by Kyle Knapp | May 6, 2023 | Uncategorized
USCIS again conducted the H-1B lottery this March to allocate 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 fiscal year,...
by Kyle Knapp | Apr 3, 2023 | Uncategorized
USCIS revised its Policy Manual to eliminate the need to submit the required medical exam report (Form I-693) for permanent residency applications within 60 days of when the doctor signs it. Aside from an exemption of this requirement during the Covid-19 pandemic, the...
by Kyle Knapp | Mar 7, 2023 | Uncategorized
Bloomberg reported last month that the U.S. State Department will allow H and L visa holders to renew their visas without leaving the United States under a pilot program scheduled to begin this year. The State Department has yet to issue any guidance or a timeline. If...
by Kyle Knapp | Feb 6, 2023 | Uncategorized
Processing times are a recurring topic for immigration attorneys and their clients. We want to know how long it will take the government to process, and, we hope, approve, the applications we submit. One of the most common applications is the Department of Labor’s...
by Kyle Knapp | Jan 9, 2023 | Uncategorized
After more than two years since USCIS faced a court challenge over its last fee increase attempt, the agency is back again with tin cup in hand. The proposed rule from January 4, 2023 has moderate increases for some petitions and applications and staggering increases...
by Kyle Knapp | Dec 7, 2022 | Uncategorized
From time to time, we hear reports of naturalization ceremonies around the country. It’s usually around a major federal holiday, such as Independence Day. There often is a scene showing the new citizens holding American flags, and then the news is on to the next item....
by Kyle Knapp | Nov 7, 2022 | Uncategorized
A year ago, the State Department had a backlog of 500,000 people waiting on green card (immigrant visa) interviews at U.S. consulates and embassies around the world. Although some of those offices still had long wait times for work visas, most had gotten back to more...
by Kyle Knapp | Oct 3, 2022 | Uncategorized
I recently was asked, “What’s all this with the governors of Texas and Florida putting people on airplanes and buses and sending them to Martha’s Vineyard and New York City?” The short answer: Politics. It all boils down to political stunts that do little more than...
by Kyle Knapp | Sep 9, 2022 | Uncategorized
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has been burning the midnight oil in recent months to ensure maximum usage of the 281,507 available green cards in the employment-based categories, of which EB-2 and EB-3 are the most common, for the federal fiscal year ending...
by Kyle Knapp | Aug 8, 2022 | Uncategorized
In the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, USCIS announced that it would accept copies of original signatures for petitions and applications sent to USCIS in paper form. Previously, there was haphazard guidance and practice over when and on what forms USCIS would...
