H.R. 8337 passed through the house on September 20th and on September 30th the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 8337. This heavily bipartisan bill was then signed into law by President Trump today (October 1). The law allows USCIS to provide premium processing for all three Employment Based categories – EB1, EB2 and EB3. The processing […]
The USCIS new rule regarding changes in filing fees was blocked by Federal Judge Jeffrey White. While the injunction is in place the old fee schedule must be followed. The important fee changes for NIW/EB1A and OPR clients are as follows: I-140 – The fee will remain at $700 and will not be reduced to […]
The USCIS announced their priority dates for October and the EB1 category jumped significantly. The priority date for both India and China changed from Septembers priority date of March 1, 2018 to Sept. 1, 2020. The EB2 and EB3 categories also moved. The EB2 changed from July 8, 2009 to May 15, 2011 for India […]
Starting June 1, USCIS will start resuming premium processing for all eligible Form I-140 petitions. Starting June 8, USCIS will resume premium processing requests for H1B petitions beginning with premium requests for cap-exempt petitions that are already filed and pending adjudication. Starting June 15, USCIS “plans” on resuming premium processing for cap-exempt HIB petitions that […]
Interviews and Appointments USCIS is officially scheduled to reopen its offices on June 4 and USCIS will begin resuming interviews and biometric appointments. USCIS will first send out notices to applicants and petitioners with previously scheduled appointments and interviews. As USCIS begins to reopen, the number of available appointments and interviews that they are scheduling […]
USCIS announced that it will be seeking funding from Congress to help with a budget deficit it is experiencing as a result of a decrease in filings for immigration benefits. USCIS has indicated that to make up for the additional funding being sought from Congress that they intend to add a 10% surcharge to all […]
UPDATE April 22, 2020 President Trump this evening signed an executive order banning the issuance of green cards to foreign nationals who are outside of the country. The order is effective as of 11:59 p.m. eastern daylight time on April 23, 2020. The order excludes persons in the U.S. who are adjusting their status. If […]
On December 18, 2019 both Senator Durbin and Senator Lee announced on the Senate floor that they had reached a bipartisan agreement to move S.386/HR1044 forward. While not officially presented yet, the unofficial draft of the proposed legislation as outlined by both Senator Durbin and Senator Lee in their speeches yesterday provides what we see […]
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it is implementing the registration process in the next H-1B lottery. Employers seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions for the fiscal year 2021 cap, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, must first electronically register and pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee. Employers seeking H-1B workers […]
The Homeland Security Department today issued a proposed rule titled “U.S. Citizenship and immigration Services Fee Schedule and Changes to Certain Other Immigration Benefit Request Requirements”. The proposed rule is open for comment until December 16, 2019 after which it can be implemented. The good news is that for NIW petitions the fees may actually […]
