Greetings! Did you feel uncertain, frustrated, or overwhelmed by immigration matters last year? 2018 and 2017 have been years of immigration chaos and transformation. While the physical wall has yet to materialize, we face a virtual wall made of requests for evidence,...
Immigration News
What Must We Do to Overcome the Costly Stream of Changes to Legal Immigration?
We’ve all faced the onboarding delays, uncertainties, and emotional roller coasters during the current adjudication process. We’ve also experienced the relief, happiness, and positive momentum from a case approval. As I look at what’s in store for us in 2019, it...
Ongoing Instability for International Students
For the first time in many, many years, the number of international students and scholars at US universities declined. This decline is attributed to various factors. Uncertainty about visa policies. Instability about OPT and CPT options. And yes, the United States...
Want to Know What to Expect for Your H-1Bs in 2019?
A reversed lottery. Massive registration pre-filing. Visas for the highest paid. Be aware! The Department of Homeland Security’s latest regulatory agenda includes some big potential changes for H-1B visas. And they didn’t stop with those mentioned above. There may be...
Expect More Form I-9 Audits: Are You Ready?
A client who received an ICE visit recently said to me, “Giselle, I don’t want to see them here again. How can we best prepare?” As promised in October of 2017, throughout this year employers have experienced a ramping up of I-9 audits and ICE (Immigration and Customs...
An Arbitrary, Capricious, and Unlawful H-1B Extension Denial
Despite significant evidence that an Assistant Project Manager was a specialty occupation which required at a minimum a bachelor’s degree and sophisticated knowledge of construction systems, advanced project scheduling, cost estimation and analysis, information...
Green Card EB-1 Filing Backlogged until October 2018 – and Beyond
The Department of State (DOS) recently announced that it reached the cap for green card filings in the EB-1 category, which affects all extraordinary ability workers, including managers, executives, athletes, and researchers. This backlog for EB-1 visas is expected to...
Suspension of H-1B Premium Processing Extended and Increased Fee
As we approach October 1 – the date when adjudication of H-1B cap petitions should have been completed – USCIS announced it is extending the suspension of premium processing for H-1B cap petitions until Feb. 19, 2019. It is also expanding the suspension to include...