H1B Visa Lawyer Blog

February 25, 2025

Reminder – FY 2026 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Period Opens on March 7

On Wednesday, February 5, 2025, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the initial registration period for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 H-1B cap will start Friday, March 7, 2025, and run through March 24, 2025. USCIS stated, “During this period, prospective petitioners and representatives must use a USCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated registration fee for each beneficiary.”

For more details and exact times, review the USCIS News Alert, “FY 2026 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Period Opens on March 7“!

Source of Information:

February 24, 2025

Immigrants in each State (fact sheets): Nebraska, Nevada and New Hampshire – 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; Nebraska, Nevada and New Hampshire!

February 21, 2025

MVP “Immigration Q & A Forum” – 2/21/25

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.

What are the current processing times for prevailing wage determinations from Department of Labor (DOL)? As of 02/01/2025, per the DOL website, they are currently issuing final prevailing wage determinations for initial prevailing wage requests filed in July 2024. On average, we are seeing final prevailing wage determinations issued within 189 – 209 days. On February 13, we received a final prevailing wage determination for a request filed on August 9, 2024.

What are the current processing times for the PERM/ETA Form 9089 (Labor Certification Application) from Department of Labor (DOL)? As of 02/01/2025, per the DOL website, they are currently issuing certified Labor Applications for initial Form ETA 9089 filed on or before October 2023. On average, we are seeing certified Labor Applications issued within 15-17 months, without audit. On December 3, 2024, we received a certified Labor for a PERM/ETA Form 9089 filed in August of 2023.

February 18, 2025

MVP “Immigration Q & A Forum” – This Friday, February 21, 2025

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, February 21, 2025. Act now and submit your questions!

February 17, 2025

Presidents’ Day – Federal Holiday

by Kellie N. Lego

Presidents’ Day was established by the U.S. government in 1885 to honor the birthday date of our first President, George Washington. The official name for the holiday is still “Washington’s Birthday”. Washington’s Birthday is really February 22^nd, but this federal holiday is celebrated on the third Monday of February, it extents the holiday weekend! This holiday is thought to celebrate all U.S. Presidents!

Presidents’ Day in the United States

George Washington’s Birthday

February 14, 2025

AAO Processing Times – FY 2025 1st Quarter

by Kellie N. Lego

The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) provides an updated ‘processing times’ in table form, with information on FY2025 first quarterly completions; October 2024 to December 2024. These figures indicate the time that it takes from the date the case is received at AAO coming from the Service Center or District Office to completion.

AAO Processing Times were released with processing dates as of 1/7/25. If you filed an appeal, please review the link below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.

Note: Starting with the January 2017 Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times Report, the AAO has changed how it presents processing time data. The AAO will now provide, by form type, the total number of case completions for the fiscal year quarter and the percentage completed within 180 days, cases completed divided by their projected case goal.

February 13, 2025

Immigration News – Top News Stories – U.S. Immigration and President Trump

by Kellie N. Lego

List of some of the Top News Stories related to the U.S. Immigration and President Trump:

Axios (axios.com), 2/11/25:

Trump White House tells Congress it needs border cash now

February 12, 2025

Visa Bulletin – March 2025

by Kellie N. Lego

The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.

Click the link to view the March 2025 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).

February 11, 2025

Immigrants in each State (fact sheets): Mississippi, Missouri and Montana – 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; Mississippi, Missouri and Minnesota!

February 10, 2025

FY 2026 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Period Opens on March 7

by Kellie N. Lego

On Wednesday, February 5, 2025, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the initial registration period for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 H-1B cap will start Friday, March 7, 2025, and run through March 24, 2025. USCIS stated, “During this period, prospective petitioners and representatives must use a USCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated registration fee for each beneficiary.”

For more details and exact times, review the USCIS News Alert, “FY 2026 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Period Opens on March 7“!

Source of Information: