Discussion Topics, Sept 29, 2022
FAQs
STEM extension expiring, options to stay in USA, Is Day 1 CPT it safe and legal?
Parents who are GC holders, applied for reentry permits, left USA; do they need to return to the USA or can they wait till I-131 is processed?
Options if employment-based I-485 is denied?
How can I maintain my H-1B while working outside the USA?
Number 71
Volume X
Washington, D.C
A. STATUTORY NUMBERS
This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during November 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.
Release Date
10/11/2022
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued policy guidance (PDF, 342.87 KB) in the USCIS Policy Manual based on the vacatur of the EB-5 Modernization Rule and the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022.
Policy highlights include:
| Processing Queue | Priority Date |
|---|---|
| Analyst Review | February 2022 |
| Audit Review | November 2021 |
| Reconsideration Request to the CO | May 2022 |
| Form Type | Case Type | Completed 0-180 Days | Quarterly Completions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cumulative total of all completions | 64.85% | 791 | |
| I-129F | Petition for Fiancée | 100% | 18 |
| I-129H1B | Nonimmigrant Specialty Occupation Worker | 94.87% | 39 |
| I-129H3 |
Release Date: October 12, 2022
Increase Will Help Address the Need for Seasonal Workers and Reduce Irregular Migration
Discussion Topics:
FAQ: Can I change my status from B-1/B-2 to H-1B, L-1, F-1?|| Can an H-1B holder open an LLC in the US and employ their spouse on H-4 EAD? || Parents staying in or traveling to the U.S. while their green card petition is pending? || Volunteer work on an H-1B visa || Deportation when a permanent resident is involved in Shoplifting || 7th year H-1B extension with pending PERM
Release Date
10/18/2022
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will consider certain CW-1 petitions seeking an extension of status for temporary workers present in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to be filed on time, even if USCIS receives them after the worker’s current period of CW-1 petition validity expires.
USCIS is providing this limited accommodation to facilitate the current Temporary Labor Certification (TLC) processing delays at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).
Release Date
10/24/2022
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is extending certain COVID-19-related flexibilities through Jan. 24, 2023, to assist applicants, petitioners, and requestors. Under these flexibilities, USCIS considers a response received within 60 calendar days after the due date set forth in the following requests or notices before taking any action, if the request or notice was issued between March 1, 2020, and Jan. 24, 2023, inclusive:
Some other useful student resources:
Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application (DS-160)
Release Date
10/27/2022
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is clarifying its Aug. 25, 2020, policy on implementing the requirement that workers leave the United States for at least 30 days after two renewals of their CNMI-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1) visa classification.
FAQ: What happens to H-1B after Green Card approval? || OPT eligibility requirements, F-1 status for one academic year, and Change of Status or visa stamping from back to H-4 || PERM issues for a green card for remote jobs - headquarters || Can an H-1B visa holder rent via Airbnb? Is this a violation of status? || How long does it take from PERM to Green Card, and difference between NIW and PERM Labor Certification? || Applying for E-2 Visa with a pending family-based Green Card; who can be the main applicant for an E-2 visa? ||
I would like to share with you an information that you might be able to add to the 'Interim EAD Issuance Policy' section. Yesterday, I went to the Orlando, FL office to get my interim EAD. They told me that I had to mail in my request to their office. What they want really is for us to sent them, by mail, another I-765 application, write INTERIM on top of it, attach the I-765 and I-485 receipt and sent it to them by mail.
WASHINGTON—Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has re-designated Somalia for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and has extended the existing TPS designation for Somalia from Sept. 18, 2012 through March 17, 2014, allowing eligible nationals of Somalia to register or re-register for TPS in accordance with the Federal Register notice.
