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Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S.

6 06, 2017

When Will CIS Expedite Processing of your Petition or Application? AND New Vetting Procedures in Place for Visa Applicants

By |2020-05-01T18:05:12-05:00June 6th, 2017|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, General, Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Uncategorized, United States Embassies Abroad|

Published June 6, 2017   These days, with processing times for various petitions and applications getting longer, it is important to be aware that U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) will entertain and grant expedite requests under a variety of circumstances.   Firstly, there are a line of employment based petitions where CIS, for an additional “premium processing” fee, will review the filing and issue a decision in as little as 7-14 days.   The additional fee is $1,225.00, and that amount is on top of base filing fee at issue.   CIS offers this option for the processing of the vast […]

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21 04, 2017

More Than Enough H-1B Petitions Received, But Overall Filings Decline

By |2020-05-01T18:13:12-05:00April 21st, 2017|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment-Based Immigration Law, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

Published April 21, 2017   Within the first week of availability, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services received more than enough petitions to exhaust the entirety of the coming fiscal year’s supply of 85,000 H-1B work visas – which include 65,000 H-1B visas for the general petitioning population and 20,000 reserved for petitions on behalf of workers who received advanced degrees from U.S. institutions.     Specifically, this year 199,000 visa petitions were received the first week of April, and this amount represents a 15.7 percent decrease from the 236,000 requests for the same period last year. Notifications to employers whose H-1B visa […]

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23 11, 2016

FILE BEFORE DECEMBER 23, 2016 TO AVOID IMMIGRATION FILING FEE INCREASES

By |2016-11-23T08:52:15-06:00November 23rd, 2016|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B|

Published November 23, 2016   As of December 23, 2016, and for the first time in six years, a filing fee increase for certain immigration applications or petitions is set to take effect.  The operations of Citizenship and Immigration Services is almost entirely funded by the filing fees it receives to process applications for the various immigration benefits offered.   This filing fee increase has nothing to do with the recent election and the plan to implement this increase has been in the works for many months.    The chart below is the list of old and new filing fees.  Applications and […]

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8 08, 2016

Expansion of Stateside “Provisional” Waiver Program

By |2016-08-08T05:35:45-05:00August 8th, 2016|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

Published August 8, 2016   Back in 2013, the US Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services first implemented a “stateside” I-601A Waiver program, an initiative allowing for the processing a “waiver of inadmissibility” for certain green card applicants who under current law, are not eligible to adjust their status and undergo final green card processing in the U.S.    Under the system previously in place, such applicants were required to depart the U.S. to their home country for a period of many months and appear for their final immigrant visa (green card) interview before a consular officer outside the U.S. and await a decision on […]

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19 06, 2016

When an Employer Petitions a Relative for Green Card

By |2016-06-19T08:28:14-05:00June 19th, 2016|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S.|

Published June 19, 2016   In the vast majority of cases where an employer looks to facilitate permanent resident (green card) status for a foreign national, the employer, as a first step, will generally be required to document the unavailability of U.S. workers to fill the position at issue.   Whether that foreign national is in the U.S. or still abroad, the employer will usually need to carry out a “good faith” test of the labor market – per Department of Labor regulations and via print ads and sometimes electronic media – and document that efforts to fill the position being offered […]

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24 11, 2015

Believe It or Not, H-1B Visa Filing Season Is Nearing

By |2015-11-24T08:34:41-06:00November 24th, 2015|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment-Based Immigration Law, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

  Published November 24, 2015   It seemed like just yesterday U.S. employers and prospective foreign workers were competing for a chance at one or more of the 85,000 H-1B visas available each fiscal year, which starts on October 1 and ends on September 30.    So even though we have not yet reached the calendar year 2016, we are indeed talking about the US government’s 2017 fiscal year, which starts October 1, 2016 and ends September 30, 2017.   In a little over 4 months, the magic date of April 1, 2016 arrives, the first date the U.S.  Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship […]

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2 10, 2015

Major New Changes to the October Visa Bulletin

By |2015-10-02T07:10:37-05:00October 2nd, 2015|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, General, Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

published October 2, 2015   The generous new provisions included in the most recent U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin, per President Obama’s previous Executive Order, have been rolled back a bit.     The most recent visa bulletin – for October, 2015, which included new sections to allow for earlier filing opportunities to qualified permanent resident applicants living in the U.S., still includes the new sections, although they are just a bit less generous and with a smaller pool of applicants benefiting.    This reversal of generosity has caused quite a stir among various immigrant communities in the U.S., particularly those living […]

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21 09, 2015

The New Visa Bulletin Format: What is it? Who Benefits?

By |2015-09-21T06:44:54-05:00September 21st, 2015|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

Published September 21, 2015 The centerpiece of President Obama’s most recent immigration related Executive Order was a measure providing employment authorization for millions of long time undocumented residents.  This portion of the Executive Order has been held up in the federal courts however, with a ruling that the President exceeded his authority in enacting this new program.  Another less discussed feature of the President’s order is a provision allowing for an earlier eligibility for prospective U.S. based permanent resident applicants to file their I-485 applications for adjustment of status.  This aspect of the President’s order, which was not the subject of […]

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7 09, 2015

Applying for a Green Card – The Top 5 Things That Matter

By |2015-09-07T12:13:29-05:00September 7th, 2015|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, General, Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Immigration and Criminal Law / Detainees, Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

published September 7, 2015   There are dozens and dozens of factors that go into an individual’s eligibility for a U.S. lawful permanent residence, or green card. For individuals present in the U.S., the following are the top 5 issues impacting eligibility for “adjustment of status” and undergoing final processing in the U.S.: 1)    Immigration Status:    Ideally, an individual will have maintained lawful nonimmigrant, or temporary status in the U.S., and from a maintained immigration status, an individual is in an ideal position to pursue U.S. resident status, that is assuming they have the requisite family or employment relationship/sponsor. For those without […]

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26 05, 2015

Certain H-4 Visa Holders Are Now Eligible to Obtain Employment Authorization

By |2015-05-26T08:06:17-05:00May 26th, 2015|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., General, Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

Published May 26, 2015   Certain qualified spouses of H-1B visa holders, who themselves hold H-4 status, may now be able to apply for an Employment Authorization Document pursuant to an Executive Order announced last year, and put into effect this week. To start, we will define a couple important terms: Employment Authorization Document (EAD), is a general work permit issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services with a validity ranging from 1 to 2 years typically, and which authorizes the holder to work as much, or as little, as they like, and for any employer, or […]

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