Department of state announced that they will launch a pilot program later this year offering visa renewal options in the US for H-1B specialty occupation workers and other temporary visa holders who are currently required to travel abroad. The applicants will be able to renew their visas without leaving the US. The stateside renewal option will be available to H…
USCIS announced policy guidance to clarify the validity period of employment authorization for F-1 students experiencing severe economic hardship due to emergent circumstances (also known as special student relief). USCIS is clarifying that it may grant off-campus SSR employment authorization for the duration of the Federal Register notice validity period, not to exceed the F-1 nonimmigrant student’s academic program end…
On January 27, 2023, USCIS announced that the initial period for the fiscal year 2024 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 1 and run through noon Eastern on March 17, 2023. Potential petitioners and their representatives will be able to prepare and submit their registrations by using USCIS’s online H-1B registration system. USCIS will assign a confirmation…
DOS posted the visa bulletin for February 2023. USCIS determined that for February 2023, all family-sponsored preference categories and all employment-based preference categories must use the Dates for Filing chart in the visa bulletin. According to February 2023 visa bulletin, visa numbers will still be current for Second preference (F2A) – spouses and children (unmarried and under 21 years of…
USCIS announced that it is extending flexibilities previously announced on March 30, 2020, to assist applicants and petitioners who are responding to certain agency requests in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This flexibility applies if the issuance date listed on the request, notice, or decision is between March 1, 2020, and March 23, 2023. This includes Requests for Evidence, Notice…
USCIS is implementing the final phase of the premium processing form expansion for Form I-140 petitions under the EB-1 and EB-2 classifications starting January 30, 2023. This phase applies to new (initial) petitions, in addition to all previously filed Form I-140 petitions under an E13 multinational executive and manager classification or E21 classification as a member of professions with advanced…
Department of State extended the authority of consular officers to waive in-person interviews for certain nonimmigrant visa categories until December 31, 2023. The categories that might be eligible for interview waiver are certain H-2 (temporary agricultural and non-agricultural workers) applicants; certain students, professors, research scholars, short-term scholars, or specialists (F, M, and academic J visa applicants); and certain temporary workers…
Applicants for employment authorization under category (c)(8), Pending Asylum and Withholding of Removal Applicants and Applicants for Pending Asylum under the ABC Settlement Agreement may file Form I-765 online. Applicants who have pending asylum applications can file the I-765 form under (c)(8) category only 150 days after they file Form I-589, Application for Asylum and Withholding Removal. I-765 can be…
Green Card validity is extended for the applicants who have pending form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, and form I-829, Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status for 48 months starting from the card’s expiration date. The change has been effective since January 11, 2023, for I-829 and it has been effective since January 25,…
Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, is an application to become a naturalized U.S. citizen. On December 12, 2020, USCIS announced that they automatically extend the validity of a Permanent Resident Card (PRC) (Form I-551) through an Application for Naturalization (Form N-400) receipt notice, without regard to whether the applicant has filed an application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (Form I-90).…
