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Tag: H-1B Visas

  • H-1B Cap Premium Processing to Begin on April 27

    USCIS has announced that it will begin premium processing for cap subject H-1B petitions requesting premium processing, including petitions seeking an exemption for individuals with a U.S. master’s degree or higher, on April 27, 2015. USCIS also announced that it would temporarily adjust its premium processing practice due to the historic number of premium processing […]
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  • USCIS Receives Record Number of H-1B Petitions for Fiscal Year 2016

    On April 7, 2015, USCIS announced that it had received enough H-1B petitions to satisfy the statutory cap of 65,000 visas and also the extra 20,000 visas allotted for individuals with advanced degrees (the “master’s cap”). At that time, USCIS gave no figure for the total number of H-1B petitions received, but expectations ran high; […]
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  • DHS Extending Eligibility for Employment Authorization to Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses of H-1B Nonimmigrants

    Change to reduce economic burdens, personal stresses experienced by many USCIS Director Leon Rodriguez announced today that effective May 26, 2015, the Department of Homeland Security is extending eligibility for employment authorization to certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants who are seeking employment-based lawful permanent residence. DHS has amended the regulations to allow these […]
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  • Addressing Frequently Asked H-1B Questions

    H-1B season is once again upon us! H-1B petitions for the U.S. government’s 2016 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, 2015, should be filed by April 1, 2015. For fiscal year 2015, USCIS received approximately 172,500 cap-subject petitions. USCIS anticipates the volume of H cap petitions for fiscal year 2016 to be just as high, […]
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  • Heed Immigration Rules When Hiring Foreign Employees

    A recent influx of jobs into the Western New York marketplace has left Buffalo area businesses in an interesting position — trying to find enough qualified employees to fill those openings. As a result, a number of companies, especially those needing to fill high-tech positions, may expand their search beyond U.S. borders. That, however, can […]
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  • Nonimmigrant Options for Foreign Medical Graduates

    According to the American Medical Association, Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) make up approximately 25 percent of the United States physician population. A foreign medical graduate is a physician who graduated from a medical school outside of the United States. There are several types of nonimmigrant visas available to FMGs: the J-1 exchange visitor visa, the […]
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  • H-1B Specifics for Foreign Medical Graduates

    For Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) looking to enter the U.S. workforce, H-1B status is often the best option. H-1B status, “the working visa,” allows foreign professionals to work legally in the United States in specialty occupations, which includes medicine. In order to obtain this status, a FMG must possess a medical degree from an accredited […]
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  • Unannounced Workplace Site Inspections Expanded to Include L-1 Employers

    The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Fraud Detection and National Security division has announced it is expanding unannounced workplace site inspections to include employers of L-1 intra-company transfers. Previously reserved only for companies that employed H-1B workers, this expansion of the program to include the L-1 category means that any company that employs […]
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  • Need for H-1B Visa Lottery Reignites Call for Immigration Reform

    United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that once again an H-1B visa lottery must be held to determine which H-1B cap-subject petitions filed for prospective H-1B workers will make it to the adjudication phase. USCIS confirms that on the first day it can count petitions, they received more than enough to reach the […]
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  • H-1B Petitions are in the Hands of USCIS … So Now What?

    These last few weeks of “H-1B season” have been a particularly busy time for immigration practitioners. As of Tuesday, April 1, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began accepting H-1B petitions for the 2015 fiscal year. Under a law that hasn’t been touched by Congress in years, there are only 65,000 new slots available for […]
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