News

Summer is a season marked with travel. Heightened security around the globe and long security lines at airports only add to the frustration and inconvenience of travel. While traveling continues to take its toll on most, the Global Entry program could help ease some of the inconveniences. What is Global Entry? Global Entry is one of the different "trusted traveler" programs offered by the United States government. For those who travel with Global Entry, reentering the U.S. after international travel is made easier and faster by visiting a kiosk where fingerprints are taken and a few questions answered instead of...

Managing Partner Vince Lau explains 5 ways of obtaining legal permanent residency (a/k/a green card) in the US.https://youtu.be/85z7rUVPWKI

Starting May 10, 2016, certain individuals who are in the United States in F-1 (international student) status will be able to "work" longer, via an extension of their current employment authorization. Currently, when F-1 students graduate, they are eligible to apply for employment authorization called "Optional Practical Training" (OPT). OPT generally lasts for 12-months and a student must be engaged in employment that is related to his or her field of study. In April 2008 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced an option for students to seek an additional 17-months if the student received a U.S. degree in a...

Canada's new travel requirement: Electronic Travel Authorization Effective March 15, 2016, certain international travelers will need an entry document called an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) to travel by air to Canada. This applies to visa-exempt foreign nationals, in other words, non-Canadians who are not required to have a visa to enter Canada. The requirement only applies to those traveling by air, not those traveling by land or sea. It does not apply to citizens of the United States (those with U.S. residency (Green Cards) will require an eTA). Thus, if you require a visa to enter Canada or you are...

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") just announced that it has completed its lottery for the limited number of H-1B visas available for Fiscal Year 2017. This year, USCIS received 236,000 petitions within the first five days of the filing season. Regulations indicate that if they receive more than the allotment of 85,000 H-1B visas (20,000 for those with advanced U.S. degrees and 65,000 for anyone else who was not chosen among the 20,000) then a lottery will be conducted. On April 9, USCIS used a computer-generated lottery process to select enough petitions to meet the 85,000 available visas. USCIS...

USCIS Finalizes Guidance on "Same or Similar" Occupation and Job PortabilityOn March 18, 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) finalized guidance, effective March 21, on determining whether a new job is in the "same or similar" occupational classification with respect to job portability. The policy memorandum instructs USCIS employees on how to use the Department of Labor's Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes and other evidence to determine if a new job is in the same or a similar occupational classification as the original job offer in an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140) submitted to USCIS.The memo notes...