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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released it spring 2018 regulatory agenda, proposing significant changes to the B-1 and B-2 temporary visitor categories, the H-1B and EB-5 programs, F-1…
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have released Fiscal Year 2019 H-1B application numbers. This year, a total of 190,098 H-1B cap petitions were received, of this, 95,885…
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has completed the two lotteries to choose the H-1B applications that will be processed this fiscal year. In…
The United States Immigration and Citizenship Services (USCIS) has announced on April 6, 2018 that the H-1B cap has been reached before the April 7, 2018 deadline. As such, the…
If you are an F-1 student and an H-1B cap petition to change status to H-1B has been filed on your behalf, traveling internationally could impact your ability to change…
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced on March 20, 2018 that, starting from April 2, 2018, premium processing for all fiscal year 2019 cap-subject petitions, including petitions…
In a new policy memorandum issued on February 16, 2018, USCIS will no longer accept an employer’s applications or petitions if they are signed by outside counsel under power of…
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may impose a short suspension of the 15-day premium processing service for FY 2019 H-1B cap filings. The suspension and amount of…
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Service Center Operations Directorate (USCIS SCOPS) confirmed that it is not anticipating any procedural changes for the Fiscal Year 2019 H-1B cap season.…
Recent Trends In Adjudication of H-1B Petitions Reveal Increased Scrutiny by USCIS Many studious readers of Scott Legal’s blog are familiar with the recent changes to the U.S. Immigration system…
USCIS has now resumed premium processing for all H-1B visa petitions. Prior to the start of the H-1B season this year, USCIS announced that they would halt the premium processing…
On September 27, 2017 USCIS stated that it plans to resume premium processing for all H-1B petitions on or before October 3, 2017. There has not been a formal announcement…
With the sun setting fast on Fiscal Year 2017 at the end of this month, USCIS announced on Monday, September 18 that Premium Processing will once again be available for…
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 created the H nonimmigrant classification, which includes several visa classifications for temporary workers and trainees. The H1B visa permits a company to hire…
What are an employer’s obligations when H-1B employment starts? The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant visa suitable for individuals who have a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent and a job…
“Cap Gap” is the government’s solution to a problem that many F-1 students on Optional Practical Training (OPT) who had successfully filed an H-1B petition faced: many OPT periods end…
The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant visa suitable for individuals who have a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent and a job offer from a sponsoring employer in a specialty occupation…
The U.S. Government has completed entering the data for H-1B petitions for this year. This means that if you have not yet received a receipt notice and/or your check has…