The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) conducts administrative review of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officers’ decisions regarding immigration benefit requests in order to promote consistency and accuracy in the interpretation of immigration law and policy. We have appellate jurisdiction over approximately fifty different types of immigration applications and petitions.
The AAO Practice Manual describes rules, procedures, and recommendations for practice before the AAO. It is organized into seven chapters, including:
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In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is extending the flexibilities it announced on March 30, 2020, to assist applicants, petitioners, and requestors who are responding to certain:
Form Type | Case Type | Completed 0-180 Days | Quarterly Completions |
---|---|---|---|
Cumulative total of all completions | 28.92% | 830 | |
I-129CW | Petition for CNMI Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker | 100% | 5 |
I-129E2 | CNMI Treaty Investor | 100% | 2 |
Processing Queue | Priority Date |
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Analyst Review | July 2021 |
Audit Review | March 2021 |
Reconsideration Request to the CO | July 2021 |
FAQ: Consular processing employment-based green card with a job offer from a different employer
USCIS recently updated the following form:
Thank you!! GC in hand after 12 years!! It was long journey of more than 12 years but have been made easy with Mr. Khanna and his dedicated team! We are very Thankful to him and his team. I got the EB2 approved in less than 2 months which was a big surprise as a Physical Therapist and now change In status for I-485 in less than 3 months which was unbelievably faster than any processing time line mentioned online. I especially would like to thank Mr. Bryant who was always available to answer our questions and concerns and was prompt to reply every email in a short duration. We must have exchanged more than hundred calls or emails. Mr. Khanna was available and with his expertise and knowledge, cleared our doubts and gave the best answers to complicated situations at times. I would also like to Thank Ms. Suman, Ms. Anna and Ms. Prerna for helping with first H1 b approval process and 3 extensions thereafter. I would highly like to recommend their team!
Number 62
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.
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USCIS is reminding the public that they offer immigration services that may help people affected by unforeseen circumstances such as natural disasters. Examples of unforeseen circumstances include, but are not limited to, the Marshall fire in Colorado.
The following measures may be available on a case-by-case basis upon request:
USCIS recently updated the following form(s):
Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status
12/06/2021 01:32 PM EST
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced clarifying guidance on how USCIS determines whether an O-1B beneficiary will be evaluated as a person of extraordinary ability in the arts or as a person of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry when a case has elements of both.
Students in the following fields will be able to obtain STEM OPT extensions for 24 months:
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced updated guidance on adjudicating requests for “National Interest Waivers” regarding job offer and labor certification requirements for certain advanced degree professionals and individuals of exceptional ability. This includes discussing the unique considerations for persons with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields and entrepreneurs.
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today issued policy guidance clarifying how it evaluates evidence to determine eligibility for O-1A nonimmigrants of extraordinary ability, with a focus on petitions filed for individuals in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) fields, as well as how USCIS determines whether an O-1 beneficiary’s prospective work is within their area of extraordinary ability or achievement.
Discussion Topics, Jan 20, 2022 FAQs:
1. EB-1B for postdoctoral holder after a gap of several years in career 2. Date of birth and name corrections in birth certificate 3. COVID-19 delays in tourist/visitor extensions for B-2 holding parent and applying for their green card
1. My Son was born in February 2020 in the USA, where my wife is on an F1 visa working on OPT. Due to the Covid19 pandemic, I couldn't meet my son for two years. Kindly suggest to me the way forward to meet my son and wife. I also tried to travel on a tourist visa and F1 Visa. Unfortunately, I got both rejections. I'm an Indian taxpayer and an IT employee.
2. My brother is a US citizen, and he applied for our mother's green card. Everything is clear, all paperwork is done, but due to the pandemic, we are waiting for the interview date from March 2021. Do you have any information on how we get the date or how much time it will take?
3. My daughter is in Dallas, US, and under medical treatment. She is there with an IN40 visa. As a father, I want to be there during her medical urgency. How can I get a visa now to be with her in the US?
4. I am a US citizen currently in India. I am traveling back to the States in mid-February for two months and want to take my Indian-citizen senior citizen mother with me for that duration. Her last US tourist visa expired eight years ago. (She has an active Schengen visa on her passport) Is there a way she can get a short-term two-month visa to the US?
