Kristina M. HernandezFeb 5, 20212 min readFY 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 4, 20212 min readDHS 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...
Kristina M. HernandezJan 8, 20212 min readPP 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...
Kristina M. HernandezJan 7, 20212 min readDHS 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...
Kristina M. HernandezDec 4, 20202 min readFederal 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....
Kristina M. HernandezOct 29, 20202 min readDHS 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...
Kristina M. HernandezOct 6, 20203 min readRegulations 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...
Kristina M. HernandezOct 1, 20202 min readCongress 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...
Kristina M. HernandezSep 30, 20202 min readFederal 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 min readNew 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...
Kristina M. HernandezSep 13, 20201 min readUSCIS 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...
Kristina M. HernandezAug 14, 20201 min readThe 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...
Kristina M. HernandezAug 12, 20204 min readDOS Updates Regarding National Interest Exception to Presidential Proclamation 10052Today the Department of State updated its website regarding national interest exceptions to Presidential Proclamation 10014 and 10052. As...
Kristina M. HernandezAug 3, 20201 min readUSCIS Increases Fees for Employers of 50+ Employees with 50% or More on H-1B/L-1 StatusThe final rule announced by DHS on Friday and officially published today not only adjusts fees for certain forms but also contains a...
Kristina M. HernandezAug 3, 20201 min readNew Executive Order to Limit Federal Employers’ Use of H-1B VisasToday President Trump signed an Executive Order, “Aligning Federal Contracting and Hiring Practices With the Interests of American...
Kristina M. HernandezJul 31, 20202 min readDHS Announces Final Rule on USCIS Increased Fees and Premium Processing Time FrameDHS announced the final rule today that adjusts fees for certain immigration and naturalization forms as well as alters the time frame...
Kristina M. HernandezJul 24, 20201 min readReview of USCIS Fee Increase Proposal CompletedIn November 2019, USCIS proposed a rule to make changes to the USCIS fee schedule. DHS proposed a weighted average increase of 21% in...
Kristina M. HernandezJul 23, 20202 min readTravel while H-1B Cap Petition is PendingNonimmigrant visa holders, including F-1 students, considering international travel after filing an H-1B cap petition should consult with...
Kristina M. HernandezJul 23, 20202 min readExplanation of Presidential Proclamation 10052 Suspending Entry of H-1B and L-1 Nonimmigrants On June 22, 2020, the President issued an expansion of the Presidential Proclamation he signed in April (PP 10014, “Suspending Entry of...
