C, D Visas Processing times and status checks
Links to useful resources for Visa processing times and status checks.
Links to useful resources for Visa processing times and status checks.
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Discussion Topics, Aug 18, 2022
FAQs: Change of employers after H-1B is approved and before October 1; the number of pay stubs required; revocation of H-1B before October 1 || I-140 was approved and then revoked in 2011. Can I keep my priority date and also apply for I-485? What is the deadline for filing I-485? || Impact of alternate wage survey for H-1B LCA; the success rates of H-1B extensions; AC21 rule when the company is bought by a successor-in-interest
Discussion Topics:
FAQ: What is the meaning of a US “visa canceled without prejudice”? || I have an Approved I-140 from a previous job. My new employer has initiated the PERM. How can I make sure that the attorneys use the priority date from my old I-140? || What are the chances of an H-1B visa (STEM OPT) after completing Masters in the U.S? || H-1B visa holder travels abroad (Canada) for work sometimes; is an H-1B amendment required for change of address or location abroad?
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? ||
Release Date
11/01/2022
On Aug. 19, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced that it no longer recognizes the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) as an accrediting agency. This determination immediately affects two immigration-related student programs:
The travel bans necessitated by the COVID pandemic have created much flux and uncertainty. Synthesizing the information now finally available from various US government sources, it is clearer now that many intending travelers can seek and obtain an exemption from the ban under a series of provisions for a National Interest Exception (NIE).
Discussion Topics, Thursday, July 22, 2021:
The following settlement was reached in Li v. USCIS in favor of the OPT and STEM OPT applicant students suffering from delays and rejections:
Discussion Topics: FAQ: L-1B or TN visa for intracompany transfer - advantages and disadvantages || STEM-designated MBA - is it easier to get an H-1B visa?|| Parent's EB-2 approved, EB-3 downgrade pending, - will aging-out child's EAD interfere if EB-2 advances, and the best way to maintain the status of a child turning 21|| Do we have to refile PERM or I-140 0r I-485 due to corporate restructuring/successor-in-interest
FAQ: Consular processing employment-based green card with a job offer from a different employer
Students in the following fields will be able to obtain STEM OPT extensions for 24 months:
Release Date
01/21/2022
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.
The Biden administration earlier announced changes in immigration policy treatment of STEM fields that provide welcome opportunities to the people holding F-1 and J-1 visas in the United States.
For more details please visit this link:
24 December 2015
DHS has asked for an additional extension of stay to 10 May 2016 of the court order under which the STEM extension of OPT was invalidated by the DC federal court. DHS needs time to review appx. 50,500 comments they have received on the new proposed regulations. I am moving the new discussion to this link: http://www.immigration.com/blogs/new-rules-17-month-stem-extension-ongoing-updates-until-completed
A Washington DC Federal court has held that DHS improperly promulgated the 2008 regulations creating the 17-month OPT CAP GAP extension for STEM graduates (strictly speaking, this is not reallly "CAP GAP" issue). According to the court, DHS should have placed the proposed regulation before the public, allowed everyone to comment, considered the comments and then published the final regulation. Thus, DHS violated the procedural mandate requiring "notice and comment." According to the court, there was no good reason to skip the "notice and comment" mandate.
If you currently have a 17-month STEM OPT extension, you may apply to add 7 months to your STEM OPT period. If you want to apply for this 7-month extension, you must properly file your Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization (with the required fee and signature) on or before August 8, 2016. USCIS will deny applications filed afterAugust 8, 2016.
You may apply to add 7 months to your 17-month STEM OPT period if:
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed changes to its regulations that would strengthen and enhance the process for foreign students with science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) degrees from a U.S. college or university to get practical training experience in the United States. The enhancement of this regulation was announced as a part of President Obama’s November Executive Actions.
DHS has asked for an additional extension of stay to 10 May 2016 of the court order under which the STEM extension of OPT was invalidated by the DC federal court. DHS needs time to review appx. 50,500 comments they have received on the new proposed regulations. Historical discussion pertaining to the lawsuit is at this link: http://www.immigration.com/blogs/17-month-stem-cap-gap-opt-extension-voided-court
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to amend its F-1 nonimmigrant student visa regulations on optional practical training (OPT) for certain students with degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) from U.S. institutions of higher education. Specifically, the proposal would allow such F-1 STEM students who have elected to pursue 12 months of OPT in the United States to extend the OPT period by 24 months (STEM OPT extension).
FAQ: Green card pending conversion to and from H-4 EAD – H-1; Filing green card while in F-1 status; New company sponsoring H-1; (flip flop again) revocation of I-140 by an employer does NOT revoke priority date; Green card through future employer; Pros and cons of H-4 EAD; Obtaining copies of approval notice and other documents through FOIA; Physician filing green card; Applying for green card and while visiting the USA; Risk and rewards in EB-5 investments in regional centers.
Other: New STEM OPT extension regulations; substituting petitioners in a family-based case; Resetting H-1 6 years clock; CSPA; Authorized period of stay when H-1 transfer is pending; F-1 visa stamping on OPT.
Topics Discussed, Thursday, 17 December 2015:
FAQ: Can TN work on 1099 as independent contractor; Difference between I-140 withdrawn and revoked;
Other: H-1 quota exemption; H-1B denial; H-1B how to file Form DS-160; I-140 revoked, refiling; H-1 L-1 221(g); I-130 processing; I-485 approval while COS pending; I-90 to renew green card; Misrepresentation in visa/ESTA; Contract for B-1/B-2 visa for domestic help from foreign country; Getting H-1 extension I-140 revoked, refiled; DV lottery (NOT my area of expertise); H-1 change of location; Does H-4 extension also extend H-4 visa stamp automatically? I-140 recapture or port priority date; Travelling while STEM extension pending.
FAQ: Successor in interest, effect of location change on green card; EB-5 investment-based green card loan, collateral, ownership; How soon can I leave the employer after green card approval; DUI/DWI visa revocation; EB-2 for nurses; What should employees do when employer convicted of visa fraud.
Other: I-94 expiring- passport duration; Children born within a few days after green card approval; H-1B amendment - change of location or project; H-1B cap exemption; Travel during STEM OPT extension; Opening a non-profit while on H-1; Physician (FMG) using H-4 EAD; H-4 extension; etc.
Discussion Topics, Thursday, 19 November 2020:
EB-1C eligibility after company transition while pending I-485 and L-1A extension || Post completion OPT and employment issues || Canadian citizen applying for TN visa during presidential proclamation ||Sharing misdemeanor details of spouse while filing for green card || Document Checklist for I-485 Adjust of Status || Consular processing and green card when priority date is current||Transition from F-1 to H-1B || H-1B Visa expiring, extension and delay due to wage rate increment || I-485 filing and issues related to primary and derivative applicant || How long for an interview after the priority date becomes current || H-1B visa potential immigration issues for being outside the USA for more than a year during pandemic || Laid off due to Covid and the effect on adjudication of STEM OPT visa || AC21 portability, I-140 and starting a new venture || 221g administrative processing and H-1B visa stamping || Presidential Proclamation and H-1B visa stamping || Change of status from J-1 to F-1 Visa and Biometrics || Understanding the Visa Bulletin || H-1B and prevailing wage levels || Employment Authorization in compelling situations
Published by: The Economic Times - Date: February 02, 2021
Two developments in immigration law bring happy tidings: a court challenge to OPT and STEM OPT extension has failed; and the US Department of Labor (DOL) has delayed to May 14, 2021 (beyond the H-1B lottery deadlines) implementation of the regulations affecting disproportionate wage hikes for H-1B and green card petitions.
For more details please see the attachment below.