Immigration Insider
News from the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers Vol. 10, No. 10A • October 01, 2014
Headlines: 1. State Dept. Releases Instructions on Applying for DV-2016 Program – Entries for the DV-2016 DV program must be submitted electronically by noon EST (GMT-5), Monday, November 3, 2014. 2. USCIS Announces New Secure Blue Ink for Many Stamps – USCIS said employers should be aware of this recent change in secure ink color […]
News from the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers Vol. 10, No. 9B • September 15, 2014
Headlines: 1. Practitioners Warn About Immigration Scams – Scammers use a variety of methods. A call demanding money and threatening negative immigration consequences if it’s not coughed up immediately is a scam, and those receiving such calls should hang up immediately and not provide any information. 2. China EB-5 Category Unavailable Through September; Current in […]
News from the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers Vol. 10, No. 9A • September 01, 2014
Headlines: 1. DOS Announces Major Developments in Availability of China EB-5 Visa Numbers – Effective immediately, the EB-5 category is “unavailable” for investors born in China. Visa numbers will become available again when the new federal fiscal year starts on October 1, 2014. 2. DOS Changes Fees for Visa and Citizenship Services – DOS is […]
News from the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers Vol. 10, No. 8B • August 15, 2014
Headlines: 1. DOS Makes ‘Significant Progress’ in Bringing Visa Processing Back Online and Clearing Backlogs – DOS said it has caught up with issuances for most of the worldwide backlog of nonimmigrant visa cases and is working to bring the system back to full operational capacity. 2. CBP Announces New Mobile Passport Control App – […]
News from the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers Vol. 10, No. 8A • August 01, 2014
Headlines: 1. Consular Visa/Passport System Crashes – The Department of State’s Consular Consolidated Database, used to print and approve visas and passports, has been having significant problems, including outages. Backlogs have ensued. 2. August Visa Bulletin Shows Advances in China and ‘Other Workers’ EB-3 Preference Categories, India EB-2 Preference – Cut-off dates for the China-mainland […]
News from the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers Vol. 10, No. 7B • July 15, 2014
Headlines: 1. White House Requests $3.7 Billion for Border Crisis – As the United States continues to grapple with an influx of undocumented children and others along the southern border, President Obama has requested a $3.7 billion supplemental appropriation to fund related activities. 2. EOIR Interim Rule Addresses ‘Largest Caseload’ in U.S. History With Temporary […]
Immigration Insider News from the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers Vol. 10, No. 7A • July 01, 2014
Headlines: 1. White House Announces Response to Increase in Unaccompanied Children, Families – On June 20, 2014, President Obama announced that he will take administrative action to correct parts of our broken immigration system. In the meantime the President directed the start of a government-wide response to an increase in unaccompanied children entering the United […]
News from the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers Vol. 10, No. 6B • June 15, 2014
Headlines: 1. Comprehensive Immigration Reform Prospects Appear Dim Following Cantor’s Defeat – House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s historic defeat in Virginia in favor of the vocally anti-“amnesty” David Brat suggests that Congress will not enact comprehensive immigration reform this year, although not everyone agrees. 2. DHS Announces DACA Renewal Process – The first Deferred Action […]
News from the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers Vol. 10, No. 6A • June 01, 2014
Headlines: 1. OCAHO Launches E-Filing Pilot, Rules That E-Verify Participation Does Not Provide Blanket Protection – OCAHO has launched a voluntary pilot program to test an electronic filing system in certain cases. Also, an employer argued that participation in E-Verify entitled it to a presumption that it had not violated the law, but OCAHO ruled […]
News from the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers Vol. 10, No. 5B • May 15, 2014
Headlines: 1. DHS Proposes Rule To Extend Work Authorization To Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses of H-1B Nonimmigrants – DHS has proposed extending the availability of employment authorization to certain H-4 dependent spouses of principal H-1B nonimmigrants. The extension would be limited to H-4 dependent spouses of principal H-1B nonimmigrants who are seeking lawful permanent resident […]
News from the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers Vol. 10, No. 5A • May 01, 2014
Headlines: 1. USCIS Holds Stakeholder Call on L-1A Site Visits – The L-1 inspection program is being phased in and may be extended to initial petitions and/or L-1Bs in the future. 2. USCIS H-1B Premium Processing Has Begun for FY 2015 Petitions – On April 28, 2014, USCIS began premium processing for H-1B petitions subject […]
News from the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers Vol. 10, No. 4B • April 15, 2014
Headlines: 1. H-1B Cap Reached for FY 2015 – USCIS received about 172,500 H-1B petitions during the filing period that began April 1, including petitions filed for the advanced degree exemption. 2. White House To Propose New Regs, Steps To Attract Entrepreneurs – Among other things, proposed regulations will include rules authorizing employment for spouses […]