News

USCIS announced today that not only has the H-1b cap been reached but that it has completed both its US Master's degree H-1b cap and regular H-1b cap lotteries. They will now start processing the selected petitions and will be returning those that have not been chosen. Given that USCIS has suspended premium processing for H-1b cap cases, it may take a while before employers will receive further news about a particular petition. In the meantime, no official processing time has been issued. USCIS did announce however they received 190,098 petitions this year for the 85,000 available visas. This is...

Vince Lau spoke today at the American Immigration Lawyers Association's (AILA) Midyear Conference. As Vice Chair of AILA's Department of Labor Liaison Committee, he shared insights on the current U.S. Department of Labor processes including how to handle obtaining a prevailing wage determination in connection with an employer-sponsored green card case.

Magaly Rojas Navarro spoke on a national webinar organized by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) on January 18, 2018. She joined members of AILA's Department of Labor Liaison Committee in discussing how an employer could meet wage requirements in H-1B and PERM cases using alternative sources such as private wage surveys.

While the government is still dealing with the current fiscal year and its budget, it's not too early to consider any potential H-1Bs for FY2019. Timing is everything. Congress sets a limit on the number of H-1B visas available each year. While the H-1B numbers for the next fiscal year do not become available until October 1, 2018, employers may file petitions to request numbers as early as six months in advance, i.e., April 1, 2018. As a result, we are writing to encourage employers to review their hiring needs and determine whether they should initiate H-1B processing for anticipated...

On December 1, 2017, a district court reinstated an option available for entrepreneurs created under the Obama Administration but put on hold by the Trump Administration. Today, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that they would be accepting applications under this option. Concurrently, however, they are also proposing to end this option. As a result, it is uncertain whether this option will last, and if so, in what form. Below is a summary of the current form of this option. The International Entrepreneur Rule ("IER") would allow individuals, and their families, who meet certain criteria to be admitted, to...

Magaly Rojas Navarro will be speaking at the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education ("MCLE") Annual Conference on Immigration today. Magaly will be providing insight into the overall PERM process. This is an annual event where new and seasoned attorneys attend find out about the latest developments in immigration law.