H1B Visa Lawyer Blog

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 2/27/15 with processing dates as of 12/31/14.

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)

On Tuesday, March 3rd, the House of Representatives passed a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through to the end of the fiscal year (September 30, 2015)! It was a clear bill sent over from the Senate and had no attachments targeted at President Obama’s executive actions on immigration. The vote was 257-167 and now the bill goes to President Barack Obama for his signature, which he has said he would sign. Most House Republicans voted against the bill. The winning vote was comprised of just 75 Republicans and 182 Democrats.

Source of Information:

CNN.com, 3/4/15, Article:

Congress passed a stop-gap funding bill, late Friday night, (2/27/15) funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for one more week. This temporary funding is set to run out at 11:59 p.m. this Friday, (3/6/15).

The House tried earlier on Friday to pass a three week temporary funding bill but it was voted down, which was a surprise to the Speaker of the House, John Boehner. It was reported that some House Republicans voted against it because it failed to remove funding for President Obama’s executive actions on Immigration (11/20/14). Some House Democrats voted against it for not funding DHS through the end of the fiscal year.

Source of Information:

Last Sunday, February 22nd, I watched the 87th Academy Awards with millions of other viewers across the world. It was nearly over with only one award left to be given, the Oscar for Best Picture. Actor Sean Penn was brought out as the Presenter and he quickly opened the envelope! He then stated, “Who gave this son of a bitch his green card?” as he presented Mexican Director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu the Oscar for Best Picture for “Birdman.”

Iñarritu got the last word by dedicating the Oscar to his fellow Mexicans! In the last line of his acceptance speech he stated, “I just pray they (immigrants) can be treated with the same dignity and respect of the ones that came before and built this incredible, immigrant nation.”

The “Birdman” director later told reporters about Penn’s joke, “I found it hilarious. Sean and I have that kind of brutal relationship where only true friendship can survive.” I will say one thing about Penn’s off color joke; at least it got us to think about how immigration affects all of us!”

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be holding a stakeholder teleconference on Wednesday, February 25, 2015 between 3:00 to 4:00pm (EST). The subject of the event will be a “Dialogue with USCIS Director León Rodríguez” and will include his introduction and a Q&A session. León Rodríguez was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in June and sworn in on July 9, 2014, as the new director of USCIS. For more information on this teleconference please review the Meeting Invitation.

Event Information:

DATE: Wednesday, February 25, 2015 TIME: 3:00 – 4:00 pm (EST)