Department of Homeland Security

DHS Update

The new policy guidelines from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reverse the long standing practice of the agency’s deference to its own prior adjudications (i.e., approvals) of certain immigration proceedings for the purpose of the extension filings review.  The newly adopted guidance instructs adjudicating officers to apply the same level of scrutiny to nonimmigrant visa

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Hot off the Press

Premium Processing Resumed

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has resumed premium processing for all H-1B visa petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 cap. For an additional government filing fee of $1,225, the premium service guarantees a 15-day processing time. Earlier this year, USCIS resumed premium processing service for certain cap-exempt petitioners. At this time, premium

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Department of Homeland Security

DHS Update

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has completed its Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 H-1B visa lottery and mailed out receipt notices for the petitions accepted for processing under the H-1B visa cap. Petitioners that have not received H-1B petition receipt notices for the filings under the cap by the current date should check on the

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Department of Homeland Security

H-1B Visa & Form I-9 Updates

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

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Emergency Immigration Alert

Premium Processing Suspension for H-1B Petitions

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

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Department of Homeland Security

H-1B Season is Nearing

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

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