FREE DOWNLOAD: Click Here To Download The Employers Guide to the H-1B Process.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Click Here To Download The Employers Guide to the H-1B Process.

Important Announcements

According to the State Department’s December Visa Bulletin, Final Action cutoff dates for issuance of an immigrant visa or approval of an adjustment of status application will be as follows:  EB-1: China will remain on November 8, 2022, and India will...

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify that a naturalization applicant’s burden to demonstrate they have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence applies only to their initial admission as a lawful permanent...

On November 7, 2024, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in State of Texas v. Department of Homeland Security, Case Number 24-cv-306 (E.D.T.X. Nov. 7, 2024) issued a final judgment vacating the Keeping Families Together (KFT) parole...

Full immigrant visa processing has resumed at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut for Lebanese family members of U.S. citizens. The National Visa Center (NVC) will directly email petitioners, beneficiaries, and representatives of spouses, children under 21, and parents of U.S....

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced new actions to provide temporary immigration reprieve to eligible Lebanese nationals in the United States. Deferred Enforced Departure (DED): Lebanese nationals covered by President Biden’s July 26, 2024, grant of DED...

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has updated the USCIS Policy Manual to reflect new guidance on determining whether a case warrants expedited treatment effective immediately. Relevant criteria or circumstances that may be considered in determining whether to grant an expedited request...

The Dept of State has posted the November 2024 Visa Bulletin. It lists final action dates and filing dates for November 2024. This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during November for: “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing...

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) limits the number of employment-based preference immigrant visas issued within a fiscal year.  Since all available EB-2 visas for FY 2024 have been used, embassies and consulates may not issue visas in this category...

On August 27, USCIS updated its guidance regarding when students may be eligible for optional practical training (OPT) extensions for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. It also clarified guidance on online study, school transfers, the grace period, and...

The State Department, working closely with USCIS, has announced the issuance of all available visas in the Employment-Based First Preference (EB-1) category for fiscal year (FY) 2024. Since all available EB-1 visas for FY 2024 have been used, embassies and...

Administrative Stay of Keeping Families Together On Aug. 26, 2024, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, in Texas v. Department of Homeland Security, issued an administrative stay, preventing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from...

USCIS Adjustment of Status Chart for September 2024, allows applicants in all family-sponsored preference categories to use the Dates for Filing and requires all employment-based preference categories to use the Final Action Dates. F2A Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents...

The Dept of State has posted the September 2024 Visa Bulletin. It lists final action dates and filing dates for September 2024. The Visa Bulletin contains an update on Diversity Visa availability. Employment Based Preference retrogression is expected in September...

WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security today announced a Federal Register notice to implement Keeping Families Together, a process for certain noncitizen spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens. This is part of an effort to promote the unity and stability of families, increase...

USCIS began accepting requests to consider, on a case-by-case basis, requests for certain noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens who have been continuously physically present without admission or parole in the United States for ten years or more; have no disqualifying...

On Aug. 19, USCIS will begin accepting requests to consider, on a case-by-case basis, requests for certain noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens who have been continuously physically present without admission or parole in the United States for ten years or...

STEM-Related Petition Trends: EB-2 and O-1A Categories FY 2018 – FY 2023 This STEM Fact Sheet pdf follows the 2022 USCIS policy guidance on how professionals with STEM degrees may qualify for the EB2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) and nonimmigrant...

USCIS Fact Sheet on U.S. Citizenship After Birth for Children of U.S. Citizens Residing in the United States USCIS posted a fact sheet to address questions about U.S. citizenship after birth for children who are residing in the United States...

USCIS posted a Fact Sheet on U.S. Citizenship at Birth to address questions about U.S. citizenship at birth for children who were born outside the United States to U.S. citizen parents.

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Soon USCIS Will Conduct Second Random Selection for Regular Cap from Previously Submitted FY 2025 H-1B Cap Registrations In March, USCIS conducted an initial random selection on properly submitted electronic registrations for the fiscal year 2025 H-1B cap, including for beneficiaries eligible...