END OF COVID-19 I-9 FLEXIBILITIES

The I-9 Employment Verification ProcessU.S. employers are required to verify the identity and employment authorization of individuals they hire using the Form I-9:• After being offered the job, on or before the first day of employment, the employee must complete Part 1 of Form I-9.• Within three business days of the start of employment, the… Continue reading END OF COVID-19 I-9 FLEXIBILITIES

H-1b Lottery Numbers

The USCIS has released data that shows almost 800,000 registrations were submitted in the FY 2024 lottery for the 85,000 H-1b visas available. The numbers reflect a 15% selection rate. It was revealed that over 400,000 persons submitted multiple registrations. In what may be the understatement of the year, the USCIS indicated that the numbers… Continue reading H-1b Lottery Numbers

May Visa Bulletin

The Department of State (DOS) has released the May Visa Bulletin and sadly, retrogression is widespread impacting almost all categories and all countries. Only the EB1 category was not impacted. The USCIS announced that the would only allow I-485 filings using the Final Action Date chart. Forward advancement is not expected until October. Additional retrogression… Continue reading May Visa Bulletin

Canada Takes Action Is the U.S. Listening ?

At a time when the U.S. is getting ready to tell thousands of international U.S. grads that they need to leave the U.S. as a result of not being chosen in the archaic H-1b lottery, Canada has announced the extension of work permits for its body of international graduates. Given the political climate in the… Continue reading Canada Takes Action Is the U.S. Listening ?

Premium Processing for OPT

Not to be too cynical but, whenever the USCIS fails to deliver services and benefits for which immigrants are entitled in a timely and efficient manner, they create a premium processing option at a sizable cost to the applicant. For a mere $2500, students entitled to certain types of OPT may now have their applications… Continue reading Premium Processing for OPT