When Immigration Matters

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 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. to process all these renewals have delayed this decision and may be the reason for the limited rollout only for H-1B and L-1 visa types. 

Can you believe that H-1B Season is upon us?   Each year, I say it seems like yesterday we filed last year’s H-1B Cap cases.  This year is particularly true as we have only recently filed certain H-1B Cap Cases randomly selected in a third lottery.  USCIS issued the most requests for evidence and denials it has ever issued on H-1B Cap cases.  In fact, USCIS has stated that it issued requests for evidence in 70 percent of the H-1B Cap cases filed.  So, what have we learned?

H-1B Season is upon us.  The good news is we expect USCIS to announce the the date the H1-B Registration period begins shortly.  

The Trump administration announced new, long-anticipated restrictions for the H-1B high-skilled visa program on October 6, 2020, some of which will go into effect this week.  The rules are "far and away, one of the most significant reforms made to the H-1B program in the past 20 years," said Deputy Secretary of Labor Patrick Pizzella.  The rule from the Department of Labor, which will go into effect Thursday morning, will change how much employers will be required to pay foreign workers they hire on H-1B visas and Green Cards, forcing them to pay workers more.  The rule may be viewed at https://s.docworkspace.com/d/ANohAcmTk6tJqNS2uqWdFA

Can you believe that H-1B Season is upon us?   Each year, I say it seems like yesterday we filed last year’s H-1B Cap cases.  This year is particularly true as we have only recently received all decisions on April 2019 H-1B Cap Cases.  USCIS issued the most requests for evidence and denials it has ever issued on H-1B Cap cases.  In fact, USCIS has stated that it issued requests for evidence in 70 percent of the H-1B Cap cases filed.  So, what have we learned?

On January 9, 2020, Department of Homeland Security published a notice in the Federal Register to formally announce implementation of a new H-1B registration process. 

The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in a specialty occupation for a period of three years. The visa can be extended for an additional three years. The employer can also employ the employee part-time.

The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in a specialty occupation for a period of three years. The visa can be extended for an additional three years. The employer can also employ the employee part-time.