Federal Litigation and How to Turn a USCIS Denial into an Approval
7/17/19
By: Ken Levine The FMG Immigration Section was retained to prepare a green card case for one of the top chess players in Asia. Our client, Oliver Barbosa, is a chess Grandmaster who hails from the Philippines. He is currently ranked the 2nd best chess player in his country, the 60th best chess player on the Asian…
Hooray! My Employee's H-1B Visa Was Finally Approved! Now Why Am I Getting This Revocation Notice?
6/19/19
By: Ken Levine For the past two years, USCIS has ramped up revocations of approved H-1B petitions. While there are no reliable government statistics, word of mouth in the immigration legal field, as well as increased federal litigation concerning H-1B revocations, clearly underscores the existence of this trend. Under 8 C.F.R. 214.2(h)(11) USCIS must satisfy…
Did You Really Terminate That H-1B Employee?
5/21/19
By: Layli Eskandari Deal U.S. Department of Labor Awards $43,366 Back Pay to Engineer. In January, a Microfabrication Engineer, employed under the H-1B visa program by Minnesota-based TLC Precision Wafer Technology, Inc., was awarded $43,366.67 in back wages and interest after an investigation by the Department of Labor’s Wage and hour Division. The employment began…
Latest Update on the H-1B Visa Application Process
2/11/19
By: Layli Eskandari Deal The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a final rule implementing changes to the H-1B visa program for petitions filed under the H-1B cap (better known as the H-1B visa lottery). The rule reverses the order whereby USCIS selects H-1B petitions for the standard allotment of 65,000 visas and…
No E-Verify During The U.S. Government Shutdown – What Is An Employer To Do?
1/4/19
By: Kenneth Levine The current government shutdown has ensnared the E-Verify system, which is used by numerous U.S. employers to verify the employment eligibility of new hires. While many operations of DHS and USCIS are maintained through user fees, and therefore unaffected by the shutdown, this does not apply to the E-Verify system. Functions on…
12/20/18
By: Kenneth Levine The FMG Immigration Group was retained in June 2018 to prepare an EB1 “Alien of Extraordinary Ability” petition on behalf of Woman International Chess Master Mariam Danelia. Mariam, who hails from the country of Georgia, was residing in the U.S. pursuant to F-1 Optional Practical Training after having earned a Master of…
USCIS Reverses Course – STEM OPT Students May Now Work At 3rd Party Client Sites
9/18/18
By: Ken Levine On August 17th U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted an announcement on their website to publicize the agency’s decision to once again allow STEM OPT F-1 students to engage in training programs at a third-party client worksite. This update supersedes the Agency’s policy change in April 2018 which disallowed STEM OPT students…
USCIS Creates Another Roadblock for Legal Immigrants
8/8/18
By: Kenneth Levine A proposed Trump administration change to the “public charge” regulations, expected to be issued within the next few months, will dramatically alter the process for how Immigration Officers determine eligibility for citizenship or permanent residency. USCIS designates an applicant as a “public charge” if they are likely to become predominantly dependent on…
A Contradiction In Terms – Recent Developments On 3rd Party Placement Of STEM Opt Students
7/13/18
By: Kenneth Levine In April 2018, USCIS issued official guidance that precluded the assigning of a U.S. employer’s STEM OPT employees to off-site third-party locations. A STEM OPT employee is a foreign national who is pursing “practical training” through a U.S. employer after having received a degree from a U.S. college/university in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics program. This…
DOJ and USCIS Join Forces Creating a Tougher Road for Employers
5/18/18
By: Layli Eskandari Deal On May 11, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding regarding information sharing and case referrals. USCIS and DOJ state that this effort is meant to improve the way the agencies share information and collaborate on cases “to better detect and…
Foreign Students and Exchange Visitors Beware!
5/15/18
By: Layli Eskandari Deal On May 10, 2018, USCIS published a Policy Memorandum to provide guidance on how the agency will be calculating unlawful presence for F-1, J-1, and M-1 nonimmigrant visa holders and their dependents. Generally, foreign students and exchange visitors are admitted to the United States for “Duration of Status”. This means that…
What Should I Do If The Government Invites Our Company To Participate In A Program?
4/25/18
By: Kenneth S. Levine The FMG Immigration Section was recently asked to address a client’s question on how they should respond to an emailed “invitation” by the USCIS E-Verify Unit for their company to participate in a quality control program. First, it is extremely important for clients to be aware that USCIS or ICE agency…