulletin “Final Action” chart for employment-based preference cases contains some movement as we head into the fifth month of government’s FY2017: EB-2 “Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability” category and EB-3 “Skilled Workers/Professionals/Other Workers” for All Chargeability areas progresses 2 months to a cut-off