Articles Posted in Immigration News

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 – H-1B Nonimmigrant Work Visa

How many H1s are left?

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has confirmed with the State Department that the annual limit in the EB-2 category for China-mainland born and India has been reached.

The State Department notified USCIS on April 11, 2012, that no further visas for those categories would be authorized.

USCIS will continue to accept adjustment applications based upon cut-off dates published in the April and May Visa Bulletins. However, requests from USCIS service centers and field offices for visas in the EB-2 category aliens chargeable to China-mainland born or India will be retained by DOS for authorization in FY2013, beginning on October 1, 2012.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap.

As of April 20th, 2012, 25,000 H-1B Regular CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 65,000 cap.

As of April 20th, 2012, 10,900 H-1B Masters Degree CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 20,000 cap.

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on April 23, 2012 with processing dates as of February 29, 2012.

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

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, 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, April 27th, 2012. Act now and submit your questions!

WASHINGTON, DC – The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) is proud to sponsor the 6th annual Citizenship Day on Saturday, April 21, 2012. This single-day workshop with sites around the country provides assistance to lawful permanent residents eligible for naturalization. In partnership with the “ya es hora ¡Ciudadanía!” campaign, AILA will hold 50 naturalization clinics in 18 states serving thousands of immigrants who are preparing to become citizens. “Our annual Citizenship Day is an event all AILA members can support. Collectively, we work with individuals from all over the world who are all striving to come to the U.S., and many of those individuals wish to stay here to make a life for themselves and for their families. It is an honor to help those immigrants finalize their status to become American Citizens,” said AILA President Eleanor Pelta.

As a one-day, nationwide event, AILA Citizenship Day provides free or low-cost assistance to eligible legal permanent residents who wish to apply for U.S. citizenship, utilizing partnerships between AILA chapters across the country and the grassroots campaign “ya es hora ¡Ciudadanía!” In 2012, AILA Citizenship Day will celebrate its 6th anniversary on a national scale and its 4th year working with the campaign.

AILA’s successes are due in large part to the national collaborative relationships that AILA has developed both with community organizations and stakeholders, as well as the USCIS Office of Citizenship. “As individual attorneys, our daily professional work is life changing. When we join together to help a community we are a force to be reckoned with; we can make such a huge difference,” said Susan Timmons, Associate Director of AILA’s Practice and Professionalism Center. “Coordinating Citizenship Day with our partners grants AILA members the opportunity to reach an exponentially larger group. Together, we help hard working residents become citizens of the United States – we help them realize the American dream.”

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap.

As of April 13th, 2012, 20,600 H-1B Regular CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 65,000 cap.

As of April 13th, 2012, 9,700 H-1B Masters Degree CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 20,000 cap.

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 – H-1B Nonimmigrant Work Visa

I am an international student with F1- status and Associate degree that I obtained here in US. Am I qualified to change my status to h1B VISA?

As of April 2, 2012, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) began to issue Form I-797C, Notice of Action, with a new look and feel. The new Form I-797C is now printed on plain white paper. The USCIS believes that this change is estimated to save the agency about $1.1 million per year.

The USCIS believes that the NEW change to existing Form I-797C will help reduce public perception that the Form I-797C demonstrates evidence of an immigration benefit or status. The top of the new Form I-797C clearly displays the following language: “THIS NOTICE DOES NOT GRANT ANY IMMIGRATION STATUS OR BENEFIT.”

Please visit the USCIS website to view a sample of the NEW Form I-797C.

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