News

This afternoon the U.S. State Department released a revised version of the October 2015 Visa Bulletin, which supersedes the one it released just two weeks ago on September 9. The biggest news is that under the newly created "Dates for Filing Visa Applications Chart," both for family- and employment-based categories, six dates have been rolled back. Under the employment-based categories, the filing visa date for EB-2 China-born has been pushed back from May 1, 2014 to January 1, 2013. The date for EB-2 India-born has been pushed back from July 1, 2011 to July 1, 2009. The dates for EB-...

Steve and Vince to speak at the Consulate General of Canada on immigration options for Canadians."Navigating through Complex Immigration Water"Thursday, September 17, 2015; 6:00-7:30PM

One Step Closer to "Modernization" Synopsis: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the U.S. State Department (State) just announced today a new way to gauge immigrant visa demand better by revising the State's monthly Visa Bulletin. Now, there will be two charts: one that indicates "Application for Final Action Dates" and another that reports "Dates for Filing Visa Applications." The former is the traditional report of visa availability for cases filed with certain priority dates. The latter is a newly created mechanism whereby individuals with certain priority dates can now file Form I-485. This latter mechanism is to put...

Startup in America: Guidance on Foreign Entrepreneurship in the U.S. International students at MIT (more than 40 percent of the graduate student population) face unique challenges in founding companies in the U.S. after graduation. On September 25, a panel of alumni entrepreneurs and experts in this field will share experiences and insight on navigating this complex process, and network with students and alumni at a post-event reception. Register today! Registration: http://alumic.mit.edu/gsc Alumni & Friends of MIT: $10MIT Students: freeFriday, September 25Panel, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.Kirsch Auditorium, Stata Center (32-123)Reception, 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.La Sala de Puerto Rico, Stratton Student Center...

As the 2015 Hispanic National Bar Association Convention draws to a close in Boston, our own Magaly Rojas Navarro who moderated a panel on the paperless office had this reflection: "It was a privilege to participate in the solo/small firm CLE panel at the Hispanic National Bar Association's conference in Boston. The panelists gave great insights into the benefits and challenges of running a paperless office, and they gave tips to practitioners on how to protect themselves from cyber security threats." Congratulations to HNBA!

In November 2014, President Obama had announced a number of executive actions which he hoped would address the problems with the current U.S. immigration system. Just two months ago in July, the White House issued a report further explaining some of its goals and recommendations. Some of the President's actions have been implemented while others have been challenged in court. Our sources now tell us that the U.S. State Department will be implementing changes that will impact one's wait for an employment-based immigration visa number, in line with the goals of the President's executive actions. Congress sets an annual limit...