Published on April 21, 2015 in Blog by Milen Saev

Here are the latest developments with the new May 2015 edition of the U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin, including our analysis and comments.

Published on in Blog by Milen Saev

On April 7, 2015, only five days within a hectic H-1B filing season, USCIS announced that they have received enough H-1B cases to reach the statutorily authorized limit for the 65,000 regular quota and also the 20,000 U.S. master’s degree quota. As it turns out, USCIS actually received a total of approximately 233,000 H-1B petitions. While most everyone expected that the cap would likely be reached soon after the filing season opened, the sheer volume of filings in just five days is astounding. The number of cap-subject H-1B cases this year increased by almost 60,000 (30% increase) as compared to the number of cap-subject H-1B cases submitted last year.

Published on February 25, 2015 in Blog by Milen Saev

In a recent liaison meeting, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) addressed concerns about commonly occurring “implied departure” errors in the I-94 arrival/departure system and offered suggestions on how to correct them. “Implied departure” may be registered when a traveler books an outbound flight but then changes plans and does not actually leave the United States. Even though the traveler never physically left, the I-94 arrival/departure system often incorrectly records a departure. This may seem like a minor and inconsequential matter – after all, the government is eager to ensure that visa holders do not overstay and leave the United States on time so a fictional departure may not appear too bad. However, incorrectly recorded departures may have very serious consequences and it is important to recognize their significance and know how to address them.

Published on in Blog by Milen Saev

  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has finalized the long anticipated amendment to the Federal Regulations to allow certain spouses of H-1B workers to apply for employment authorization. Who…read on

Published on February 18, 2015 in Blog by Milen Saev

  The March 2015 Visa Bulletin is up and we see some major developments with the employment based categories. Here is the latest in the cut-off date movement along with our analysis and projection of…read on

Published on January 16, 2015 in Blog by Milen Saev

  The U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments have jointly announced that, effective January 15, 2015, certain groups of U.S. citizens may now freely travel to Cuba without the need to…read on

Published on in Blog by Milen Saev

  The Immigration Innovation Act of 2015 (I-Squared) was re-introduced in the United States Senate on January 14, 2015. This bill, already introduced without success in last year’s Congress, is…read on

Published on in Blog by Milen Saev

  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is considering testing a “Known Employer” program aimed at expediting the adjudication of certain employment based nonimmigrant visa cases filed by pre-approved U.S….read on

Published on January 12, 2015 in Blog by Milen Saev

J-2 spouses and children of J-1 naturalized citizens under the MAVNI program are not subject to the two year home residence requirement

Just last week, the U.S. government issued a policy guidance letter clarifying that the two-year home residence requirement for certain J visa holders ceases to apply to U.S. Army recruits who naturalize under the MAVNI program.  The two-year rule also ceases to apply to immediate family members of those recruits.  

Published on December 18, 2014 in Blog by Milen Saev

You’ve seen on the news the historic announcement that the U.S. will begin normalizing its ties with Cuba.  This has wide-ranging economic and political effects, of course, and the government is discussing relaxing licenses for travel by U.S. citizens to Cuba.  The announcement also impacts visas for Cuban citizens to travel to the U.S.

The Department of State will reestablish a U.S. Embassy in Havana.  In addition, the Department of Homeland Security has started implementing changes to the existing regulatory framework for Cuban immigrant visa applicants.