LOS ANGELES – This week, two immigration fraud perpetrators were sentenced to prison due to the considerable efforts of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Los Angeles Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) unit.
The attached letter from the USCIS signals clearly that H-1B program may be headed for a fundamental change. It remains to be seen what the details are and whether or not what the government would plan is within their legal authority.
Are you seeking to adjust your status and become a U.S. permanent resident under a family-sponsored or employment-based preference immigrant visa? If you have not yet had a relative or employer file an immigrant visa petition on your behalf, please learn more about the Adjustment of Status Filing Process.
USCIS recently updated the following USCIS form:
Discussion Topics, Thursday 26 April 2018:
FAQ: Must I carry my green card with me at all times? ||H-1B and green card transfer from a non-profit organization to for-profit||Filing EB-5 investor case with a promissory note secured by property in a foreign country||At what stage should I join my future green card employer?||Child turning 21, immigration consequences for pending green card cases
Other: Compelling circumstances EAD after the age of 21 ||National interest waiver, J1 visa and physicians ||Immigration consequences of amending tax returns||ACICS Accreditation restored, effect on STEM OPT extension ||Advisability of travel using AVR – automatic visa revalidation ||Transferring H-1B quota case before first October ||Naturalization for a developmentally disabled applicant ||H4 EAD ||H-1B extension with PERM || Rules for AOS EAD extension, etc
WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that the agency will begin phasing in use of the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) Signature Confirmation Restricted Delivery service to mail Green Cards and other secure documents beginning April 30, 2018.
This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during May for: “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentati
Release Date
WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to adjust certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees. The new fees would allow USCIS to more fully recover its operating costs, reestablish and maintain timely case processing, and prevent the accumulation of future case backlogs. USCIS receives approximately 96 percent of its funding from filing fees, not from congressional appropriations.
USCIS recently updated the following USCIS form(s):
01/04/2023 01:59 PM EST
USCIS recently updated the following form.
Form I-134, Declaration of Financial Support
01/04/2023 09:24 AM EST
Release Date
USCIS has published Form I-956K, Registration for Direct and Third-Party Promoters. The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 added the requirement for direct and third-party promoters to register with USCIS.
Discussion Topics
FAQ: Effect of typos on immigration documents || Concerns about EB-1C Green Card Portability || Who is required to pay for an EB-1C Green Card? || Can too many parking tickets affect Green Card or Citizenship process? ||
The CIS Ombudsman’s Webinar Series:
Interagency Engagement on International Student Issues
Thursday, August 25, 2022
1 - 2:15 p.m. EDT
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provided these answers to stakeholder questions gathered from the webinar.
.......................................................................................................
Question 1. Maintaining F-1 status
Question 2. Reinstatement
Question 3. OPT
Question 4. Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
Question 5. Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE)
Question 6. Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS)
Question 7. Change of Address
Question 8. Other
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Maintaining F-1 status
Q1. Can a student under Optional Practical Training (OPT) travel out of the country for a few days (less than five days) without notifying the designated school official (DSO) or employer or do they need permission to travel?
Number 74
Volume X
Washington, D.C
A. STATUTORY NUMBERS
This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during February for: “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa Center.
Form Type | Case Type | Completed 0-180 Days | Quarterly Completions |
---|---|---|---|
Cumulative total of all completions | 69.69% | 848 | |
I-129CW | Petition for CNMI Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker | 66.67% | 3 |
I-129F | Petition for Fiancée | 100% | 14 |
Release Date
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is implementing the final phase of the premium processing expansion for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, under the EB-1 and EB-2 classifications.
Processing Queue | Priority Date |
---|---|
Analyst Review | April 2022 |
Audit Review | January 2022 |
Reconsideration Request to the CO | June 2022 |
I have a query about the employment status of the H1B resource coming from India. Once the resource reaches the US, from what day they can start working? I understand that once they reach the U.S. they need to apply for SSN first. So the question is can they start working in full employment capacity even before they get SSN?
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Excerpt from the SSA (Social Security Administration) website:
"We don’t require you to have an SSN before you start work. However, the Internal Revenue Service requires employers to use your SSN to report your wages.
While you wait for your SSN, your employer can use a letter from us stating you applied for a number. Your immigration documents can prove your authorization to work in the United States".
Find more information online at www.ssa.gov/employer/hiring.htm
This article is part of the continuing series of interviews between The Practical Lawyer Editorial Board Member Rajiv S. Khanna and leading practitioners across the country, designed to provide personal and professional insights into various areas of the law.
Read more by clicking the pdf attachment.
One of my friends has just completed a master's (F1 Visa) in Dec 2022 and has traveled to India (outside the USA). However, he hadn't noticed that the EAD card had incorrect DOB (date of birth). Would he have any issues while entering back to the USA? Will he have issues returning to the USA, how can he ensure that his DOB issue in EAD is sorted out?
You could send in a request to the USCIS for correction of the typographical error by taking a screenshot. Attach it with the rest of the documents and now you have enough proof to show who you are. Also, typographical error depends upon who made the error and in which context it's being raised. Sometimes it is just an easy fix and complicated at times. Let your lawyers help you with that decision in this case. I think if you have a screenshot of a requested correction you should be fine.
How does EB-1C portability work?
I also have a question about the EB1C portability of the priority date. Say, If I have I-140 approved under EB1C and have a particular priority date. For some reason, if I need to or want to change employers and I do not qualify for EB1C with other employers. My new employer can file I-140 under EB-2, or I can file EB-2 NIW myself. I have both options. The question is whether I can use the priority date of the earlier approved I-140 petition under EB1C to the new employer's EB-2 petition and file AOS.
Sure. EB-1/EB-2/EB-3 all of them can be ported.
Who pays for the I-140 filing fee? Employer or Employee? Do federal regulations mandate payment by the employer? Who pays the attorney fees for the I-140 form per federal regulations? Is it mandatory to be paid by the employer? Who pays for the I-1485 filing fee per federal regulations? Employer or Employee? Any federal mandate I need to know? Who pays for I-485 attorney fees per federal regulations? Is anything mandated in federal regulations?
Generally speaking for L-1/EB-1C there are no requirements of any kind that say that the employer has to pay. The employee can pay for I-140 and I-485.