In the past few years, it has become difficult to prepare immigration strategies for religious workers due to the length of time it takes for religious worker green cards to be approved. The delay is new and does not make a...more
The November 2024 Visa Bulletin shows no changes from the October 2024 Visa Bulletin in the Dates for Filing or Final Action Dates in any listed category, with the exception of the fourth preference category for Certain...more
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
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the U.S. Department of State have not indicated significant advancement in the priority dates for employer-based immigrant petitions, continuing the fiscal year (FY) 2024...more
For December 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed that the Dates for Filing chart in the December 2023 Visa Bulletin will continue to be used in determining eligibility for I-485, Application...more
Supreme Court Decides Freedom of Speech Trumps Public Accommodations Law In 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, No. 21-476 (June 30, 2023), the U.S. Supreme Court reversed 6-3 the lower courts' denial of the injunction the plaintiff...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
Employers sponsoring foreign nationals should be aware that some cut-off dates for filing immigrant visa applications in certain employment-based (EB) preference categories have recently “retrogressed” or moved backwards in...more
Donors State Claims for Misuse of Their Funds, But Not as a Class Action - In Carrier v. Ravi Zacharias Int'l Ministries, Inc. No. 1:21-CV-3161-TWT, 2022 WL 1540206 (N.D. Ga. May 13, 2022) and Carrier v. Ravi Zacharias...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
There is little change in the Dates for Filing chart for March 2022, but some retrogression in the EB-4 classification cutoff dates for El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras....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
America’s immigration system is based on a quota system. This means that there is a limited number of permanent resident visas available each year, with limits per category and per country. This article will focus on the...more
Ready or not, H-1B Cap Registration Season is upon us. And things are a little different this Cap Season. That’s because USCIS formally announced via a January 9, 2020 Federal Register notice that it will change the lottery...more
In the February 2020 Visa Bulletin issued by the US Department of State, EB-2 worldwide employment-based classifications, excluding China and India, remain available and current. This month’s Dates for Filing Chart did not...more
In the January 2020 visa bulletin issued by the US Department of State, EB-2 worldwide employment-based classifications, excluding China and India, remain available and current. EB-1 cutoff dates for all countries, except...more
In the December 2019 Visa Bulletin issued by the US Department of State, EB-2 worldwide employment-based classifications, excluding China and India, remain available and current. EB-1 dates for all countries except India saw...more
In the November 2019 visa bulletin issued by the US Department of State, EB-2 and EB-3 worldwide employment-based classifications, excluding China and India, remain available and current....more
In the October 2019 Visa Bulletin issued by the US Department of State, EB-2 and EB-3 worldwide employment-based classifications, excluding China and India, are once again available and current....more
In our continuing series of reports, Charles (“Charlie”) Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, U.S. Department of State, shares his most recent analysis of current trends and future projections for the...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
In the September 2019 Visa Bulletin issued by the US Department of State, all employment-based classifications are again backlogged. The US Department of State has released its September 2019 Visa Bulletin outlining...more
EB-1 and EB-2 China show little advance movement, while other dates remain mostly stagnant. The US Department of State has released its July 2019 Visa Bulletin outlining per-country priority date cutoffs that regulate...more
EB-1 India retrogresses by more than two years; EB-2 China advances by slightly over two months. The US Department of State has released its June 2019 Visa Bulletin outlining per-country priority date cutoffs that regulate...more
EB-1 remains backlogged in the May 2019 visa bulletin, while EB-3 India allotment is still slightly ahead of EB-2 India allotment....more