July 2019 Visa Bulletin
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the July 2019 Visa Bulletin. Cut-off dates remain effective for the EB-1 categories with no movement forward in any of the
Read More »The Challenging Climate for the H-1B Program
USCIS is currently being sued in two separate cases over their Notice of Intent to Revoke (NOIR) process and policy. USCIS may revoke a petition if the terms of employment
Read More »Kenneth Cuccinelli Named as Acting Director of USCIS
On Monday, June 10, Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan announced that President Trump named Kenneth Cuccinelli II as Acting Director of the U.S.
Read More »Government Accountability Office to Investigate USCIS Processing Delays
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) processing delays have been steadily increasing for many years, but the backlog has reached new highs
Read More »Premium Processing for Remaining FY2020 H-1B Cap-Subject Petitions to Begin on June 10, 2019
Update: At 3:24 pm EST on June 7, 2019, the USCIS announced that premium processing for all remaining FY2020 H-1B cap-subject petitions will begin on June 10, 2019. This
Read More »Immigration Nerds Talk About the New Social Media Account Sharing Requirement for U.S. Visa Applicants
In this week’s Immigration Nerds podcast, we talk about the recently announced requirement for applicants seeking a U.S. visa: sharing your social media account
Read More »Erickson in the News: No one ‘is safe’: H-1B visa approvals plunged 10% last year, feds say
Melia Russell | June 5, 2019 According to new data released by the federal government on the state of the H-1B visa, commonly used for high-skilled workers in tech,
Read More »Cuba | Trump Administration Restricts Travel
U.S. citizens hoping to travel to Cuba now face new restrictions for their plans. On Tuesday, the Trump Administration introduced a ban on what are referred to as
Read More »Mark Koumans Named as Acting Director of USCIS
On Monday, June 3, it was announced that USCIS Deputy Director Mark Koumans had been appointed as the acting director as L. Francis Cissna departs the agency. Mr. Koumans was
Read More »Department of Homeland Security Announces Increased Fees for the Student and Exchange Visitor Program
Effective June 24, 2019, there will be changes to the fees charged by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) to international students, exchange visitors and
Read More »USCIS Making Strides to Modernize and Digitize its Processes
In an effort to modernize and streamline USCIS processes, the agency announced on May 22, 2019, that it is rolling out a new eProcessing strategy. While most application
Read More »USCIS 2018 Statistical Annual Report Shows Increase in the Number of Newly Naturalized U.S. Citizens, Decrease in H-1B Approval Rates
On May 31, 2019, USCIS released its 2018 Statistical Annual Report, the first annual report released by the agency in nearly 10 years. The report is limited to show data
Read More »