We are three weeks into the government shutdown since December 21, 2018 and the following is an update on different immigration agencies and services. Visa Applications Overseas Consulates are still…
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We just received an H-1B approval from U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services for a cap-subject H-1B. The H-1B was approved after a Request for Evidence questioning if the position was…
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Congress passed a bill on December 7 that funded the U.S. government until December 21. On or before December 21, Republicans and Democrats have to come to an agreement over…
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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…
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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,…
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We just had an H-1B employee visa approval at the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai for an Accountant. The applicant has a Master's degree from a U.S. University and was granted the…
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Scott Legal, P.C. just had an H-1B approval for a market analyst. The approval was based on the April H-1B season and the petition was approved for 3 years. H-1B…
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Foreign nationals who are preparing to file an application for an immigration benefit with USCIS, or those who have already filed an application and are waiting for a decision, may…
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We just had an H-1B petition approval at the USCIS Vermont Service Center. The beneficiary was granted H-1B status as a Market Research Analyst. A Request for Evidence was received…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Scott Legal, P.C. just had an H-1B visa approval for an Operations Manager of a Commercial Bank for a national of India. The applicant was granted status for 3 years, and the application…
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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,…
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Scott Legal, P.C. just had an H-1B approval for a lawyer. While this is normally an easy category for an H-1B the lawyer had complex degree equivalency issues to address…
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In the Annual Report to Congress, USCIS Ombudsman Julie Kirchner has addressed several anti-fraud initiatives that have caused delays and longer processing times for many applications. The Ombudsman’s office is…
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For many foreign nationals who travel to the United States to study and earn a bachelor’s degree in the fields of science, technology, engineering or mathematics (“STEM”), the 24-month extension…
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The Trump Administration has announced on May 14, 2018 that it has dramatically increased the number of worksite investigations and audits to make sure that American businesses are not employing…
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The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have announced on May 15, 2018 that it has completed data entry for all FY 2019 H-1B cap-subject petitions. This year, a…
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