Foreign nationals often plan international travel during the holidays. As a result, it is one of the busiest times of year for visa processing at U.S. Consulates and Embassies. Here are a few helpful considerations to make foreign national holiday travel a little less stressful for both employment-based visa sponsors and beneficiaries.
Do I have a valid visa?
The time to check visa validity is before travel. Discovering an expired visa upon attempting return to the U.S. can cause both unnecessary stress for the foreign national and negative impacts to employer operations. The ...
Employers wishing to sponsor a candidate for an H-1B visa in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 are approaching an important time of year. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced the H-1B cap lottery registration period will open on March 6, 2024, at noon Eastern Standard Time and close on March 22, 2024, at noon Eastern Standard Time. USCIS also announced several changes that will implemented in this year’s registration process.
H-1B cap lottery registration was introduced in FY 2021 and is an annual electronic process through which USCIS receives ...
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced all available visas in the Fiscal Year 2024 H-1B lottery program have been utilized. Each year, 65,000 H-1B visas are available for positions requiring at least a U.S. Bachelor’s degree. An additional 20,000 visas are available to foreign nationals who have earned at least a U.S. Master’s degree and are sponsored for an H-1B eligible position. Registrants were selected at random for an opportunity to fill one of the H-1B cap positions. The H-1B program is regularly used by U.S. employers to ...
Foreign nationals often coordinate travel abroad to coincide with the holidays. December can be one of the busiest times of year for visa processing at U.S. Consulates and Embassies abroad. Here are a few helpful considerations to make foreign national holiday travel a little less stressful.
Do I have a valid passport?
While seemingly obvious, an immediately expiring passport can cause a multitude of issues for foreign national travelers. Initially, U.S. Consulates and Embassies may require a passport to have a specific amount of validity in order to issue a visa. Additionally ...
In an effort to address the ongoing Employment Authorization Document (more commonly known as an “EAD”) processing backlog, USCIS recently announced it would lengthen the maximum validity period for certain EAD categories to five years. The change is welcome news to many employers and foreign nationals who may have experienced gaps in work authorization due to processing delays over the last several years.
One of the EAD categories affected by the change is pending Adjustment of Status Application beneficiaries. Adjustment of Status is the final step in the Green Card process ...
On May 4, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) issued a rule temporarily increasing the Employment Authorization Document (“EAD”) automatic extension period for certain renewal applicants. Under the temporary rule, the automatic extension was increased from 180 days to up to 540 days to address historically long processing times.
USCIS recently announced plans to revert back to 180-day automatic extensions, starting October 26, 2023. The following criteria must be satisfied to qualify for the automatic extension:
- The applicant must be renewing their ...
The EB-5 immigrant visa investor program has been used as an alternative source of funding for many real estate developers. EB-5 investors have typically preferred real estate related projects, and EB-5 capital has been used to fund high-profile projects by major brand-name developers and chains because it is most often less expensive than other sources. EB-5 capital can be used as any typical source capital: equity, unsecured mezzanine debt, or secured, senior debt.
While differing in structure—both from an immigration and financial standpoint—the E-2 visa program can ...
Employers wishing to sponsor a candidate for an H-1B visa in Fiscal Year 2024 are approaching an important time of year. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is expected to announce the H-1B cap registration period for FY2024 in the coming weeks. Last year, the registration period opened on March 1, 2022, and closed on March 18, 2022. USCIS will likely announce a similar registration period this March.
H-1B Registration is an annual electronic process through which USCIS receives registrations from employers for the H-1B lottery. USCIS has historically ...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced an extension to its waiver of the civil surgeon signature validity requirement for Form I-693. Form I-693 is the Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record which must be submitted with an Application for Adjustment of Status to Lawful Permanent Residency. The report is completed by a civil surgeon to confirm a foreign national is not inadmissible (and therefore ineligible to receive a Green Card) based on health and/or vaccination grounds.
The immigration regulations generally require Form I-693 to ...
Since its introduction in 2001, the Premium Processing service offered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has seen notable changes. Premium Processing was originally introduced as an option for certain immigration benefit applicants and petitioners to request expedited 15-day processing for an additional fee. The fee to request Premium Processing was originally set at $1,000 but has increased several times since the program’s inception, and was most recently elevated to $2,500.
On March 30, 2022, USCIS published a final rule outlining numerous ...
Last week, USCIS announced the H-1B visa cap registration deadlines for FY2023. Registration is mandatory for employers wishing to sponsor a candidate for an H-1B visa in the FY2023 H-1B cap cycle. Registration is an annual electronic process through which USCIS receives registrations from employers for the H-1B lottery. USCIS has historically conducted a random H-1B lottery because more visas are requested each year than are available. Registrants are selected at random for an opportunity to fill one of the H-1B cap positions.
The H-1B cap registration period for Fiscal Year 2023 ...