H1B Visa Lawyer Blog

October 26, 2015

MVP “Immigration Q & A Forum” – This Friday, Oct. 30, 2015

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, October 30, 2015. Act now and submit your questions!

October 22, 2015

Updated Service Center Processing Times (as of 8/31/15)

by Kellie N. Lego

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 10/15/15 with processing dates as of 8/31/15.

If you filed a petition with one of the Service Centers, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.

California Service Center (CSC)

October 21, 2015

Alert – USCIS Customers Affected by South Carolina Floods, Immigration Relief is Available

by Kellie N. Lego

USCIS released a News Alert on Thursday, October, 15th listing immigration relief measures that may help people affected by the recent flooding disaster in South Carolina.

These immigration relief measures may be available upon request:

• Change or extension of nonimmigrant status for an individual currently in the United States, even if the request is filed after the authorized period of admission has expired.

October 20, 2015

Impact of New Americans (2015) – Wisconsin, Wyoming & District of Columbia

by Kellie N. Lego

Immigration Policy Center Releases Updated State-by-State Fact Sheets (2015)

The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) has released all fifty states, the District of Columbia and the United States (Overall), for a total of fifty-two updated fact sheets with accompanying info graphics and other details. These fact sheets highlight the demographic and economic impact of Immigrants, Asians and Latinos in each state. The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) is the research and policy division of the American Immigration Council (AIC).

As Washington D.C. continues the discussion of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, 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 IPC research. Once a week we will be posting a blog with information on three states at a time. This week we will highlight; Wisconsin, Wyoming & District of Columbia.

October 19, 2015

Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times – 10/1/15

by Kellie N. Lego

Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times were released with processing dates as of 10/1/15.

If you filed an appeal, please review the link below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.

Administrative Appeals Office

October 16, 2015

MVP LAW GROUP – Immigration Q&A Forum, Friday, Oct. 16, 2015

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 – NAFTA (TN) Visas

I am on a TD visa in the US. Can I get a work permit?

October 15, 2015

Public Law 111-230 H-1B, L-1 Additional Fees Have Expired

by Kellie N. Lego

USCIS is alerting applicants that certain H-1B and L-1 petitions filed on or after October 1, 2015, should not include the additional Public Law filing fee that was previously required by Section 402 of Public Law 111-230, as amended by Public Law 111-347 (for certain H-1B and L-1 petitions). The additional fee required by Public Law 111-230, as amended, expired on September 30, 2015.

Be aware that all other H-1B and L-1 filing fees, including the Base filing fee, the Fraud Prevention and Detection filing fee, and American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (ACWIA) filing fee when applicable, are still required. USCIS prefers separate checks for each filing fee!

Note: Petitions with incorrect fees may be rejected.

October 13, 2015

Visa Bulletin – November 2015

by Kellie N. Lego

The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.

Click here to view the November 2015 Visa Bulletin

The monthly Visa Bulletin has changed. The bulletin now summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during the reported month for: “Application Final Action Dates” (consistent with prior Visa Bulletins) and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa Center using Consular Processing (outside of the US) or file on their own with USCIS Form I-485 (within the US).

October 12, 2015

MVP “Immigration Q & A Forum” – This Friday, Oct. 16, 2015

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, October 16, 2015. Act now and submit your questions!

October 9, 2015

Watch out for Diversity Visa Program Fraud

by Kellie N. Lego

The Department of State, Office of Visa Services is warning the public of an increase in fraudulent emails and letters sent to Diversity Visa (DV) program (Visa Lottery) applicants. They warned that scammers may try to pose as U.S. government officials, trying to deceive applicants and possibly trying to take their money and private information. They warned DV applicants to only interact with the U.S. Department of State (DOS). Applicants should visit https://www.dvlottery.state.gov/ for official U.S. government information on the program.

DOS began taking online registration for the FY2017 Diversity Visa Program on 10/1/15. The registration period will end on Tuesday, 11/3/15. Again, please visit https://www.dvlottery.state.gov/ for official U.S. government information on the program and more details.

Source of Information: