H-1B and E-3 Visa

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H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

H-1B Advanced Cap for FY 2020 has been Reached!

USCIS has received sufficient number of petitions for the congressionally-mandated 20,000 H-1B master cap for FY 2020. The 65,000 regular cap was reached last week. USCIS has also announced that this year, they have received 201,011 filings in the week…

Jenny ZhanApril 16, 2019

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Family Immigration H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

What is Implied Departure? How can a Canceled Plane Ticket Impact Your USCIS Application? I cancelled my airline ticket, will it impact immigration?

For national security reasons, airlines routinely transmit passenger information to Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) whenever a plane ticket is purchased. This is done at the purchase stage to give CBP sufficient time and resources to conduct background checks and…

Jenny ZhanApril 15, 2019

H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

H-1B Regular Cap for FY 2020 has been Reached!

USCIS has received sufficient number of petitions for the congressionally-mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap for FY 2020. USCIS will now determine whether it has received sufficient number of petitions to meet the 20,000 master’s cap, which should be announced…

Jenny ZhanApril 9, 2019

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H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

Department of Labor issues new LCA Electronic Posting Requirements

New guidelines issued by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor on March 15, 2019 imposes enhanced obligations on electronic posting requirements of the H-1B labor condition application regulations. A Labor Condition Application (Form ETA 9035) is…

Jenny ZhanMarch 28, 2019

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H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

New H-1B Database Website to be Unveiled on April 1

USCIS will unveil a new website on April 1, 2019 that will expand on the amount of H-1B petitioner data available to the public. The new website will reportedly allow members of the public to search for H-1B information by…

Jenny ZhanMarch 28, 2019

H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

Premium Processing Will be Accepted for the Upcoming H-1B Cap Season

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that premium processing will be offered in a two phased procedure during the upcoming Fiscal Year 2020 cap season starting on April 1. Premium processing costs $1410 and guarantees that USCIS will take…

Jenny ZhanMarch 19, 2019

H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

USCIS Resumes Premium Processing for All H-1B Petitions

Starting today, USCIS will resume premium processing services for all new and pending H-1B petitions. Premium Processing for H-1B Cap applications resumed on January 28, 2019. Premium processing was suspended in September last year to give USCIS a chance to catch up…

Jenny ZhanMarch 12, 2019

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H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

Decline in H-1B Visa Approval Rates

Last week, USCIS published data showing increases in the number of Request for Evidence (RFE) and denials issued for H-1B Visa applications. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that permits a company to hire workers in specialty occupations. This visa…

Jenny ZhanFebruary 28, 2019

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H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

Proposed H-4 Work Authorization Rescission Regulation Under Federal Review

The Department of Homeland Security has submitted a proposal to rescind the H-4 spousal work authorization regulation to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The rule was originally implemented in 2015 under the Obama Administration, permitted certain…

Jenny ZhanFebruary 21, 2019

H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

FY 2020 H-1B Cap Season Starts April 1, 2019: Things You Should Do and Know

H-1B cap season for fiscal year 2020 will begin on April 1, 2019. Employers should start preparing for cap petitions now as applications not received within the first five business days of April could miss out access due to the…

Jenny ZhanFebruary 7, 2019

H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration News

State Department Eliminates Two Interview Locations in China for H and L Visas

Starting on March 1, 2019, H visa and L visa interviews in Mainland China will only be conducted at the U.S. embassy in Beijing, the U.S. consulate in Guangzhou, and the U.S. consulate in Shanghai. Interviews for these visas will…

Jenny ZhanFebruary 1, 2019

H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

H-1B Cap Registration Lottery to be Postponed Until Next Year

The Department of Homeland Security has announced in an advanced copy of the new H-1B regulation that the cap registration system will be postponed until the next filing period in 2020. When implemented, employers have to register for the lottery…

Jenny ZhanJanuary 30, 2019

H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

H-1B Cap Registration Rule Clears Federal Review

On January 14, 2019, USCIS sent the final version of the new H-1B cap registration rule to the Office of Management and Budget. Today, the rule has been cleared OMB review, the final step before the rule’s publication and implementation.…

Jenny ZhanJanuary 28, 2019

H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

USCIS Resumes Premium Processing For H-1B Cap Applications

USCIS has announced that it will resume premium processing on January 28, 2019 for all pending FY 2019 H-1B cap petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption (the “master’s cap”). Premium processing was suspended in September last year…

Jenny ZhanJanuary 25, 2019

H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

USCIS Sends Final Version of New H-1B Cap Registration Rule to OMB

USCIS has sent the final version of the new H-1B cap registration rule to the Office of Management and Budget, moving the proposal closer to completion. The OMB has up to 90 days to review the regulation but is anticipated…

Jenny ZhanJanuary 14, 2019

H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

House of Representatives Approves Legislation granting E-3 Visa to Irish Nationals

