OUTSIDE THE BOX THINKING, DELIVERING CUTTING EDGE SOLUTIONS!

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Wednesday, March 16th that it will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 cap on Friday, April 1, 2016. Cases will be considered accepted on the date that USCIS receives a properly filed petition for which the correct fee has been submitted; not the date that the petition is postmarked.

The cap (the numerical limitation on H-1B petitions) for FY 2017 is 65,000. In addition, the first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of individuals with U.S. master’s degree or higher are exempt from the fiscal year cap of 65,000.

USCIS stated that it is possible that the H-1B cap will be met in the first 5 business days! Also be advised that premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions will begin no later than May 16, 2016. See the USCIS’s Premium Processing section for more details.

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 3/14/16 with processing dates as of 1/31/16.

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)

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 – Green Card

Is there a set period of time that I must live and work in the United States before I can apply for a Green Card?

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; Alabama, Alaska & Arizona.

The H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs. There is a cap limit of 33,000 for the first half of the fiscal year and 33,000 for the second half for a total of 66,000 per year. If the cap is not reached during the first half of the fiscal year, the extra numbers are then made available for the second half.

The H-2B cap limit for first half of FY 2016 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (3/9/16); 33,478 beneficiaries have been approved and 7,456 are pending for a total of 38,934.

The H-2B cap limit for second half of FY 2016 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000*. As of the last count (3/9/16); 524 beneficiaries have been approved and 2,059 are pending for a total of 2,583.

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, March 18, 2016. Act now and submit your questions!

The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.

Click here to view the April 2016 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).

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.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have invited Stakeholders, and anyone affected by the organization, to a teleconference on Wednesday, March 9, 2016 between 2:00pm to 3:30pm (EST). The content of the teleconference will be how to protect yourself and your community from immigration scams and will include a Q&A at the end of the discussion.

This is USCIS’s way of supporting National Consumer Protection Week and will include updates on their Avoid Scams Initiative.

Event Information:

Contact Information