When Immigration Matters

H-1B and L-1 Visa Renewal is Back within the USA

Posted by Karen-Lee Pollak on Mon, Mar 06, 2023 @ 2:43 PM

Early in February, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Visa Services at the Bureau of Consular Affairs, Julie Stuff told Bloomberg News that  United States Department of State (USDOS) is preparing to introduce a pilot program to restore domestic visa revalidation for H-1B and L-1 non-immigration visa types.  This means that H-1B and L-1 visa holders will not have to travel overseas to get visas placed in their passports at US. Consulates.   Instead, they can apply for H-1B visa renewal from the United States after receiving their renewal approval notice from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). More details will be announced later in the year.  

This is a huge relief for many nonimmigrant workers and the business that hire them in the United State as they will no longer have to incur costs and delays in travelling overseas to get the visas placed in their passports.  This program is not new. It would bring back the practice that existed but was discontinued back in 2004.  Although this pilot program is limited to H-1B and L-1 visas for now, it may be expanded to other nonimmigrant visa categories such as E, O, and P, later on. 

The COVID pandemic have caused serious backlogs and delays with visa renewal interview appointments at U.S. Embassies and/or Consulates aboard, especially for offices in India where the majority of these visa holders come from. Some workers have claimed to have waited more than a year to get their visa appointments. Many workers and businesses had to risk workers getting stuck in their home country awaiting visa interviews. To address these bottlenecks, many immigration attorneys, advocacy groups, and businesses have pushed State Department to bring back state-side visa renewal as an option. The State Department stated last year that they would look into domestic renewals but challenges such as establishing a brand-new consular services division in Washington D.C. have delayed this decision and may be the reason for the limited rollout only for H-1B visa renewal and L-1 visa renewal types. 

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USCIS To Expedite Processing H-4 & L-2 Applications & Work Authorization.

Posted by Karen-Lee Pollak on Sun, Jan 22, 2023 @ 10:04 PM

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How to Switch from an L1 Visa to Green Card

Posted by Karen-Lee Pollak on Fri, Dec 29, 2017 @ 11:30 PM
The L1 visa is a non-immigrant visa category that allows foreign executives, managers, or individuals with specialized knowledge to temporarily transfer to the U.S., in order to work for their employer’s U.S.-based parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate. The L1-A visa for managers and executives is valid for up to 7 years, including extensions. The L1-B visa for individuals with specialized knowledge is valid for up to 5 years, including extensions.  

If you are currently living and working in the U.S. on an L1 visa, but wish to obtain permanent residency status so that you can legally remain in the country and continue your career, here are the basics of switching from an L1 visa to Green Card (the following applies to both L1A and L1B visa holders):

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H-1B Visa Application Season Starts on April 1 2013

Posted by Karen-Lee Pollak on Mon, Feb 04, 2013 @ 4:22 PM

On April 1, 2013, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) begins accepting H1-B visa applications for the 2014 fiscal year (which starts on October 1, 2013).   In 2008, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received approximately 163,000 petitions during the five-day filing period and conducted a random lottery to select the 65,000 petitions that would be eligible for processing.  In 2007, the USCIS reached its H-1B visa quota in one day.  Due to the slump in the economy, last year all H-1B visas were not taken until the end of June 2012.   While we cannot predict how quickly these visas will be taken, since the economy has picked up, we guesstimate that the cap will be reached well before June 2013.

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What is a L-1 Intracompany Transferee Visa?

Posted by Michael Pollak on Mon, Jan 14, 2013 @ 7:00 AM

Immigration attorney Karen-Lee Pollak explains how to work in the United States with an L-1 visa.

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Non Immigrant Visas | USCIS Revises Form I-129

Posted by Karen Pollak on Thu, Nov 11, 2010 @ 3:39 PM

USCIS has revised the Form I-129, which employers use to petition for temporary workers in a variety of nonimmigrant visa classifications including H-1B professionals, L-1 inter-company transfeees and E-2 investors. The revised version of the form will be published on the same day that the final fee rule becomes effective: November 23, 2010. Once the revised version of the Form I-129 is published, USCIS will accept previous editions of the form for 30 days or until December 21, 2010.

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US Immigration Basics for South Africans | Nonimmigrant Visas (Part 2)

Posted by Karen Pollak on Thu, Sep 09, 2010 @ 4:33 PM

What is a Temporary (Nonimmigrant) Visa?

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Alternative Visa Options Once H-1B Cap Is Reached

Posted by Michael Pollak on Sat, Feb 27, 2010 @ 8:45 AM

IMPACT OF THE EARLY CUT-OFF OF H-1B VISAS

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