by Kyle Knapp | Nov 7, 2024 | Uncategorized
That sums up the results of the elections. Based upon the previous four-year term of chaos, we can expect several things for common employment- and family-based immigration cases. The incoming administration likely will end the policy of deferring to prior approvals...
by Kyle Knapp | Oct 1, 2024 | Uncategorized
The annual Diversity Lottery (i.e. green card lottery) opens this week for the 55,000 visas. The registration period this year is from noon Eastern Daylight Time on October 2, 2024 until noon Eastern Standard Time on November 5, 2024. Each year the U.S. State...
by Kyle Knapp | Sep 1, 2024 | Uncategorized
In mid- and late-August the State Department announced that it had allocated all available employment-based immigrant visas (green cards) for the first and third preference categories. The expectation is that the second preference also will run out before the end of...
by Kyle Knapp | Aug 9, 2024 | Uncategorized
In February 2015 U.S. Department of Homeland Security implemented a new rule to allow certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B workers to apply for work authorization. The authorization is called an Employment Authorization Document, or EAD for short. This was a...
by Kyle Knapp | Jul 1, 2024 | Uncategorized
Each year U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services schedules naturalization oath ceremonies around the Fourth of July holiday. This year there will be nearly 200 ceremonies for 11,000 new citizens in the days around the holiday. In recent years, I’ve been posting on...
by Kyle Knapp | Jun 5, 2024 | Uncategorized
In the midst of packing and unpacking boxes while moving to a new home, noncitizens in the U.S. have one more important thing to do: United States immigration laws require noncitizens in the United States to notify U.S. Citizenship and Immigration of a new address...
by Kyle Knapp | May 3, 2024 | Uncategorized
This year’s H-1B lottery registrations saw a 38.6% reduction from last year for the statutory maximum of 85,000 visas for “specialty occupation” workers. The H-1B visa is for professional jobs, for which a specific bachelor’s degree or higher is required. Each federal...
by Kyle Knapp | Apr 9, 2024 | Uncategorized
USCIS once again updated a health-related provision in its Policy Manual to make completed medical exam reports valid indefinitely if signed on or after November 30 2023. The Form I-693, which a designated civil surgeon must complete and sign for persons applying for...
by Kyle Knapp | Mar 4, 2024 | Uncategorized
Improving customer service and reducing case backlogs have been priorities for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under the Biden administration. In taking a moment to pat itself on the back, USCIS reported that it reduced its overall backlog by 15% for the...
by Kyle Knapp | Feb 6, 2024 | Uncategorized
After a failed attempt in October 2020 to increase filing fees, USCIS redoubled its efforts to improve processing times and clear backlogs and thereby demonstrate its commitment to improved service in exchange for higher filing fees. The October 2020 fee regulation,...
