H1B Visa Lawyer Blog

February 6, 2020

Public Charge Inadmissibility Final Rule – Revised Forms and Updated Policy Manual Guidance

Beginning on Monday, February 24^th, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will start to implement the final rule on the public charge ground of inadmissibility. The USCIS has revised its forms to be consistent with the final rule on public charge. Starting on the Monday applicants and petitioners must use new editions of the forms except in Illinois, where the rule remains enjoined by the federal court. Links to the revised forms are listed below:

Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
Form I-129CW, Petition for a CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Worker

February 5, 2020

USCIS Webinar – (2-11-20) – Overview of the H-1B Electronic Registration Process – For Attorneys and Representatives!

by Kellie N. Lego

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be holding a national webinar on Tuesday, February 11, 2020 between 2:00 to 3:30 pm (Eastern). This event will include a discussion of USCIS’ new H-1B Electronic Registration Process for USCIS Webinar – (2-11-20) – Overview of the H-1B Electronic Registration Process – for Attorneys and Representatives.

To Register for this webinar:

Visit our webinar registration page.

February 4, 2020

USCIS Releases full FY2019 Performance Data – All Form Types

by Kellie N. Lego

USCIS has released their full Fiscal Year 2019 (FY2019) performance data for all form types as a statistical table. They have divided the forms by category: Family, Employment, Humanitarian, Citizenship and Naturalization, and Other as the rows. The columns are divided by case status: Received, Approved, Denied, and Pending. These updated FY2019 statistics cover October 1, 2018 through September 2019 by quarter. Here is the link to the table, “USCIS Releases Performance Data on All Form Types for FY2019“.

Source of Information:

USCIS (USCIS.gov), Table (PDF):

February 3, 2020

How Immigrates impact each State (fact sheets): Rhode Island, South Carolina and South Dakota!

by Kellie N. Lego

The American Immigration Council (AIC) has released all fifty states and the District of Columbia, for a total of fifty-one updated state-by-state fact sheets highlighting immigration data and facts. These fact sheets highlight the demographic and economic impact of Immigrants in each state.

With national immigration policy being discussed, we thought that it would be a good time to provide some statistics on the Immigrant population in the United States as provided by this AIC research. Once a week we will be posting a blog with information on three states at a time. This week we will highlight; Rhode Island, South Carolina and South Dakota!

The AIC has compiled research which shows that Immigrants are an essential part of each of these states’ economy, labor force and tax base. As our economy continues to grow, Immigrants and their children are a growing economic and political force as consumers, taxpayers and entrepreneurs. As United States economic continues to grow, immigrants and their children will continue to play a key role in shaping the economic and political future of each of these states.

January 31, 2020

MVP “Immigration Q & A Forum” – This Friday, January 31, 2020

by Kellie N. Lego

MVP Law Group, P.A. makes available the information and materials in this forum for informational purposes only. The information is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice or any contractual obligations. Further, the use of this site, and the sending or receipt of this information, does not create an attorney-client relationship between us. Therefore, your communication with us through this forum will not be considered as privileged or confidential.

Question #1 – Affidavit of Support

What is an Affidavit of Support?

January 30, 2020

USCIS Webinar – (2-6-20) – Overview of the H-1B Electronic Registration Process – For Registrants!

by Kellie N. Lego

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be holding a national webinar on Thursday, February 6, 2020 between 2:00 to 3:30 pm (Eastern). This event will include a discussion of USCIS’ new H-1B Electronic Registration Process for Registrants.

To Register for this webinar:

Visit our webinar registration page.

January 29, 2020

USCIS Announces Countries Eligible for H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs

by Kellie N. Lego

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will be publishing the list of eligible countries for the H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs on January 17, 2020 in the Federal Register. The list of eligible countries was developed by both USCIS and DHS working with the Department of State (DOS). I have included the link to the Federal Register Notice for you to review.

For further details please review the USCIS News Alert, “USCIS Announces Countries Eligible for H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs”.

Source of Information:

January 28, 2020

AAO Processing Times – FY 2020 1st Quarter

by Kellie N. Lego

The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) provides an updated ‘processing times’ in table form, with information on FY2020 first quarterly completions; October 2019 to December 2019. These figures indicate the time that it takes from the date the case is received at AAO coming from the Service Center or District Office to completion.

AAO Processing Times were released with processing dates as of 1/16/20. If you filed an appeal, please review the link below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.

Note: Starting with the January 2017 Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times Report, the AAO has changed how it presents processing time data. The AAO will now provide, by form type, the total number of case completions for the fiscal year quarter and the percentage completed within 180 days, cases completed divided by their projected case goal.

January 27, 2020

MVP “Immigration Q & A Forum” – This Friday, January 31, 2020

by Kellie N. Lego

We wanted to find a new way to engage our reader base. Every other Friday, we will post the ten (10) best/most frequently asked questions received during the week from our h1bvisalawyerblog, Facebook, and Twitter readers. We will answer those questions and provide the Q&A on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.

If you have a burning question, are seeking assistance with a difficult immigration related case, wish to discuss your views on Comprehensive Immigration Reform, DREAMers, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, priority dates, the monthly visa bulletin, adjustment applications, etc., please contact us by submitting your question/comment/viewpoint in our comment box provided on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.

Our next “Q & A Forum” will take place this Friday, January 31, 2020. Act now and submit your questions!

January 24, 2020

How Immigrates impact each State (fact sheets): Oklahoma, Oregon and Pennsylvania!

by Kellie N. Lego

The American Immigration Council (AIC) has released all fifty states and the District of Columbia, for a total of fifty-one updated state-by-state fact sheets highlighting immigration data and facts. These fact sheets highlight the demographic and economic impact of Immigrants in each state.

With national immigration policy being discussed, we thought that it would be a good time to provide some statistics on the Immigrant population in the United States as provided by this AIC research. Once a week we will be posting a blog with information on three states at a time. This week we will highlight; Oklahoma, Oregon and Pennsylvania!

The AIC has compiled research which shows that Immigrants are an essential part of each of these states’ economy, labor force and tax base. As our economy continues to grow, Immigrants and their children are a growing economic and political force as consumers, taxpayers and entrepreneurs. As United States economic continues to grow, immigrants and their children will continue to play a key role in shaping the economic and political future of each of these states.