H1B Visa Lawyer Blog

August 13, 2015

Visa Bulletin – September 2015

The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.

Click here to view the September 2015 Visa Bulletin

As projected by the U.S. Department of State, the September 2015 Visa Bulletin shows the EB2 date for nationals from India retrogressed from 10/1/08 to 1/1/06; the EB3 date for nationals from India moved from 6/1/04 to 12/22/04; the EB2 for Chinese Nationals retrogressed from 12/15/13 to 1/1/06; the EB3 for Chinese Nationals moved from 6/1/04 to 12/22/04; and EB3 for WW moved from 7/15/15 to 8/15/15; and the F2A category moved from 12/15/13 to 3/1/14, except Mexico which moved from 11/1/13 to 2/1/14. The F2A category is reserved exclusively for Spouses and unmarried children (under the age of 21) of green card holders (LPRs).

August 12, 2015

USCIS Alerts Individuals Affected by Typhoon Soudelor to Available Immigration Relief Measures

by Kellie N. Lego

At the beginning of August, Typhoon Soudelor caused extensive damage in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)! President Obama has declared CNMI a federal disaster area; CNMI is a U.S. Commonwealth. USCIS has released a News Alert highlighting some of the available immigration relief measures that immigration customers may have available to them.

Immigration relief measures that may be available upon request include:

• A change or extension of nonimmigrant status for an individual currently in the United States, even when the request is filed after the authorized period of admission has expired;

August 11, 2015

Impact of New Americans (2015) – Maine, Maryland & Massachusetts

by Kellie N. Lego

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; Maine, Maryland & Massachusetts.

August 10, 2015

Update for DACA Recipients Who Received 3-Year Work Permits

by Kellie N. Lego

USCIS has announced that they have accounted for over 99% of the invalid work permits they issued to some DACA recipients. Of the more than 2,600 invalid work permits, only 22 failed to return them or show good cause for not doing so by the July 30th deadline. The 22 recipients that failed to respond have been terminated from the DACA program.

If you returned your card and your DACA and work authorization was terminated, please:

> Call USCIS Customer Service at 1-800-375-5283, select option 1 for English, then option 8; or > Visit your local USCIS field office between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

August 7, 2015

MVP LAW GROUP – Immigration Q&A Forum, Friday, August 7, 2015

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.

Question #1 – Sanctuary City

Lately, in the news, I have heard the term “Sanctuary City” and I was wondering what it meant?

August 5, 2015

Revised – Updated Service Center Processing Times (as of 5/31/15)

by Kellie N. Lego

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 8/3/15 with processing dates as of 5/31/15.

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)

August 4, 2015

Impact of New Americans (2015) – Kansas, Kentucky & Louisiana

by Kellie N. Lego

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; Kansas, Kentucky & Louisiana.

August 3, 2015

MVP “Immigration Q & A Forum” – This Friday, August 7, 2015

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, August 7, 2015. Act now and submit your questions!

July 31, 2015

Some DACA Recipients Who Received 3-Year Work Permits Must Return Them Immediately

by Kellie N. Lego

In response to the injunction in Texas v. United States, USCIS is requiring approximately 2,000 individuals to whom 3-year Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) were issued after the February 16, 2015 injunction, to return their EADs to the USCIS by July 17th or show cause.

The USCIS letter sent to the affected individuals stated, “USCIS must receive your EAD by 7/17/15. Failure to return the invalid EAD without good cause may affect your deferred action and employment authorization.”

This does not affect EADs that were issued before the injunction. Also, and most important – these affected individuals have already been issued a new 2-year EAD as a replacement for the invalid 3-year EAD.

July 30, 2015

Revised – Updated Service Center Processing Times (as of 5/31/15)

by Kellie N. Lego

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 7/27/15 with processing dates as of 5/31/15.

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)