5. I stayed outside of the US for more than two years because of COVID-19. Am I eligible for naturalization? I came to the USA in August 2016.
*Please note that the queries have been put together and edited by the Economic Times to address similar questions at once and that the answers are clear and relevant to the audience.
1. My Son was born in February 2020 in the USA, where my wife is on an F1 visa working on OPT. Due to the Covid19 pandemic, I couldn't meet my son for two years. Kindly suggest to me the way forward to meet my son and wife. I also tried to travel on a tourist visa and F1 Visa. Unfortunately, I got both rejections. I'm an Indian taxpayer and an IT employee.
Note: For the NRI readers, The Economic Times has started an immigration helpdesk. A team of experts which includes Rajiv S. Khanna will address the most pressing issues. Please see the link below.
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has updated the USCIS Policy Manual to reflect new guidance on how USCIS determines whether a case warrants expedited treatment. The new guidance is effective immediately.
This update:
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year 2023 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 1 and run through noon Eastern on March 18, 2022. During this period, prospective petitioners and representatives will be able to complete and submit their registrations using the online H-1B registration system.
September 9, 2022:
Important FAQ from the USCIS about what to expect during this fiscal year #immigration
https://www.immigration.com/blogs/fiscal-year-2023-employment-based-adj…
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I am a US citizen who Sponsored my fathers green card in 2010. His green card is expiring oct 2020. He had to stay in India since Jan 2019 due to health conditions. With the Covid pandemic situation and his age (81) and health conditions, he is not able to travel back to the united States before the green card expiry. My father does not have any family in India to take care of him and will have to come here so that my brother and I can take care of him. What are our options for avoiding the expiry of the green card? Secondly, is there a 60 day extension on the expiry date due to Covid 19?
Video Transcript
You should try to get in touch with the consulate and send them emails, etc., asking them their guidance and that way you have at least some proof that you are trying to get back into the USA on time, but if it goes past one year it can't be helped, you can always start a new green card if you like, not too many options here. FAQ in detail...
Note: This is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.
Note: For governmental Requests For Evidence (RFEs), we charge extra based upon the complexity of the issue(s).
Video Testimonial - Dr. JoAnne Woodard, Director, Sallie B. Howard School
Good Morning, I am the Founder and Executive Director at Sallie B. Howard School at North Carolina for the past 17 years. I am happy to give the reference and recommendation for the Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna.
We have been working with him for past 3 years and the work he has done for us has been excellent. In the past, we have had large number of immigrant teachers here at Sallie B. Howard . We have used various attorney's over the years some are good some not well, some very knowledgeable and some not so very knowledgeable and that resulted in complications and some problems time to time we get through those.
One of our staff members brought Rajiv’s business to our attention. He actually had done some research and found great record, well regarded, highly regarded in the industry and consultant some times for the government. It was really great resume for the office. Even though he was in Washington D.C and we are in North Carolina we took the trip up there to meet with him and to discuss what the service would be for us.
Typically, we do H-1B visas and green card petitions. And so we started out with him and found his services to be well beyond our expectations. More than that, for me I found him to be just stunningly brilliant, when it comes to the immigration laws and processes. We have had over the time pretty difficult cases that teacher had given upon and we all said wow! This is the shot in the dark to see if we can clean this part or clear this up and get the net result. But Rajiv's folks were very confident and they always tell you exactly what you can expect. They don't promise something that they can't deliver and they have been able to help us in every single case for past three years.
So, I highly recommend his company - they are people of integrity and they tell you exactly what to expect and we were pleased with their services. There are several characteristics of the service that we get from this company that I want to point out. One is that timeliness and the responsiveness to our applications and to the conversations if we have to consult then they get right back to us but more than that meticulousness in which they do their work.
Everything is checked and double checked and nothing is submitted with errors and mistakes as we have experienced that many times in the past with other attorney's. I don't know if they are not as careful as they need to be sometimes or what happens. In the case of Rajiv's team they check and double check, they are careful. I don't think we ever had any application which returned or denied because of some error, even the telephone number everything is exactly the way it supposed to be and that means everything in this particular business when you are working with Federal government.