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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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).
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!
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:
Annually, the United States government issues a maximum of 50,000 green cards through a computer-generated random lottery drawing. Applications for the DV-2017 random lottery will be accepted from noon (EDT) Thursday, October 1, 2015 through noon (EST) Tuesday, November 3, 2015. Paper entries will not be accepted, eligible participants may access the electronic Diversity Visa entry form (E-DV) to apply during this period. Early entry is recommended and they strongly encourage applicants not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter!
These green cards are only available to those eligible participants from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Please check the “INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE 2017 DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM (DV-2017)” for the complete list of countries/areas whose natives are eligible for DV-2017.
Note: Please review the list of countries/areas whose natives are eligible for DV-2017 because it also includes the countries that are not eligible. Natives of countries that sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in the previous five years are not eligible.
Senate:
October 7, 2015
Committee: U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Title: Business Meeting – the agenda includes S. Res. 104, a resolution regarding the success of Operation Streamline and the importance of prosecuting first time illegal border crossers Time: 10:00am Place: SD-342 Dirksen Senate Office Building
H1B Visa Lawyer Blog