Blog Posts in 2011
Posted on Dec 1, 2011 By Harun
This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed The Fairness for High-Skilled Immigration Act (HR 3012), eliminating per-country caps on employment-based visa. This may allow more highly skilled ...
Continue reading "Proposal to end Employment Based Immigrant Visa backlogs passes U.S. House of Representatives" »
Posted on Oct 20, 2011 By Harun
Two Senators have come up with a plan to boost the moribund U.S. housing market: Give residence visas to foreigners who spend at least $500,000 to buy a home in the U.S. The Wall Street Journal says ...
Continue reading "Senators propose "Buy a home, get a U.S. Visa"" »
Posted on Sep 14, 2011 By Harun
The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is administered on an annual basis by the Department of State. This law provides for a class of immigrants known as " diversity immigrants ...
Continue reading "New Diversity Visa Lottery Instructions for October 2011" »
Posted on Aug 19, 2011 By Harun
On August 19, 2011 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that they are taking concrete steps to implement existing guidelines on prosecutorial discretion across the agency in an attempt ...
Continue reading "DHS's Prosecutorial Discretion Guidelines May Provide Temporary Relief" »
Posted on Aug 12, 2011 By Harun
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that Global Entry members will now be issued a Global Entry version of the SENTRI card which allows expedited entry into the U.S. from Canada and ...
Continue reading "CBP Issues New Cards for Global Entry Members" »
Posted on Jul 29, 2011 By Harun
On July 28, 2011, pursuant to a review of University of Northern Virginia's (UNVA) certification, an Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) representative served school officials at UNVA with a ...
Continue reading "USCIS & SEVP Denying Access to Foreign Students and Intends to Withdraw Certification of The University of Northern Virginia" »
Posted on Jul 18, 2011 By Harun
Due to the current political and security situation in Yemen in June and July of 2011, the Department of State has ordered all eligible family members of U.S. government employees as well as certain ...
Continue reading "U.S. Embassy in Yemen Suspends Visa Services" »
Posted on Jun 30, 2011 By Harun
As of June 2011, for the first time in 20 years, immigrant visa applicants will again have scheduled interviews in Kabul, Afghanistan. U.S. Embassy Islamabad was previously the closest U.S. Embassy or ...
Continue reading "U.S. Embassy Kabul's Consular Section Returns to Full Service" »
Posted on May 13, 2011 By Harun
The U.S. State Department is voiding the results of the Diversity Visa Program for 2012. The State Department said that due to a computer programming problem, the results of the 2012 Diversity Lottery ...
Continue reading "2012 Diversity Lottery Computer Glitch" »
Posted on May 12, 2011 By Harun
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the elimination of the list of countries whose nationals have been subject to registration under the National Security Entry-Exit Registration ...
Continue reading "Special Registration Ends" »
Posted on Apr 29, 2011 By Harun
The U.S. Embassy in Sana'a, Yemen recently announced that it is temporarily suspending routine visa services. The Consular Section is currently dedicating its limited resources to providing services ...
Continue reading "U.S. Embassy in Yemen Temporary Closing Visa Services" »
Posted on Apr 27, 2011 By Harun
Our firm is tracking the H1-bs very closely. USCIS is periodically updating the public on the count since the filing began earlier this month. As of April 22 nd, USCIS has received approximately 8,000 ...
Continue reading "H1-B Quota Update" »
Posted on Apr 11, 2011 By Harun
USCIS is monitoring the number of petitions received that count toward the congressionally mandated annual H-1B cap of 65,000 and the 20,000 U.S. master's degree or higher cap exemption. USCIS has ...
Continue reading "H1-Bs Filed for New Quota" »
Posted on Apr 1, 2011 By Harun
USCIS starts accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2012 cap on April 1, 2011. Cases will be considered accepted on the date USCIS receives a properly filed petition for which the ...
Continue reading "H1-B Filings Begin" »
Posted on Mar 18, 2011 By Harun
On March 17 th the U.S. Department of State issued a warning for U.S. citizens in Pakistan. The Embassy remains open but all Consulates General will be closed until further notice, except for ...
Continue reading "U.S. Embassies in Pakistan" »
Posted on Mar 11, 2011 By Harun
Our thoughts are with our friends, clients and family in Japan. We hope that everyone is OK and staying safe. The USCIS has issued an advisory is for Japanese and other foreign nationals from the ...
Continue reading "JAPANESE EARTHQUAKE" »
Posted on Mar 8, 2011 By Harun
Due to security concerns, all visa services at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo are suspended until further notice. The Embassy regrets any inconvenience this temporary suspension may cause for persons ...
Continue reading "Egypt Consular Services Update Announcement for March 2011" »
Posted on Feb 15, 2011 By Harun
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced that it is now issuing employment and travel authorization on a single card for certain applicants filing an Applicant for Adjustment ...
Continue reading "USCIS to Issue Employment Authorization and Advance Parole Card for Adjustment of Status Applicants" »
Posted on Feb 2, 2011 By Harun
Please be advised that as of January 10, 2011, the procedure to request a waiver appointment has changed. Applicants can make the appointment through the following website ...
Continue reading "Message from the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico" »
Posted on Jan 28, 2011 By Harun
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap for fiscal year (FY) 2011. USCIS is notifying ...
Continue reading "USCIS Reaches FY 2011 H-1B Cap" »
Posted on Jan 21, 2011 By Harun
The Department of State is pleased to announce the introduction of a redesigned Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA). The CRBA is an official record confirming that a child born overseas to a U.S. ...
Continue reading "Consular Report of Birth Abroad Certificate Improvements" »
Posted on Jan 5, 2011 By Harun
The H-1B cap likely will be reached in January 2011. The latest USCIS update says that 53,900 of the 65,000 regular H-1B numbers were used as of December 17, 2010. International workers who are ...
Continue reading "H1-B Cap Update" »