H1B Visa Lawyer Blog

Last Sunday, February 22nd, I watched the 87th Academy Awards with millions of other viewers across the world. It was nearly over with only one award left to be given, the Oscar for Best Picture. Actor Sean Penn was brought out as the Presenter and he quickly opened the envelope! He then stated, “Who gave this son of a bitch his green card?” as he presented Mexican Director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu the Oscar for Best Picture for “Birdman.”

Iñarritu got the last word by dedicating the Oscar to his fellow Mexicans! In the last line of his acceptance speech he stated, “I just pray they (immigrants) can be treated with the same dignity and respect of the ones that came before and built this incredible, immigrant nation.”

The “Birdman” director later told reporters about Penn’s joke, “I found it hilarious. Sean and I have that kind of brutal relationship where only true friendship can survive.” I will say one thing about Penn’s off color joke; at least it got us to think about how immigration affects all of us!”

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be holding a stakeholder teleconference on Wednesday, February 25, 2015 between 3:00 to 4:00pm (EST). The subject of the event will be a “Dialogue with USCIS Director León Rodríguez” and will include his introduction and a Q&A session. León Rodríguez was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in June and sworn in on July 9, 2014, as the new director of USCIS. For more information on this teleconference please review the Meeting Invitation.

Event Information:

DATE: Wednesday, February 25, 2015 TIME: 3:00 – 4:00 pm (EST)

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 2/11/15 with processing dates as of 12/31/14.

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)

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) process over 100 million international air travelers to the United States each year. They have released four new videos to help improve the international traveler’s experience. These videos are available in many different languages on the CBP web site. Acting Assistant Commissioner for Office of Field Operations, John P. Wagner stated, “These new videos will inform visitors and citizens on CBP procedures so travelers know what to expect prior to arriving in the United States.”

The four videos are:

Know Before You Go – This video provides advice for U.S. citizens traveling abroad.