Category: Uncategorized

USCIS EXTENDS COVID-19 RELATED FLEXIBILITY On October 24th, USCIS issued a renewed automatic extension of 60 days to the due date of several types of requests and notices. This extension applies to Requests for Evidence, Continuations to Requests for Evidence, Notices of Intent to Deny, Notices of Intent to Revoke, Notices of Intent to Rescind,…

USCIS ISSUES POLICY ALERT FOR L-1 INTRACOMPANY TRANSFEREES Updates on eligibility requirements, filing, documentation and evidence, and adjudication procedures for L-1 visa petitions can be found in the recent policy guidance provided by USCIS. For L-1A visas, the employee must be performing managerial duties, not day-to-day tasks, and that the title of the job is…

DHS EXTENDS I-9 FLEXIBILITY THROUGH JULY 2023 AND SAYS EMPLOYERS SHOULD CONTINUE USING CURRENT I-9 FORM EVEN AFTER ITS EXPIRATION DATE OF OCTOBER 31, 2022 UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE Form I-9 is used to verify the identity and employment authorization for both citizens and noncitizens who are hired to work in the United States. The Department…

H-1B EMPLOYER COMPLIANCE TIPS FOR LCA AND PAF AUDITS Employers who hire H-1B workers are subject to many regulatory obligations. For example, the employer must continue to pay the H- IB worker the required wage rate throughout the entirety of the period of validity of the LCA. If the required wage rate is based on…

AILA RELEASES UPDATE ON THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE’S PROGRESS TOWARDS OVERCOMING DELAYS AND BACKLOGS DURING COVID19 PANDEMIC The average number of immigrant visas issued per month is slowly climbing back to pre-pandemic levels. Within the last three years, the average number of immigrant visas has declined significantly- from roughly 40,000 per month in 2019 to…

September 26th-30th Immigration News Updates USCIS INCREASES GREEN CARD VALIDITY EXTENSION FOR RENEWAL APPLICANTS FROM 12 MONTHS TO 24 MONTHS As of September 26, 2022, USCIS has increased the automatic extension granted to green card renewal applicants to 24 months, up from an automatic extension of 12 months under the prior policy. Moving forward, the…

On June 24, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California held that USCIS committed a legal error when it deauthorized EB-5 Regional Centers (RCs) that existed when the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) was signed into law. As a result of this Court ruling, pre-authorized Regional Centers may…

Posted by Keshab R. Seadie | Mar 28, 2022 | 1 Comment The FY2023 H1B lottery result is out and will continue to come out until the end of March 2022. USCIS has published the 1st round of random lottery from the submitted petitions. The other rounds of H1B lottery Results will be updated by…

Congress has passed the “EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022” as part of its Omnibus spending legislation. Under the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program, individuals can apply for permanent residence if they make the necessary monetary investments and create at least 10 permanent full-time jobs for American workers. The EB-5 Program has been…

Posted by Keshab R. Seadie | Mar 18, 2022 | 1 Comment USCIS sends a notice called a request for evidence, or RFE, when they need more proof to decide an H1-B case. The H1-B classification applies to individuals who perform services in a specialty occupation. When an employer files Form I-129, Petition for a…