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 …
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 …
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 …
H-1B Visa Lottery: More Than One Ticket to the Jackpot?
4/5/18
The answer is No. U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has adopted a ruling made by the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) to prohibit multiple H-1B visa request by related entities on behalf of the same beneficiary …
Planning To File Your 2018 H-1B Cap Case Under Premium Processing? Not So Fast…
3/27/18
By: Kenneth S. Levine
On March 20th USCIS announced an indefinite suspension of the premium processing program for H-1B visa petitions that are subject to the 2018 statutory cap. The annual statutory cap limits the total of H-1B …
New Developments in TPS and DACA
1/18/18
By: Kenneth S. Levine
This past week the Department of Homeland Security announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status for citizens of El Salvador. DHS reports that there are approximately 200,000 El Salvadoran citizens living and working in the United …
The Entrepreneurs Parole Visa – Full Steam Ahead – For Now
12/4/17
By: Kenneth S. Levine
On 12/1/2017 a Federal Judge ruled that the Department of Homeland Security did not have legal cause to delay the enactment of a visa program for foreign entrepreneurs. The program, referred to as the “International Entrepreneur …
Update on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) For Citizens of Nicaragua, Honduras, & El Salvador
11/9/17
By Kenneth S. Levine
On 11/6/2017 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued an announcement on the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program for citizens of Nicaragua and Honduras. Currently, there are approximately 60,000 Nicaraguans and Hondurans who reside and work …
10/25/17
For the last several years the EB-5 Green Card program has been widely touted as a relatively quick and direct path to obtaining U.S. Permanent Residency. The program, which grants permanent residency based on a $500,000 …
Final Rule Extends Optional Practical Training Period for STEM Students
3/15/16
On March 9, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a final rule that extends the Optional Practical Training (OPT) period for so-called “STEM students”—students with degrees in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and …
1/14/16
With less than three months left before the FY 2017 filing period, it is high time for employers to start gearing up for this year’s H-1B season.
Under the current cap system, the USCIS allots a …
VISA Issues Security Alert Due to Increased Data Breaches Caused by Insecure Remote Access
7/30/14
By: David Cole
When a merchant experiences a data breach involving credit card information, it is often required by the card brands to hire a Payment Card Industry Forensic Investigator (PFI). The PFI investigates the incident and then provides a …