According to DOL updates as of 4/2/2012, they are working on PERM application filed in the following months:
Analyst Reviews: January 2012
Audits: September 2011
Reconsideration Requests to the CO: March 2011
Gov’t Error Reconsiderations: Current
Appointment: 9:40am
Arrived around 9:15am, there were about 50people in the waiting area, checked in with the receptionist, and sat down for my interview. 30mins, 45mins, 60mins, 90MINS went by still no one called my name. Finally someone around 11am called me, so walked all the way down to the other end of the hallway.
After the formalities, I was asked if I had brought anything that I hadn't already submitted, I handed him proof of selective service registration.
I was asked the following questions:
1. What is one promise you make when you become a USC?
Just wanted to share my timeline and some lessons learned. The whole process took a little over 6 months and now I'm a citizen of the United States of America.
Final Timeline:
06/06/11: Mailed N-400 (Dallas lock box) Priority Mail from NoVA
06/07/11: USCIS received date
06/23/11: NOA received, FP scheduled for 07/20/11
07/20/11: FP done - walk-in at scheduled time
08/19/11: YL received
11/14/11: Online change of status to testing and interview
11/16/11: IL received & Status changed twice
12/21/11: Interview
12/23/11: Oath ceremony
Alexandria Bay, N.Y. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Field Operations today announced the opening of the Cape Vincent port of entry. Cape Vincent is a seasonal port and will be open from May 1 until Oct. 31. The CBP hours of operation are 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.
You can use Immigration.Com "Advanced Search" feature to locate information more intelligently than just through a "word match," a literal search. Note that we are FOREVER working to get this better and better. So, each time you visit, you may find new items and improvement.
Using "Advanced Search" on Immigration.Com
Hello, everyone. This is Rajiv S. Khanna for immigration.com, the Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna, P.C.
I wanted to show you the “Advanced Search” feature on immigration.com. I enjoy it because it does focus your search considerably. We have a lot of information. It can be hard to parse through the information.
Every day we do something new and try to get better and better and better. I still have a lot of work to do on the website. The team has a lot of work to do on the website. But we have enough information at least to get you going and keep you in the right direction.
Let me start with the “Advanced Search” feature.
If you press on the “Search” button with nothing in it, just search. It brings you to this button, where you have “Advanced Search.” So you go into “Advanced Search.” The top portion is “Search,” but the bottom portion is “Advanced Search.” Click on “Advanced Search.”
You can search by putting in a search term which contains any of the words, contains a specific phrase, for example, “Adjustment of Status”--that phrase should be there; or containing none of the words. Some words you may not want.
I particularly like the fact that you can search in particular categories. These are categories, which are like tags. When you have tags, like a tag cloud. So these categories that are much more specific. And then, on top of that, you have types. There are content types. For example, let’s say I want to know if there’s a Community Story—you know, people’s experience. We tried to data mine some of these from our own forums.
If there’s a particular Community Story for citizenship. Find and click on the category, “Citizenship” under “Citizenship and Naturalization.” I know what specific story we’re looking for. Let’s put in the word “Detroit.” So I want somebody’s Community Story of what happened during Citizenship/Naturalization in Detroit.
And, after that, when I hit the “Advanced Search” button, I’m led right to the story, “Interview in Detroit.” This is somebody’s story about what happened in Detroit.
Another neat thing that we have is that, if you look at the bottom, we have these tags dimmed. The reason they are dimmed is because I’m not quite happy with the way we have cross-referenced information. But this is just the beginning. I’ve been doing this for the last several years. I’m still not happy, and we’re going to do more, a lot more, making information easily accessible to all of you.
So, let’s look at this. If I click on one of these tags, it will actually bring up the content, all the content, that has been tagged with that particular tag. So, if you look at this, all the particular content that has been tagged. If I look at any content. Let’s say, for example, if I go to “H-1.” I click on “Work Visa,” I go to “H Visa,” and I go to “H Visas for Nurses,” for example. If there’s any tags at the bottom of this and there should be. There’s not going to be a lot of information, but whatever information that we have will be all there for you. Every piece of information that was tagged with that came up.
So, I think this should help you find your way around immigration.com. And I love doing this, and I thank you for being here.