On March 29, 2019, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that it would allocate an additional 30,000 H-2B visas for the remainder of the U.S. Government’s Fiscal Year 2019, which ends on September 30, 2019. These visas, though, will only be available to applicants who held H-2B status in the 2016, 2017, or 2018…
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USCIS Announces It Will Close Overseas Offices
USCIS recently announced that it would be closing its overseas offices, most of which are located in Latin America, Europe, and Asia. The move came seemingly out of the blue, and opinions differ on its intended effect. USCIS’ international offices typically handle immigrant visas, the processing of refugee applications, some citizenship applications for overseas individuals…
New Hope for Those from Travel Ban Countries
In this Politico article, the author addresses several fresh legal challenges to the Travel Ban 3.0, also know as the “Muslim Ban.” While the Supreme Court has already signed off on the executive order implementing the Travel Ban, the Supreme Court justices finding it legal seemed to do so because there was a meaningful waiver…
DOL Creates Additional H-1B Delays
As part of the Labor Certification Application process, which must be completed with the U.S. Department of Labor prior to submitting a petition to USCIS for an H-1B visa, an employer must request and receive business verification. However, DOL once again dropped the ball, sometimes simply “missing” certain business verification requests. As a result, many…
Stats Show Devastating Impact of Travel Ban 3.0
In Fiscal Year 2018, the U.S. Department of Statute denied over 37,000 visas due to the Trump Administration’s Travel Ban, also known as the “Muslim Ban.” Of those, 15,384 of those denied were seeking immigrant visas. Even more telling, only 2,673 waivers were approved, or less than 1% of all denials. Although the Supreme Court…
IT Sector Bears Brunt of USCIS’ Inconsistent H-1B Policies
A recent article in Forbes examined data released by USCIS on its adjudication of H-1B petitions in Fiscal Year 2018. The data reveals some clear trends and casts doubt on whether USCIS is applying an even hand to all petitions. In short, the top handful of IT companies applying for new H-1B employment in Fiscal…