U.S. and Global Immigration Updates | Houston & Austin, TX

CIS Confirms Amended H-1B Petition Required for Change in Work Location to New MSA

22 May

Prompted by a recent decision of the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), on May 21, 2015, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (CIS) issued guidance clarifying that an amended H-1B petition is required when the H-1B employee’s work location will change to a location outside the metropolitan statistical area or area of […]

USCIS Issues Guidance for H-4 Spousal Work Authorization – Applications Begin to be Accepted May 26th

22 May

by Foster, on Immigration Updates

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has implemented a regulatory change that will go into effect May 26th that grants employment authorization benefits to certain H-4 spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants working in the United States. Pursuant to this regulatory change, the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (CIS) has recently published […]

Premium Processing Temporarily Suspended for H-1B Extension Petitions

20 May

by Foster, on Immigration Updates

Beginning May 26, 2015, the USCIS will temporarily suspend premium processing for all H-1B Extension of Stay petitions until July 27, 2015. This means that premium processing requests must be filed by Thursday, May 21st to be received by Friday, May 22nd, since May 25th is Memorial Day and USCIS […]

June Visa Bulletin: EB-2 China Advances One Year, Forward Movement in Most Categories, Further Retrogression of EB-3 Philippines by Two Years

14 May

by Foster, on Immigration Updates

Positive news continues for most immigrant visa categories. The U.S. Department of State has published the Monthly Visa Bulletin for June 2015, announcing a significant advance in visa availability for the month of June under the EB-2 preference category for applicants born in China as visa availability continues to advance […]