R Visa

June 25, 2020 Recording of Free Community Conference Call (Every Other Thursday)

Substantial transcription for video

FAQs: Religious Worker Visa, premises still under construction || Students aging out of H-4 || Lawsuit against status denial for CPT users || AC21 portability Supplement J || L-1 and entrepreneurial H-1B || 60 days grace period of H-1B getting over - F-1 option || Need to amend H-1B for remote work from home || Part time H-1B || Doing business on OPT

OTHER: IR5 Green Card traveling separately || H-1B Quota exemption || Reentry Permit obligations || H-1B change of status || CSPA for child of EB-1A petitioner || 212(e) waivers for J-1 holders || I-140 withdrawal || H-4 EAD processing times ||

R Visa Services and Fees

The fee schedule for R classification (USCIS requires all filing fees to be paid EITHER via ACH Transaction or Credit card) is as follows:

1. Legal fees (for our Office)  $3,600 payable at the commencement of the case 
2. Filing fees (to the USCIS) for Form I-129

$1,015 (for companies with 26 or more employees)

$510 (if filing as a small employer with 25 or fewer employees or as a non-profit entity)

Nonimmigrant Visas

Qualifying U.S. Work Experience for Special Immigrant Religious Workers

On April 7, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Shalom Pentecostal Church v. Acting Secretary DHS, 783 F.3d 156 (3d Cir. 2015), found the regulatory requirements that qualifying work experience gained in the United States must have been acquired in lawful status (herein “lawful status requirements”) in 8 CFR 204.5(m)(4) and (11) to be beyond the Department’s legal authority (ultra vires). The court found that the statute was clear and unambiguous and that the regulation was inconsistent with the statute.

USCIS explains its types of site visits

USCIS' Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) office has recently explained the three types of site visits that are currently being conducted:

1. Risk Assessment Program fraud study (RANDOM VISITS). This is a joint study by USCIS and ICE applicable to both family-based and employment-based cases. Cases are chosen for randomly for review and site visits  usually after a case is approved. The purpose of this study is to build a profile of the types of cases where fraud is most prevalent.

USCIS Forms Update - Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker

USCIS recently updated the following form:

Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker

01/20/2025 12:37 PM EST

Edition Date: 01/20/25. Starting July 30, 2025, USCIS will accept only the 01/20/25 edition. Until then, you can also use the 01/17/25 edition. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page on the form and instructions.

For more information, please visit the Forms Updates page.

Recording for February 20, 2025, Conference Call with Rajiv S. Khanna

Immigration.com

 

FAQs:

1. Can I volunteer with a Non-Profit while on any temporary visa (for example, F-1 OPT)?

2. Options after layoff on approved EB-1 - Compelling circumstances EAD and GC EAD conversion

3. NIW I-485 rejected: Refiling options and priority date usage?