Characteristics of H-1B Specialty Occupation Workers for FY 2012 – Where Do We Go From Here?
In a month or two, new freshman class of international students will be swarming all the college campuses excited about their future. Sophomores will be deciding their majors, most hoping to follow their passions. Some juniors may have a change of heart and look to switch majors as they face practical realities. The entering...
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Interesting Immigration News Tidbits
Thomas Gard, a manager of Hallmark Industrial Services Inc., pled guilty in federal district court in August 2013 to harboring 42 undocumented workers, who were engaged in cleanup work on an oil spill in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Previously, the owner of Hallmark Industrial, Philip Hallmark, had pleaded guilty to similar crimes. According...
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HOT TOPIC: L-1B Denial Rates Increase
Today, our office received information from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) which reported that (pursuant to a Freedom of Information Request) on February 26, 2014, the USCIS released statistics regarding the number of L-1B nonimmigrant petitions received, approved, and denied, as well the number of L-1B petitions...
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Update on USCIS Processing Times
We would like to update our clients on current processing times for the various USCIS processing centers.
H-1B: 2 months
L: 1 month
TN:...
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Interview with Consular Chief, Ian Hopper, U.S. Embassy Amman Jordan
MEETING WITH CONSULAR SECTION By Heidi Son, Esq.
US Embassy, Amman Jordan
November 2014
Having just recently moved to Amman Jordan less than three months ago, I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing the Consular Chief of th...
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On July 21 2015, USCIS Issued Final Guidance on H-1B Worksite Location Changes
We previously wrote an article on this issue when The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) on April 9, 2015, handed down a precedent decision, Matter of Simeio Solutions.
Generally, for relocations occurring after April 9 but prior to August 19, employers will have until January 15, 2016 to file amended H-1b petitions. We i...
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USCIS Proposes New Filing Fees (05/12/2016)
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced last week a proposal to increase the fees of certain U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) applications. Fee increases generally range from 8 to 60%. However, filing fees related to the EB-5 green card process have been the most dramatic with increases ranging from 145...
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Visa Revocations Policy
According to the new FAM provision (9 FAM 403.11-3) updated by the U.S. Department of State, consular officers shall prudentially revoke nonimmigrant visas for DUI arrests, as driving under the influence is indicative of a possible physical or mental disorder with harmful behavior (possibly ineligibility under INA 212(a)(1)(A)(iii). ...
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USCIS Proposes New Program for International Entrepreneurs
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is proposing a new rule, which would allow certain international entrepreneurs temporary stay in the U.S. so that they may start or scale their businesses here.
Under this proposed rule, DHS may parole, on a case-by-case basis, eligible entrepreneurs of startup enterprises if s/he me...
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NEWS ON PRESIDENT TRUMP’S ENTRY BAN
On Friday January 27th, 2017 President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order that suspends the entry of foreign nationals from the following seven countries; Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen to the United States for a period of 90 days, or through April 27, 2017. The o...
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