General Nonimmigrant Visa

USCIS Updates Guidance on Employment Authorization for E and L Nonimmigrant Spouses

Release Date 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is updating guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to address the documentation that certain E and L nonimmigrant spouses may use as evidence of employment authorization based on their nonimmigrant status.

March 03, 2022 Free US Immigration Community Conference Call with Rajiv (Every Other Thursday)

Immigration.com

Discussion Topics, Thursday, March 03, 2022:

FAQ: Abandonment; can I leave the USA while a change of status is pending?/Stamping requirements || Relation between F-1 status and I-485 AOS (child covered under Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)) || Relation between F-1 OPT and H-1B lottery change of status and changing employers || Is doing an unpaid U.S. externship/observership with F-2 visa unauthorized employment? || Can parents of U.S. citizens travel to the U.S. on an existing B-2 visa while their GC is pending?

USCIS Reaches Fiscal Year 2022 H-1B Cap

Release Date 

USCIS has received a sufficient number of petitions needed to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the master’s cap, for fiscal year (FY) 2022.

USCIS has completed sending non-selection notifications to registrants’ online accounts. The status for registrations properly submitted for the FY 2022 H-1B numerical allocations, but that were not selected, will now show:

USCIS will no longer accept a single combined payment on certain forms filed together with an H-1B or H-1B1 petition

For all H-1B and H-1B1 petitions received on or after April 1, 2022, USCIS will no longer accept a single, combined fee payment when Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status; Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization; or Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition, is filed together with an H-1B or H-1B1 petition (Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker). Each of these forms received by USCIS on or after April 1 must have its own fee payment instrument or USCIS will reject the entire package.

Interfiling - Job change after I-140 approval with priority date current and issues with H-1B transfer and H-1B extensions

Question details

I am on H-1B visa with employer A. Have approved I-140 with priority date as Oct 2015 under EB-2. Looks like EB-2 can hit 2015 by the end of this year. With that in mind, Below are my questions:

1) Suggestions on switching employers when PD is nearing anytime soon. If I switch to employer B, what if my PD becomes current before employer B I-140 is approved? How long can I wait after my priority date becomes current to file I-485 with employer B I-140?

2) Will there be any issues for H-1B transfer and further H-1B extensions with employer B when the new PERM/I-140 is still under process?

 

Video URL
FAQ Transcript

If you have changed employers priority date with the old employer becomes current you could go back and join them, if you have a good explanation why you left them in the first place.

 

Note: Where transcribed from audio/video, 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.

Left while Extension pending. B-1/B-2 visa inspection at the airport by the CBP and repercussions

Question details

We live in Delaware. We had extended my parent's B2 Visa twice in the past. Once in 2016 and it was approved. Second time in 2018, but they went back to India before the decision on extension. For the second extension, we got a letter from USCIS stating, "Since they left the country, USCIS is not approving the extension, However they can travel again"

Again in 2019, they came and left the US in 6 months.

This year, they came last week on Jan 31 2022, but CBP in Philadelphia airport took them for inspection at the port of entry. After a long wait time, CBP came back and told them that they had overstayed and they had canceled their B2 Visa. CBP gave a letter that they can stay for three months and leave the country before April 30.

Though we followed the process defined, we are really not sure why they canceled the visa.

With this situation, Can you please advise what is our option,

1. Can we appeal for visa reinstatement?

2. Can we go back to the country and apply for a B2 Visa again in May ? Or should we wait for some time before applying again?

 

Video URL
FAQ Transcript

I think you should bring this up to your congressman's office. Maybe you can even tell them what you heard from me that this is an inappropriate application of 222(g), within the Department of State standard operating procedures that's called FAM (Foreign Affairs Manual) it clearly says if you leave while the application is pending you are not subject to 222(g).

 

 

Note: Where transcribed from audio/video, 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.

Feb 17, 2022, Free US Immigration Community Conference Call with Rajiv (Every Other Thursday)

Immigration.com

Discussion Topics, February 17,  2022

FAQ's: Left while Extension pending. B-1/B-2 visa inspection at the airport by the CBP and repercussions || Interfiling || Interfiling and AC21 Portability || Interfiling, Returning to Old Employer

Success in filing an L-1A “new office” petition

We successfully assisted the client company, an online retail business, in filing an L-1A “new office” petition to enable the beneficiary to join the U.S. subsidiary temporarily as Chief Executive Officer to lead the development and formulation of the U.S. Entity’s short and long-term strategy. While in the U.S.

Agency