Rajiv S. Khanna, managing attorney at Immigration.com told TOI: “Anecdotally, from our own clients, we see difficulty in hiring qualified people in STEM professions.
USCIS will resume premium processing on Tuesday, March 12, for all H-1B petitions. If you received a request for evidence (RFE) for a pending petition, you should include the RFE response with the premium processing request.
USCIS recently updated the following USCIS form(s):
USCIS has revised Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status and will publish the revised form on the website on March 11, 2019. Starting on March 11, 2019, USCIS will only accept the revised Form I-539 with an edition date of 02/04/19. USCIS will reject any Form I-539 with an edition date of 12/23/16 or earlier that is received by USCIS after March 8.
Changes will increase transaction security and reduce processing errors
WASHINGTON—On Feb. 25, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) expanded the fee payment system used in field offices to 16 additional offices:
The USCIS Contact Center is currently experiencing higher than normal wait times for callers to speak to a representative. While the center is working to resolve this, the center encourages you to use the online tools.
The self-service applicant tools could save you a phone call or a trip to one of the offices. These helpful resources include:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received enough petitions to meet the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2019. Feb. 19, 2019, was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before Oct. 1, 2019. USCIS will reject new cap-subject H-2B petitions received after Feb. 19 that request an employment start date before Oct. 1, 2019.
USCIS will resume premium processing on Tuesday, Feb. 19, for all H-1B petitions filed on or before Dec. 21, 2018. If you received a transfer notice for a pending H-1B petition, and you are requesting premium processing service, you must submit the premium processing request to the service center now handling the petition. You should also include a copy of the transfer notice with your premium processing request to avoid possible delays associated with the receipt of your premium processing request.
uidance Clarifies Agency Requirements for Petition
WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it is publishing guidance for its officers to consider when adjudicating spousal petitions involving minors.
Effective immediately, USCIS will begin accepting copies of negative consultation letters directly from labor unions relating to a current or future P nonimmigrant visa petition. A consultation letter from a U.S. labor organization is generally required for petitions in the P visa classification, which covers athletes, artists, entertainers and their essential support personnel.