Interesting facts about L-1B denials by Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) A recent study released by the National Foundation for American Policy notes that L-1B (specialized knowledge) denials have increased from 9% in 2003 to 34% in 2013. The study also notes that this increase occurred over ten years when there were no changes in[…]
H-1 deadline is April 1 and LCAs are taking at least one week. For those interested in filing an H-1 petition for the next fiscal year, April 1 is fast approaching. The required Labor Condition Applications are taking about 7 days with DOL but that may slow down as we get closer to April 1. […]
US Immigration Law is full of words and phrases which have specific meanings, as do all areas of law. We call these words and phrases “terms of art” because they have a distinct meaning in the context of immigration law which they may not have in another context. For example, “change of status” means changing[…]
One of the certain outcomes of Immigration Reform, whenever we get it, will be Employment Verification for all employers. The current program is voluntary, called E-Verify, and once an employer is enrolled in the program every new hire is required to have his or her employment authorization verified by the Immigration Service, including US citizens[…]
The attached notice from the U.S. consulate in Toronto is of vital importance to investors/E-2 applicants from Canada. But it also raises a larger issue which is the importance of checking the consulate’s website every time before conducting business with them. For example, several weeks ago when we filed our last E-2 in Dublin they[…]
As we watch the Republicans in the House of Representatives continue to dither over immigration reform, and anti-immigration and pro-immigration groups continue the culture war over this issue, it is important to realize the issues being debated are not the cause of illegal immigration nor are the proposals a solution. Fundamentally, the immigration “problem” in[…]
The Immigration Service/SEVIS program just announced that a number of OPT STEM extensions have been denied in error. It appears that, as we expected, CIS Examiners are taking a too strict view of the “volunteer” rule and CIS wants to readjudicate those denials. If you are having issues with the volunteer rules, please contact us.[…]
In 2012 the Department of State (DOS) initiated a pilot program which waived the interview requirement for certain non-immigrant visas. DOS recently announced that this program will now be permanent so that all U.S. consulates have the authority to waive the interview requirement either on a case-by-case basis or for an entire classification of visas.[…]