Blog
Proposal to Revoke H-4 Work Permits Getting Final Touches
The Trump administration is planning to end the Obama-era regulation allowing spouses of H1-B visa holders to work legally in the U.S. This move could have a devastating impact on more than 70,000 H-4 visa holders who have work permits. There is a clear economic...
Irina Batrakova Featured Guest On Slavic Public Center Radio Show!
Sigh of Relief for Foreign Nationals on an H-1B Status
Foreign nationals on an H-1B visa breathed a sigh of relief this week after USCIS announced that it will not be terminating status extensions, despite the rumors that the Trump administration was looking to end the policy. The shift would have impacted visa holders...
U.S. Orders Closure of Russian Consulate in San Francisco
U.S. ordered Russia to close its Consulate in San Francisco as well as two annexes in Washington and New York in two days, in a retaliatory response to Moscow's drastic reduction of U.S. diplomatic staff in their country. The State Department said the decision was...
USCIS To Expand Interview Requirement for Those Seeking Permanent Residence
News outlets are reporting that USCIS is developing a new policy that would expand the interview requirement for all employment-based adjustment of status (green card) applications and I-730 refugee/asylee petitions, effective October 1, 2017. It appears that this...
USCIS Now Publishing EB-5 Regional Center Termination Notices Online
USCIS is now publishing Regional Center termination notices online, and will continue to update the page with additional termination notices as they become available. A regional center that USCIS has terminated from the EB-5 visa program may not solicit, generate, or...
USCIS Completes the H-1B Lottery for FY2018!
USCIS announced that on April 11, 2017 it used a computer-generated random selection process (lottery) to select enough petitions to meet the 65,000 general-category cap and the 20,000 cap under the advanced degree exemption for FY2018. USCIS will reject and return...
Trump Signs Two Executive Actions on Immigration: What Comes Next?
Yesterday President Trump issued the first in a series of Executive Orders on border security and immigration enforcement. Among other items, the President announced that he would order DHS to construct a southern border wall, increase the size of the enforcement...
USCIS Reaches FY2017 H-1B Cap
Today USCIS announced that it has reached the FY2017 H-1B cap. They will use a computer-generated process, also known as the lottery, to randomly select the petitions needed to meet the general category (65,000 H-1B visas) and advanced degree exemption (20,000...
H-1B Season Is Upon Us!
Those U.S. employers interested in on-boarding foreign national workers in the H-1B specialty occupation category starting October 1, 2016, may file their H-1B petitions 6 months prior to the October 1st start date, on April 1, 2016. There is an annual quota of...