Kristina M. Hernandez5 days ago1 minUSCIS Now Accepting Premium Processing for E-3 PetitionsUSCIS has announced that beginning today, Petitioners filing an E-3 petition requesting a change of status or an extension will have the ...
Kristina M. HernandezFeb 52 minFY 2022 H-1B Cap Registration Period Will Open March 9, 2021USCIS has finally announced more information about this year’s registration period for the FY 2022 H-1B cap season. When to Register: The...
Kristina M. HernandezFeb 42 minDHS Delays Wage-Based Selection Process Today DHS issued a notice which will be published in the Federal Register on February 8th that delays the effective date of the rule “Mod...
Kristina M. HernandezJan 112 minUSCIS Provides Update on Delays in Issuing Biometrics Appointment NoticesI’ve been getting a lot of emails and calls from people who have filed H-4 applications many months ago and still have not received their...
Kristina M. HernandezJan 82 minPP 10052 Suspending Entry of Certain Nonimmigrants Extended Through March 31, 2021You may recall that on June 22, 2020, the President issued Presidential Proclamation 10052 which suspended the issuance of certain nonimm...
Kristina M. HernandezJan 72 minDHS Moving Forward with Wage-Based Selection Process for This Year’s H-1B Cap SeasonAs I mentioned in an earlier blog post, at the end of October DHS announced submission of a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to the F...
Kristina M. HernandezDec 5, 20202 minFederal Court Vacates DHS H-1B Rule and DOL Wage RuleOn December 1, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Chamber of Commerce, et al. v. DHS, et al. vacate...
Kristina M. HernandezOct 29, 20202 minDHS Proposes Wage-Based Selection Process to Replace H-1B Cap Random Selection ProcessYesterday afternoon, DHS announced submission of a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to the Federal Register regarding amending regula...
Kristina M. HernandezOct 6, 20203 minRegulations Revising H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Program ReleasedDHS has released its advanced copy of the interim final rule (IFR) which revises the definition of the term “specialty occupation” and ma...
Kristina M. HernandezOct 1, 20202 minCongress Passes Bill With Major Expansion of Premium Processing Yesterday the Senate passed H.R. 8337 and ultimately signed by the President, which included the Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Ac...
Kristina M. HernandezSep 30, 20202 minFederal Judge Blocks USCIS Final Rule Increasing FeesOn September 29th, a federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted a motion for a preliminary...
Kristina M. HernandezSep 22, 20202 minNew I-129 Form Now Available for PreviewDHS announced its final rule back in July regarding the increased fees for many immigration forms, which also informed us that there woul...
Kristina M. HernandezSep 13, 20201 minUSCIS Once Again Extends Flexibility for Responding to Agency Requests On September 11th, USCIS extended the flexibilities it announced on March 30, 2020 to assist applicants and petitioners responding to age...
Kristina M. HernandezAug 25, 20201 minUSCIS Cancels Upcoming Furlough, But Warns of Operational ImpactsToday USCIS announced that it would avert the administrative furlough of more than 13,000 employees, nearly 70% of its workforce, which w...
Kristina M. HernandezAug 24, 20201 minUSCIS Implements New Guidance on DACAFollowing the July 28, 2020 memorandum by Acting Secretary of Home land Security Chad Wolf regarding reconsideration of DACA policy (know...
Kristina M. HernandezAug 19, 20201 minDue to EAD Production Delays, Employers Can Now Accept EAD Approval Notice for Form I-9 VerificationAs I’ve stated in an earlier blog post, there have been significant delays in EAD card productions. An EAD card is considered a List A do...
Kristina M. HernandezAug 19, 20202 minForm I-9 Verification Flexibility Further Extended until September 19, 2020The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced yesterday that it has once again extended the flexibilities in rules related to Form ...
Kristina M. HernandezAug 18, 20201 minUSCIS Reminds F-1 Students in OPT to Update Employer Info in SEVISToday USCIS sent a news alert to the public reminding F-1 students who are in post-completion OPT, as well as their DSOs, to update emplo...
Kristina M. HernandezAug 17, 20202 minEmployer Alert: DHS has increased I-9 fines for 2020!Many companies are unaware of the fact that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently increased fines for Form I-9 penalties, in...
Kristina M. HernandezAug 14, 20201 minThe Rumors Were True – USCIS Has Run a Second H-1B Lottery!I kept reading rumors on LinkedIn and Twitter all week about a possible second lottery to be run by USCIS. This means that H-1B registrat...