The U.S. Department of State has announced that annual visa limits for fiscal year (FY) 2024 have been reached for the following employment-based categories: EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, EW (other workers), EB-4, and EB-5 unreserved....more
1. Choosing the Right Legal Structure - 1.1 Introduction - Establishing a business entity in the United States can be an important strategic step for any international company that wants to avail itself of the...more
Over the past several months, the Department of State (DOS) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have announced additional backlogs in the permanent residence (Green Card) quota system. These additional backlogs have...more
Each month, federal immigration authorities publish a list of dates informing immigrant visa applicants when they should expect to be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to government officials. This...more
Information regarding priority date retrogression, CBP stampless entry and increased DOL processing times are included in this month’s edition of Immigration Insider....more
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs’ May 2023 Visa Bulletin shows a trend of backlogs and slowdowns in the employment-based immigrant visa or green card process. The final action dates for multiple...more
The May 2023 Visa Bulletin recently published by the U.S. Department of State, brought some unwelcome news for U.S. employers seeking to sponsor foreign nationals for permanent residency through the employment-based green...more
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has released the Visa Bulletin for April 2023. The new Visa Bulletin reflects an ongoing trend of backlogs and slowdowns in the visa process, in stark contrast to the...more
With the recent retrogression of employment-based priority dates for the EB-2 and EB-3 India and mainland China categories, many families with dependents nearing the age of twenty-one may be concerned about the impact...more
October 1, 2023 marked the start of the federal government’s fiscal year 2023 (FY 2023), with the Department of State (DOS) October Visa Bulletin taking effect the same day. What is sure to be disappointing to many is the...more
1. Choosing the Right Legal Structure - 1.1 Introduction - Establishing a business entity in the United States can be an important strategic step for any international company that wants to avail itself of the world’s...more
In an announcement sure to be welcome news for employers, federal immigration officials recently released new instructions permitting certain employment-based green card applications to “change lanes” into another category,...more
Because Congress limits how many green cards can be issued annually, the Department of State (DOS) releases a visa bulletin every month establishing the cut-off dates per preference category and country for the upcoming...more
On September 13, 2021, the U.S. Department of State issued the Visa Bulletin for October 2021, which showed minor advancement on priority for backlogged filings of employment-based (EB) immigrant visa (green card)...more
Congress has mandated that in a given calendar year, 140,000 employment-based green cards will be awarded to companies sponsoring foreign nationals for permanent employment in the United States. This mandate is effective on...more
According to the Department of State, demand for immigrant visas (green cards) remains high as COVID-19 continues to disrupt and delay appointments at U.S. consulates abroad. With an estimated 100,000 unused employment-based...more
President Joe Biden has rescinded Presidential Proclamation 10014, the prior administration’s ban that suspended the issuance of certain green cards overseas and barred entry into the United States of certain groups of...more
The November Visa Bulletin has been published by the Department of State. The Bulletin dates for filing remain the same for most employment-based and other categories, with some advancement for final action dates. ...more
Often times, the first question asked by employment-based Green Card beneficiaries during an initial strategy consultation is, “How long until I have my Green Card in hand?” While the answer varies depending on the particular...more
On July 10, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1044, the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019, by a vote of 365 to 65. The bill is intended to reduce lengthy immigrant visa (green card) wait times...more
In a welcome development, on November 18, 2016 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule benefitting many highly skilled nonimmigrant foreign workers and EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 employment-based immigrant...more
On September 9, 2015, the Department of State and Department of Homeland Security, acting through United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, announced that they were significantly revising Visa Bulletin procedures....more
A new category of “filing” cutoff dates has been introduced to allow for earlier filing of adjustment of status applications and immigrant visa applications. The US Department of State (DOS) has released its October 2015...more
The U.S. Department of State’s (DOS) Visa Bulletin sets out per country priority date cut-offs that regulate when an individual can begin the final phase of the lawful permanent residence (“green card”) process, either...more