L-1A Medium Sized Multinational Co.
We filed an L-1A for a managerial level employee seeking a second two year extension of the beneficiary’s classification as a nonimmigrant intracompany transferee (L-1A) to enable the beneficiary to continue in his position as Director-Product Engineering, a position he had held sinc
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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.
We have been retained by several consulting companies to try to respond to their RFE's all of which require a letter from the end-client. Many times, despite best efforts, such letters are not available. So, as a test case, we filed an Request For Evidence is a a request from a government agency to provide further information on an issue before the government.
People have been asking us about USCIS "warrant issued for background check" for failure to report a change of address by filing Form AR-11. While it is true that until you are naturalized, you are required to update your change of address each time within 10 days of moving; this email is a scam. DO NOT WORRY.
For instance, see the Header. It is NOT from a .Gov domain. I have reviewed the metadata as well.
Last week we received an approval for a difficult change of status RFE. We were retained to respond to an RFE for a client who had no ties to his home country (India). Six years of his H-1 were over and he was trying to get into F-1 status. He had been working and studying in Europe before coming to USA on H-1. We presented the facts of our client's background with complete honesty and sincerity. No games (which is the way all our cases are presented). I am glad to report that as has always been my belief, truthful presentation works.
The current lapse in annual appropriated funding for the U.S. government does not affect USCIS’ fee-funded activities. Our offices will remain open, and all applicants should attend interviews and appointments as scheduled.
We have won a case for a Ph.D. in Immunology for EB1, Outstanding Researcher following an elaborate Request for Evidence. The applicant had extensive research experience in the following areas: Pathology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Immunology. USCIS requested additional documentary evidence to support the initial evidence that the applicant qualified based on his acting as judge of others’ work, numerous publications with accompanying citations as well as substantial evidence of “original” scientific contributions.
We won an EB-1 Outstanding Researcher case for an applicant with a Ph.D. in Experimental Chemical Physics filing under Premium Processing. The case was decided within two days of submission. The applicant had over eleven years of research experience and an abundance of publications as a result of his extensive list of original findings. As a result of the multitude of publications in prestigious, international scientific journals, the applicant’s work was also extensively cited.
We have recently won a case for an applicant who worked as a clinical dental professor and a researcher. The case was won following a Request for Evidence. We showed that the applicant qualified based on his international awards and honors and his highly regarded professional memberships. We provided substantial documentation to show the stringent criteria to obtain such honors.
Discussing allegations of fraud and consequences when a short-term visa holder tries to convert to green card or another long-term visa from within the US.
The US State Department has made the following announcement today regarding the phased resumption of visa services.
We have recently won a case following a Request for Evidence for a professor - Ph.D. in Mass Media and Communication. USCIS requested additional “documentary evidence” to support our claim that the applicant qualified under the EB1 Outstanding Researcher and Professor category based on applicant’s publications, acting as a judge of her peers as well as her original contributions.
It is HIGHLY unusual for a PERM case to have such a convoluted history, but here is one where success came after two denials.
We filed a PERM application under EB-2 for a Physicist’s position for which no formal training was required. The job also did not require employment experience, but did require hands-on work in a university research laboratory with a particular equipment. DOL denied the application stating essentially that the job requires training. According to them, “hands on work” is the same as formal training.
We have recently received an EB2 approval for a Physical Therapist. EB2 classification has become especially important now that EB3 category cases for severely backlogged countries are delayed so much. The good news with PT’s is that they do not have to go through the PERM process. But the bad news is that USCIS seems to question whether or not truly a Master’s degree or BS+5 years level job is being offered. The I-140 approval took 1.5 months in regular processing.
We filed a petition premium processing for a self-petitioning researcher. The petitioner had over 15 years of research experience in the nanotechnology field. He had an extraordinary research career which included 52 scholarly scientific articles with over 1,020 citations of his work. His publications were featured in numerous high impact international journals. In addition to his noteworthy research publications, the petitioner was a highly sought after reviewer for a multitude of prestigious, international scientific journals. He was also selected to an editorial board.
We have received a particularly remarkable green card approval a few weeks ago. USCIS alleged fraud and denied the green card where the spouse of a US citizen had entered the US on visa waiver and then applied for Adjustment of Status (AOS) within a few days after entry. We were retained once the green card had been denied. The allegations of fraud or misrepresentation are particularly troublesome because they operate as a PERMANENT bar against immigration. There is a narrowly tailored waiver available, but it can be difficult to obtain.
We have won a series of cases where USCIS had earlier held that unpaid employment under OPT was legally unacceptable to maintain status. We have argued that such holding is contrary to all law, policy and precedence. Students are NOT required to engage in PAID employment. All these cases were won after we filed our briefs pursuant to Motions to Reopen (MTR).
PLEASE CONFIRM THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WITH THE U.S. CONSULATE CLOSEST TO THE PLACE OF RESIDENCE IN YOUR HOME COUNTRY. LAWS ARE SUBJECT TO FREQUENT CHANGES
4 June 2014 UPDATE: H-4 EAD will NOT be restricted to STEM.
Several of our clients, team members and I have experienced a new wave of phone scams.
The GOP has announced the following principles for immigration reform. Most observers including this writer are encouraged by the willingness of GOP to address the immigration reform issues. These represent a broad overview and perhaps a point of departure from where detailed bills can be crafted in a manner acceptable to all stakeholders. My comments are enclosed in HTML quotes.