H1B Visa Lawyer Blog

April 17, 2024

DHS Announces Extension of Temporary Protected Status for Ethiopia

On Friday, April 12, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that they were extending the designation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for the country of Ethiopia for 18 months, beginning on June 13, 2024 and ending on December 12, 2025! The announcement states that, “due to ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions in Ethiopia that prevent individuals from safely returning”!

For further details please review the DHS Press Release, “Secretary Mayorkas Announces Extension and Redesignation of Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status“

Background:

April 16, 2024

Biden on Univision: the president talks about immigration, Mexico, Israel and the risks to democracy

by Kellie N. Lego

On Tuesday, April 9th President Biden was interviewed by Enrique Acevedo a Reporter working for Univision, a Spanish language channel. The interview took place in the Oval Office and covered immigration along with many other subjects important to the region and the world. This article includes the Video of the Interview and the complete transcript in English or Spanish.

Video and Transcript (English):

Biden on Univision: the president talks about immigration, Mexico, Israel and the risks to democracy

April 12, 2024

MVP “Immigration Q & A Forum” – 4/12/24

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.

I am a Citizen of the U.S. and I want to file for my wife’s immigration but I’m not exactly sure what forms and USCIS filing fees are required now after April 1, can you help direct me? As the spouse of a U.S citizen, your wife would appear to be eligible to file the I-130/I-485 concurrently. The forms required for the concurrent filing would be I-130, I-130A, I-485, I-765, I-131 and I-864. The filing fee for Form I-130 is $675 for paper based application, and $625 for online filing. The filing fee for Form I-485 is $1440.00, there is no online filing option. The filing fee for Form I-131 is $630, there is no online filing option. The filing fee for Form I-765 is $260 if paper based or online filing. Form I-864 has no filing fee. It would be advisable to have a consultation with an experienced Immigration Attorney to ensure there are no foreseeable issues or complications in your wife’s filing. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/g-1055.pdf

My H-1B registration wasn’t selected. What are my options? There may be several options available to you, you should schedule a consultation with an experienced Immigration Attorney to go through each of your options. First and foremost, the USCIS may conduct a 2^nd random lottery selection process sometime in the summer if they do not receive enough filings from those selected in the initial registration process. If not selected in the lottery process, there are a plethora of other nonimmigrant visa options that may be available to you: H1B CAP Exempt sponsorship; TN visa; E3 visa; H-1B1 visa; O1A visa; L1A visa; L1B visa; F1 CPT, OPT, STEM OPT; and Employment Based Green Card Sponsorship. https://www.mvplawgroup.com/employment

April 11, 2024

Visa Bulletin – May 2024

by Kellie N. Lego

The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.

Click the link to view the May 2024 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).

April 10, 2024

USCIS Webinar – Listening Session on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of AI (4-10-24)

by Kellie N. Lego

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be holding a national webinar, “Listening Session on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence“, Wednesday, April 10, 2024, between 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm (Eastern). This webinar/listening session is for stakeholders! USCIS states that they would like stakeholders to provide their feedback on immigration pathways for experts in Artificial Intelligence and other critical and emerging technologies. This session supports part of President Biden’s Executive Order on promoting the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence.

Review the USCIS Upcoming National Engagements Web Page for more details: Listening Session on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence

To Register for this webinar:

April 9, 2024

Checking Your USCIS Processing Time Online!

by Kellie N. Lego

You can check USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) processing times at any time online using the link below, it is on their web site. You will need to select your form number, next select the form category, and last select the office processing your case and they will display a processing time. USCIS has made processing times easier to understand and provides a more realistic date range.

Check Case Processing Times

The processing time range is how long it takes for USCIS to process your type of case from the date they received it. USCIS processes cases in the order they receive them, and they normally update this information monthly. The estimated time range displayed is based on data captured over the last two months.

April 8, 2024

MVP “Immigration Q & A Forum” – This Friday, April 12, 2024

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, April 12, 2024. Act now and submit your questions!

April 5, 2024

Immigrants in each State (fact sheets): Oklahoma, Oregon and Pennsylvania – Update

by Kellie N. Lego

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; Oklahoma, Oregon and Pennsylvania!

April 4, 2024

2024 USCIS Forms Updates – 4/1/24

by Kellie N. Lego

Review the USCIS Forms Updates web page for important updates! Many of the USCIS forms were updated on April 1st because of the USCIS fee schedule changes which went into effect on the same date. There are more then 70 update notices on their webpage for April 1st!

The Forms Updates web page lists their most recently updated forms. The list includes forms as they publish them and includes a brief explanation for the update.

Important Links:

April 3, 2024

Historical Processing Times Trends for Fiscal Years 2016 – 2024

by Kellie N. Lego

This new USCIS Fact Sheet includes historical national median (mid-point) processing times data in chart and graphic forms. This data was collected from all USCIS offices from the listed forms from Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 through 2024. Use this link to review this Fact Sheet for more details, “Historical Processing Times Trends Fiscal Year 2016 – 2024 (PDF)”.

Source of Information:

USCIS (USCIS.gov), USCIS Data as of 03/05/2024, Fact Sheet: