Blog - Kazmi & Sakata

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 to provide relief for low priority immigration cases. DHS also announced the creation of a committee which will review 300,000 immigration cases currently in removal …Read More

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 Mexico using the NEXUS, SENTRI and Ready Lanes at land ports of entry. The new card operates as a SENTRI card for …Read More

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 Notice of Intent to Withdraw (NOIW) the school’s SEVP-certification and SEVIS access. UNVA students have two choices: 1. Continue to attend classes and maintain their …Read More

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 non‐emergency personnel to depart Yemen. Due to the fluid security situation in Sana’a, the Consular Section will only be able to …Read More

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 Consulate where immigrant visa applicants could be interviewed. Applicants for petition-based visas, which are mostly temporary work visas, can also now interview in …Read More

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 that were previously posted on their website have been voided. They were not valid and were posted in error. The results were …Read More

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 System (NSEERS)-effectively ending the NSEERS registration process through the publication of a notice in the Federal Register:     DHS and the U.S. government have conducted roundtables, meetings, …Read More

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 to U.S. Citizens. The State Department issued the following statement: “The U.S. Embassy is distressed by the violence, April 27,  that killed and injured hundreds of Yemeni citizens. …Read More

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 22nd, USCIS has received approximately 8,000 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap, and approximately 5,900 petitions toward the 20,000 cap exemption for individuals with advanced degrees.

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 received approximately 5,900 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap, and approximately 4,500 petitions toward the 20,000 cap exemption for individuals with advanced degrees.