On November 28, 2018, the House of Representatives approved a legislation that will allow Irish nationals to apply for an E-3 visa. The legislation still has to be approved by the Senate before it can go in front of the…

Jenny ZhanJanuary 2, 2019

H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

USCIS Moves Closer to Implementing Pre-Register H-1B Cap Selection System

On Monday, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved a USCIS proposal altering the H-1B Cap procedure, the new proposal is expected to be published for public comment in the near future. For information about the current H-1B cap…

Jenny ZhanNovember 26, 2018

H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

Revised Labor Condition Application

In the coming days, a revised Labor Condition Application (LCA) will be published in the Federal Register that will require employers to name the end-client or vendor for H-1B, H-1B1, or E-3 worker who will be placed at a third-party…

Jenny ZhanOctober 26, 2018

H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

Premium Processing Fee Increased

The Department of Homeland Security have announced that starting from September 30, 2018, the Form I-907 premium processing fee will increase from the current $1225 to $1410. Premium processing is an expedited service offered by USCIS where employers can pay…

Jenny ZhanAugust 30, 2018

H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

Premium Processing Suspended for Some H-1B Applications Through February 2019

USCIS has extended and expanded the suspension of premium processing for certain H-1B cases. This suspension affects Fiscal Year 2019 pending cap cases and, starting from September 11, 2018, most changes of employer, changes of status, and amendment applications. This…

Jenny ZhanAugust 29, 2018

H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

No Deadline for New Regulation to Rescind H-4 Visas Yet

The Department of Homeland Security has notified the courts that the draft rule to rescind H-4 work authorization, one that was supposed to be announced by February, then postponed to June 2018, was still being finalized. The rule was originally…

Jenny ZhanAugust 21, 2018

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H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

USCIS Reverse Decision to Allow Offsite STEM OPT Workplace Placement

In May 2018, USCIS quietly changed the rules for offsite STEM OPT workplace placement on its website that disallowed STEM OPT students from being placed with a third party. For many foreign nationals who travel to the United States to…

Jenny ZhanAugust 20, 2018

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H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

USCIS Completes Return of Unselected H-1B Cap Petitions

USCIS have finished returning unselected H-1B petitions that were not selected in the FY2019 cap lottery. Employers should receive petition packages and fee checks by August 13, 2018. This year, a total of 190,098 H-1B cap petitions were received, of…

Jenny ZhanAugust 9, 2018

H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

I am Applying for my Green Card through an Employer. How Should I Prepare for my Green Card Interview?

On March 6, 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 12780, which, among other things, called for the implementation of standardized vetting procedures for immigration benefits, including in-person interviews. Based on this Executive Order, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (“USCIS”) now…

Jenny ZhanJuly 5, 2018

H-1B and E-3 Visa Immigration

What is an E-3 Visa? Am I eligible to Work in the United States with an E-3 Visa

For many foreign nationals, the E-2 visa is an excellent visa option that permits the applicant to live and work in the United States. The E-2 visa requires an investor applicant to invest a substantial sum of money to either…

Jenny ZhanJune 26, 2018

H-1B Advanced Cap for FY 2020 has been Reached!

What is Implied Departure? How can a Canceled Plane Ticket Impact Your USCIS Application? I cancelled my airline ticket, will it impact immigration?

H-1B Regular Cap for FY 2020 has been Reached!

Department of Labor issues new LCA Electronic Posting Requirements

New H-1B Database Website to be Unveiled on April 1

Premium Processing Will be Accepted for the Upcoming H-1B Cap Season

USCIS Resumes Premium Processing for All H-1B Petitions

Decline in H-1B Visa Approval Rates

Proposed H-4 Work Authorization Rescission Regulation Under Federal Review

FY 2020 H-1B Cap Season Starts April 1, 2019: Things You Should Do and Know

State Department Eliminates Two Interview Locations in China for H and L Visas

H-1B Cap Registration Lottery to be Postponed Until Next Year

H-1B Cap Registration Rule Clears Federal Review

USCIS Resumes Premium Processing For H-1B Cap Applications

USCIS Sends Final Version of New H-1B Cap Registration Rule to OMB

House of Representatives Approves Legislation granting E-3 Visa to Irish Nationals

USCIS Moves Closer to Implementing Pre-Register H-1B Cap Selection System

Revised Labor Condition Application

Premium Processing Fee Increased

Premium Processing Suspended for Some H-1B Applications Through February 2019

No Deadline for New Regulation to Rescind H-4 Visas Yet

USCIS Reverse Decision to Allow Offsite STEM OPT Workplace Placement

USCIS Completes Return of Unselected H-1B Cap Petitions

I am Applying for my Green Card through an Employer. How Should I Prepare for my Green Card Interview?

What is an E-3 Visa? Am I eligible to Work in the United States with an E-3 Visa

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