Monthly Archives: April 2014

USCIS announced on April 7 that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap of 65,000 visas for fiscal year (FY) 2015. USCIS has also received more than the limit of 20,000 H-1B petitions filed under the advanced degree exemption. USCIS received about 172,500 H-1B petitions during the filing …Read More

Immigration through marriage is one of the most common methods of obtaining legal resident status in the United States, but it can also be a delicate and difficult process. Marriages are complex affairs that encompass civil laws with interpersonal, familial, and romantic relationships. When marriages become the basis of immigration petitions, they are held up …Read More

In late February 2014, the United States Homeland Security made an announcement that has been very well-received by the international community. The prosperous Republic of Chile in South America became the 38th nation to be added to the U.S. visa waiver program. This announcement has a significant effect not only on bilateral relations but also …Read More

With the busy H-1B employment-based visa season just a week away, prospective employers seeking to employ skilled foreign workers are starting to factor application processing times so that they can adjust their business to their staffing projections. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will start accepting H-1B visa application packets on April 1st. …Read More

With comprehensive immigration reform stalled in the United States Congress, the available H-1B visas for 2014 are likely to be quickly snapped up by eager employers seeking to fill vacant specialty job titles in their companies. The U.S. State Department has set a limit of 65,000 H-1B visas to be issued by U.S. Citizenship and …Read More

As San Diego immigration lawyers, we’ve been following recent immigration news and it appears that immigration reform may end up benefiting more than just undocumented immigrants and foreigners who wish to reside in the United States. The sizable legislative proposal has become a politically-charged issue that might be precisely what the Republicans in Congress need …Read More

The U.S. Department of State has published the closely followed March 2014 Visa Bulletin and the most significant changes this time are focused on the employment-based visa category for Chinese nationals.On the family-sponsored immigration front, the number of visas available for the unmarried children of U.S. citizens is currently at 23,400. The same number of …Read More

Calls for a moratorium on deportations, arrests by protestors and a fatal shooting by Border Patrol agents near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in San Diego are just some of the recent developments that call attention to the urgent need for immigration reform in San Diego, as well as throughout the United States. The …Read More

One of the first legislative proposals of 2014 was introduced by Representative Mike Coffman (R – CO), who retired as a Major from the United States Marine Corps. His proposal is similar to the DREAM Act insofar that it involves granting permanent residence to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, but …Read More

Overstaying a visa or entering the United States surreptitiously or by fraudulent means can result in very serious consequences. Since 1996, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act has prevented many foreigners from reentering the U.S. based on their unlawful presence. For information on how to gain permanent employment status legally, click here. A foreigner …Read More