USCIS Initial Data Entry and Receipt Notices Status
As of January 4, 2008, the USCIS has completed initial data entry and issued receipt notices for applications and petitions received on or before the dates below. California Service Center - I-130...
View ArticleUSCIS Receipts Update
The substantial forward movement in many visa categories from mid to late 2007 has resulted in a significant increase in petitions filed with the USCIS. Receipt by the foreign national of a receipt...
View ArticleImmigration Applications at All-Time High, May Take Years to Clear
The USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez appeared yesterday (01/17/2008) in front of the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law and in written...
View ArticleForm I-864 Affidavit of Support – Insufficient Income
Many foreign nationals who are on H-1B visa and have their spouses on H-4 visa often face the issue of insufficient income for Form I-864, Affidavit of Support purposes when filing for adjustment of...
View ArticleMarch 2008 Visa Bulletin Advances Most EB3 Numbers
The March 2008 State Department Visa Bulletin is out. The most significant development is the EB3 “worldwide” (everyone except from China, India, Mexico and the Philippines) category applicants. EB3 –...
View ArticleApril 2008 Visa Bulletin: Good News for EB2 India
The State Department just released its April 2008 Visa Bulletin and it brings some good news and relief to EB2 India applicants – the cutoff date for EB2 India has moved from “unavailable” to December...
View ArticleModified Medical Examination Form I-693 Goes Into Effect
The USCIS has announced that it has revised Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, to reflect changes to the Tuberculosis guidance by the Center for Disease and Control to...
View ArticleAytes Testimony In Front of Congress
The House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugess, Border Security and International Law held a hearing yesterday, April 30, 2008, on the topic of “Wasted Visas, Growing Backlogs.” Michael...
View ArticleJune 2008 Visa Bulletin – EB-3 Expected to Retrogress
The June 2008 Bulletin is out. Among the employment-based visa numbers, there is a slight forward movement in the EB-2 category for China and India, by about 3 months, from January 2004 to April 2004....
View ArticleNew Proposal Aims to End Concurrent I-140/I-485 Filing
USCIS is proposing to amend the regulations concerning the concurrent filing of employment-based I-140 and I-485 petitions as long as visa number is available to the alien beneficiary. The proposed...
View ArticleSecretary Chertoff: We Will Start Issuing 2-Year EADs
Many of our clients are complaining of the need to renew their employment authorization documents (EADS) every year while their green card adjustment of status application is pending. Given the long...
View ArticleLimited I-140 Premium Processing Resumes on June 16
We wrote earlier today about the pending announcement that USCIS is restoring the possibility of filing I-140 via premium processing. As we discussed earlier, the premium processing is limited to...
View ArticleNew Medical Exam Form I-693 Goes Into Effect
The USCIS has released a modified version of Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record. The most recent form is dated June 5, 2008 and previous editions will be accepted only...
View ArticleTravel Abroad on Advance Parole and Switching Employers
A very frequent two-part question we receive from current and prospective clients who are expecting visa number and have used AC21 to switch employers and are no longer with the original employer who...
View ArticleAdjustment of Status (I-485) Vaccination Requirements Changed
The USCIS has released a revised list of vaccines required for applicants seeking to adjust status to become permanent legal residents. The updated list, required for all medical exams conducted on or...
View ArticleNeufield Memo on 180-day Adjustment of Status Bar Exemption
Section 245(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) allows for the adjustment of status (I-485) which so many of our clients and readers are well familiar. Section 245(c) of the INA...
View ArticleUSCIS Reports on Progress Towards Processing Time Goals
The USCIS has released a chart describing its progress towards meeting the fiscal year (FY) 2008 and FY 2009 processing time goals. Attached is a PDF of the chart with a couple of annotations...
View ArticleGAO Report on Green Card Applications Security Review
The Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) has published a report, “Actions Needed to Address Vulnerabilities in Process for Granting Permanent Residency” which reviews the process of security review...
View ArticleFebruary 2009 Visa Bulletin – Some Forward Movement
The February 2009 Visa Bulletin is out. It brings some good forward movement for some employment-based categories. Unfortunately, EB-3 ROW and EB-3 India remain unchanged. EB-2 ROW remains current....
View ArticleAC21 – Should I invoke it and, if so, when?
The American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act (AC21) permits an individual to transfer, or “port”, his or her green card process to a different employer if (1) the new job is the “same or...
View ArticleMarch 2009 Visa Bulletin – Not Much Movement
The March 2009 Visa Bulletin has been released. Unfortunately, even though there is some forward movement in some EB categories, the progress is very small. Many important categories have not moved...
View ArticleAdditional Points About the April 2009 Visa Bulletin and EB-3
We wrote last week about the April 2009 Visa Bulletin and the significant retrogression of the visa numbers in EB-3 Rest of World (ROW) category. It is important to note that the April 2009 Visa...
View ArticleAnnual Statistics on Green Cards
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Immigration Statistics has released its annual U.S. Permanent Residents: 2008 report. The report provides a summary of the approvals of the various...
View ArticleForm I-485 AOS Inventory Analysis
USCIS has released a schedule of the inventory of pending Form I-485, Application to Adjust Status. The statistics are fairly recent – as of August 25, 2009 – and are very helpful to understanding...
View ArticleUSCIS to Hold I-485 Adjustments Pending New Vaccination Requirements
In an article dated November 17, 2009, we wrote about the CDC reversing course and eliminating the requirement of HPV vaccine for immigrant applicants, including I-485 adjustment applications. The new...
View ArticleEmployment-based I-485 Adjustment of Status Inventory
USCIS has released a schedule of the inventory of pending employment-based Form I-485, Application to Adjust Status. The statistics are very recent – as of January 5, 2011 – and are very helpful to...
View ArticleFY2011 Employment-Based Visas Limit Reached: No New Green Card Approvals...
The Department of State (“DOS”), in an “urgent” alert dated as of September 15, 2011, has advised that due to heavy demand in the employment-based immigrant visa categories, DOS has reached the Fiscal...
View ArticleUSCIS Clarifies Eligibility and Timelines for Filing I-485 for Diversity Visa...
In a memorandum dated August 9, 2013, USCIS has released guidance and clarifications pertaining to the options and timelines for Diversity Visa (DV) selectees who choose to process their green card...
View ArticleNational Visa Center No Longer Requires Original Civil Documents
In an important (and surely welcome by many) announcement, the National Visa Center (NVC) has announced that as of November 12, 2014, they would no longer start requiring and collecting original civil...
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