The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the July 2014 Visa Bulletin. The most significant movement is a nearly four-year leap forward in the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category for Indian nationals. While this movement is not unexpected, it is still welcome news for many...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletin for July 2014 contains long-awaited good news for the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category for India. The EB2, India, cutoff date advances to September 1, 2008, effective during the month of July 2014.This forward movement was anticipated,...
On June 9, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow against hopes for a favorable interpretation of family unity-related provisions within U.S. immigration law. The Court held that the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) had authority to narrowly interpret key protections offered by the...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed that medical examinations required as part of the permanent residence ("green card") process will have a validity limit of one year. This became effective on June 1, 2014. Those with long-pending adjustment of status (AOS) applications...
Maria Odom, the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, gave a presentation on various immigration issues on May 21, 2014. The setting was a meeting of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Washington D.C. Chapter, which was attended by several attorneys...
The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) experienced a massive "crash" of its computer systems in April 2014. The EOIR announced, however, that it has been able to recover all of the data, and that portions of its system are once again operational. EOIR Computer Systems Crash,...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a proposed regulatory change related to the country-specific specialty occupation professionals categories, E-3 (for Australians) and H1B1 (for citizens of Chile and Singapore). These changes would provide some clarification regarding the work authorized nature of these categories. Immigration Benefits...
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently announced the creation of a new website that gives travelers access to five years of their own I-94 arrival / departure and border crossing records. This website promises to serve as a valuable tool to foreign nationals who...
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) WebSite provides detailed and helpful information about the wait times at various U.S. ports of entry (POEs). While there can be considerable variation at any given port, the information provided by the CBP can be useful in making...
The USCIS Idea Community is an online tool created by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to solicit public feedback and ideas on its services and initiatives. The "idea campaign" pertains to welcoming immigrants and citizenship preparation. The public is free to submit comments through...
