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. 

Moving away from family and friends and starting a new life in the U.S. is a challenging and emotional process. This is made more difficult if you must leave behind a family member to gain residency before formally bringing them to live with you in the United States. A lawful permanent resident (Green Card Holder) or U.S. Citizens may file a petition on behalf of their spouse, child under the age of 21 as well as unmarried adult children. U.S. Citizens may also sponsor married children, siblings and parents.

Pollak PLLC Named a 2022 Law Firm 500 Honoree for Fastest Growing Law Firms in the U.S. 

Over the past 6 years, our team at Pollak PLLC, have been dedicated to providing excellence in customer service resulting in many happy clients. In doing so, our commitment and focus has taken us on a fabulous journey of growth – both personally and for our business. 

We are pleased to announce that our law firm has been named a 2022 Law Firm 500 Honoree awarded to the Fastest Growing Law Firms in the US. Although this recognition is calculated on growth, it could not be possible without the continued operational excellence and commitment to client service exhibited by our team each and every day.  

We are ranked 144th on the 2022 Law Firm 500 and have grown 70% year over year!

Thank you so much to our loyal clients, and partners who have supported us as we have grown.  Managing Attorney, Karen-Lee Pollak, commented “We are grateful and humbled to be acknowledged to be included in this elite list of the fastest growing law firms in the United States.  Our immigration team is passionate about what we do.  We know how critical and life-changing it is to move employees, investors, entrepreneurs and family to the United States in the most cost-effective and timely manner.  We pride ourselves on our excellent client service and this recognition illustrates both our dedication and talent and our firm’s commitment to immigration law.” 

Pollak PLLC specializes in providing comprehensive immigration solutions to corporations, small businesses, investors and families interested in obtaining immigrant and non-immigrant visas to live and work in the United States. 

The Law Firm 500 Award is an honor for our firm to receive and a tribute to our team. Of course, we could not have achieved this truly remarkable accomplishment without our devoted team members. Each in their own way has contributed to making this possible. 

As we continue to grow we encourage you to follow our progress and stay in touch! You can view the full list of 2022 Law Firm 500 Honoree firms here:  Law Firm 500 Honoree List 2022

For many H-1B visa applicants, December through February is a race against the clock to make sure all documentation is in order in preparation for the H-1B application window. For 2023, the H-1B electronic application window will open on March 1 and stay open through March 17, 2023. If you are still in the phase of gathering documentation, here are some things to keep in mind for a smooth application process.

On January 12, 2023, United States Citizenship and Immigration (USCIS) announced that it will add the option of Premium Processing to the following categories of applications:

Last March, the U.S. Senate implemented a new EB-5 visa policy after reauthorizing the Regional Center program as part of the Omnibus Spending Bill. The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 revises several important aspects of the program, which is now reauthorized until September 2027.

On December 15, 2022, Congress passed the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (H.R. 7776/NDAA). The NDAA contained two immigration-related provisions that impact E visa eligibility.

For months, U.S. visa services were temporarily suspended worldwide due to the pandemic. As restrictions ease, many U.S. embassies and consulates have resumed processing immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applications, but if you’re an Indian citizen seeking to travel to the United States, you may be facing longer delays than normal.

At one time, lawful permanent residents worried about their green cards expiring while they waited for U.S. citizenship. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services addressed this concern when it developed Form I-90, which was specifically intended to replace expired green cards. Once received and approved, Form I-90 provided an extension that rendered the applicant’s card valid for another 12 months.