In July of 2007, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received a record 460,000 applications for naturalization. Moreover, for 2007, the USCIS received 1.4 million naturalization applications. This is double the normal annual volume. As a result of the record volume of applications, the USCIS announced in April of…
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on June 3, 2008 the Interim Final Rule for the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), a new online system that is part of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) and is required by the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of…
The employment based permanent residency or “green card” process is a three step process. The first step in this process is called Labor Certification. As of March 28, 2005 all Labor Certification applications are filed through the online PERM process. The Since April of 2007, immigration attorneys have reported a…
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on April 10, 2008 nearly 163,000 H-1B petitions received during the filing period on April 1 to April 7, 2008. More than 31,200 of those petitions were for the advanced degree exemption. On April 14, 2008 USCIS conducted the computer-generated random selection processes…
Now that the H-1B lottery has been held and all of the new H-1B visas for the 2008 fiscal year have been allocated, what options do employers who are looking to hire foreign national professionals have? Here are some creative solutions to this problem: H-3 Visa The H-3 Visa is…
H-1B petitions filed on behalf of employees are generally filed for a specific job that has specific job duties. When there is a material change in the terms of an H-1B beneficiary’s employment, the petitioning employer is legally required to file a new H-1B petition or amend the original petition.…
Although the H-1B Visa is not usually thought of as an option for an investor/entrepreneur, it may be utilized by some of these foreign business entrepreneurs. Foreign investment in U.S. businesses creates economic benefits beyond merely a visa benefit for the foreign investor. The Small Business Administration (SBA) estimates that…