Author: Jeff MacArthur

The U.S. Department of Defense unveiled a new policy on Sept. 25, 2014, that will give a small number of undocumented immigrants an opportunity to join the military. The new rules will expand an existing program allowing recruiters to target foreign nationals with high demand skills such as foreign language expertise or specialized health care […]

Starting mid-September 2014, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began offering optimized processing for first-time Canadian TN visa and L visa applicants seeking entry into the U.S. under NAFTA. CBP has already designated 14 ports of entry that will ensure more efficient processing for the high quantity of TN and L applicants seeking admission. Among […]

In the United States, we celebrate Native American Day on the fourth Friday of September. This is a day set aside to honor and celebrate Native Americans as the first to settle in the U.S., and people are encouraged to spend the day learning more about Native American history and culture. In honor of Native […]

Each year in the United States we celebrate Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. This is a federal observance that recognizes the adoption of the United States Constitution and those who have become U.S. citizens. We celebrate each year on Sept. 17, as this was the day the Founding Fathers signed the Constitution in Philadelphia in […]

According to the U.S. Office of Travel and Tourism, Americans took more than 61 million trips overseas in the year 2013. With more than 68 percent of all U.S. households owning a pet, it’s no surprise that our furry friends are more frequently joining in on the family vacation. Rules and regulations on live imports […]

Any person seeking to immigrate to the United States pursuant to a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, must have a financial sponsor who signs and submits a Form I-864, Affidavit of Support to the Department of Homeland Security. With this Affidavit of Support, the sponsor agrees to financially support the intending immigrant at 125 […]

A growing number of Americans have been shocked when their international travel plans were cut short due to a new passport validity rule enacted in many foreign countries. The new rule requires that a traveler’s passport must have six or more months of validity in order to travel to that country. This rule change has […]

Attention all employers with Permanent Case Management System (PERM) accounts. As of Aug. 25, 2014, all PERM users must now begin to comply with new password requirements for enhanced security. All PERM users will be required to change their existing passwords within the next 90 calendar days. As cyber threats are becoming increasingly aggressive, the new password […]

The Department of State has announced that effective Sept. 12, 2014, certain fees for both immigrant and nonimmigrant visa categories will change. DOS amends their visa fee schedule periodically in an effort to make the fees reflect the actual work that goes into various processes. DOS conducted a Cost of Service study that ran from April 2012 […]

In several of our previous blogs, you may have noticed the term “visa bulletin.” This is a term that pops up quite frequently when discussing immigration matters. The visa bulletin is a monthly online publication issued by the United States Department of State containing detailed information on the availability of immigrant visa numbers. It is […]