H1B Visa Lawyer Blog
The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.
Click the link to view the March 2025 Visa Bulletin
MVP “Immigration Q & A Forum” – This Friday, February 21, 2025
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, February 21, 2025. Act now and submit your questions!
Presidents’ Day – Federal Holiday
Presidents’ Day was established by the U.S. government in 1885 to honor the birthday date of our first President, George Washington. The official name for the holiday is still “Washington’s Birthday”. Washington’s Birthday is really February 22nd, but this federal holiday is celebrated on the third Monday of February, it extents the holiday weekend! This holiday is thought to celebrate all U.S. Presidents!
AAO Processing Times – FY 2025 1st Quarter
The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) provides an updated ‘processing times’ in table form, with information on FY2025 first quarterly completions; October 2024 to December 2024. 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 1/7/25. 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.
Immigration News – Top News Stories – U.S. Immigration and President Trump
List of some of the Top News Stories related to the U.S. Immigration and President Trump:
Axios (axios.com), 2/11/25:
Visa Bulletin – March 2025
The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.
Click the link to view the March 2025 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).
Immigrants in each State (fact sheets): Mississippi, Missouri and Montana – Update
UPDATE: Explore American Immigration Council’ interactive map to get more comprehensive information on U.S. immigration data and its impact!
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; Mississippi, Missouri and Minnesota!
FY 2026 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Period Opens on March 7
On Wednesday, February 5, 2025, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the initial registration period for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 H-1B cap will start Friday, March 7, 2025, and run through March 24, 2025. USCIS stated, “During this period, prospective petitioners and representatives must use a USCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated registration fee for each beneficiary.”
For more details and exact times, review the USCIS News Alert, “FY 2026 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Period Opens on March 7“!
Source of Information:
MVP “Immigration Q & A Forum” – 2/7/25
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.
- How old do I need to be to apply for Naturalization? You must be at least 18 years old to qualify for Naturalization AND you must meet ALL other eligibility requirements. The USCIS has published a helpful brochure, 10 Steps to Naturalization – Understanding the Process of Becoming a U.S. Citizen found here: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/brochures/M-1051.pdf
- I was offered a specialty occupation with a non-profit organization, and I appear to be eligible for an H-1B; however, the Lawyer I spoke with told me that the organization does not appear to be eligible to file an H-1B CAP exempt petition with the USCIS. The lawyer did not explain any further. What is the issue? Only certain organizations are eligible to file a CAP EXEMPT H-1B petition with the USCIS. Not every non-profit organization will be eligible to file an H-1B CAP EXEMPT petition. CAP EXEMPT organizations include: Institutions of Higher Education; Nonprofit Organizations Affiliated with Institutions of Higher Education; Government Research Organizations, and Nonprofit Research Organizations focused on applied or basic research.
Update – Visa Bulletin – February 2025
The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.
Click the link to view the February 2025 Visa Bulletin