Monthly Archives: April 2016

There are nearly 1.2 million international students with F (academic) or M (vocational) status studying in the United States

ICE releases quarterly international student data F, M students up 6.2 percent compared to March 2015; Number of certified schools down 3 percent ICE releases quarterly international student dataICE releases quarterly international student dataICE releases quarterly international student data WASHINGTON — There are nearly 1.2 million international students with F (academic) or M (vocational) status studying in the United States according to the latest "SEVIS by the Numbers," a quarterly report on international student trends prepared by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland…Read More Breaking News

List of Civil Rights Organizations – UNNJ Updates

Since the situation of the UNNJ is getting quite complicated, many students have suggested that they should contact a civil rights organizations or similar organizations to help. Note that unless the organization agrees to help, you cannot force them to do so. However, if many students call them individually and ask them to help, it will have an impact .  Since most of these organizations will work in the interest of justice, we can only recommend to students to seek their help. Well-known organizations which usually handle immigration and civil rights issues are:…Read More Breaking News

Couple Indicted for $20 Million Visa Fraud Involving Indian Workers

Press Release from United States District Attorneys Office - Eastern District of Virginia. ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Raju Kosuri, 44, and Smriti Jharia, 45, of Ashburn, as well as four co-conspirators, were indicted by a federal grand jury yesterday on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and visa fraud, among other charges. According to the indictment, Kosuri, his spouse Jharia, and their co-conspirators have fraudulently applied for more than 800 illegal immigration benefits under the H-1B visa program.  Since 2008, and at much greater scale since 2011, Kosuri has built a staffing…Read More Breaking News

The E3 Visa for Australians

The non-immigrant E3 Visa was created by the REAL ID Act of 2005 : It is the “Reciprocal Visas for Nationals of Australia.”   There are 10,500 E-3 visas allotted annually to qualified individuals. Though the E-3 Visa is classified in the same category as E-1 (treaty trader) and E-2 (treaty investor) visas, E-3 visas share some similarities with H-1B Visas (workers in a specialty occupation). Therefore, the E-3 Visa can be understood as a slight hybrid between the two categories, and the E-3 visa has unique traits such as: An E-3 candidate…Read More Breaking News

Immigration Relief for Those Affected by Severe Earthquakes

USCIS offers immigration relief measures for people affected by natural disasters, such as the severe earthquakes that recently occurred in Ecuador, Japan and Burma. These measures may be available upon request: * Change or extension of nonimmigrant status if you are currently in the United States, even if the request is filed after your authorized period of admission has expired; * Re-parole, if you were previously granted parole by USCIS; * Expedited processing of requests for advance parole documents; * Expedited adjudication of requests for off-campus employment authorization for F-1 students experiencing severe…Read More Breaking News

USCIS Affirmative asylum schedule as of April 25 2016

  • Posted on April 26, 2016
  • /Under Asylum
USCIS’s Affirmative Asylum Scheduling Bulletin as of 4/25/16. This Bulletin explains how the Asylum Division has prioritized the adjudication of affirmative applications for asylum. As you can see for most of the regular cases, it is around 2 years to get an interview. This Bulletin explains how the Asylum Division has prioritized the adjudication of affirmative applications for asylum.  On December 26, 2014, we began prioritizing asylum applications for interview scheduling as follows: 1.) Applications that were scheduled for an interview, but the interview had to be rescheduled at the applicant’s request or…Read More Breaking News

Ex-ICE attorney Jonathan Love sentenced to prison for falsifying document in immigration case

ICE, Apr 20, 2016 - "A former attorney for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) who used a falsified document in an immigration proceeding, was sentenced Wednesday in federal court to 30 days in prison, 100 hours of community service, one year of supervised release, and a 10-year ban on practicing law. Jonathan M. Love, 58, pleaded guilty in January 2016 to deprivation of constitutional rights under color of law. At Wednesday’s sentencing Magistrate Judge Brian A. Tsuchida said, “This is a very sad day…for no good reason you did great harm to…Read More Breaking News

Guide to Law Enforcement on U and T Visas

The U visa is actually an important visa for many, as such the Department of Homeland Security has created a guide for law enforcement on U visas. We have essentially attached the guide to our series on U visas. U and T Visa Law Enforcement Resource Guide The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provides this guidance to federal, state, local, tribal and territorial law enforcement officers. This public guidance primarily concerns law enforcement certifications for U nonimmigrant status, also known as U visas. The U visa is an immigration benefit that can be…Read More Breaking News

H1B Visa Alternatives – What can someone do if not selected in the H1B lottery?

  • Posted on April 23, 2016
  • /Under H1B
April 23 2016 - As you all know USCIS has received approximately 250,000 for the 2017 H1B Cap, many are now worried and looking for other options or alternatives to the H1B visas.  The truth is that H1B is the most sought out visa in the industry. However there might be other solutions for you depending on your situation.  This is why it is good to have a good lawyer assess the case for you. The video below covers some but only some of the alternatives to the H1B visa.  You can call…Read More Breaking News

7 Reasons You Should File for Your Citizenship

With the United States and political candidates anti-immigration instances, many more people are actually applying for their citizenship this year. According to the Los Angeles Times article only in California, there are around 2.2 million people eligible to file for their citizenship or naturalization. From our experience most who are not filing for citizen is either because they do not have the means to pay for the high N-400 (Naturalization) fees  or they do not want to lose their country's of birth citizenship. For example many Indians prefer to stay on a green…Read More Breaking News

Calling on the Government to consider Judicial Economy on the Court Cases for UNNJ students.

Many of the UNNJ students have been issued an Notice of Intent to Appear (NTA) which obviously will put a burden not only on the students but also on the immigration court systems. According to an article from the organization American Immigration Council - Immigration Court Backlog Shows No Sign of Shrinking, the immigration courts are over-loaded with work and many of the cases which are being referred to the court are non-serious criminals cases.  Since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS),  is mostly not charging students of very serious charges, we call…Read More Breaking News

L1A New Memo – Matter of Z-A-, Inc., Adopted Decision 2016-02 (AAO Apr. 14, 2016)

Matter of Z-A-, Inc. In a policy memorandum issued April 14 (this month) by the USCIS regarding the Matter of Z-A-, Inc. case, the USCIS directs all USCIS employees to follow the policy guidance established under the case as it relates to defining “managerial capacity.” The case deals with whether USCIS must consider evidence from a petitioner regarding personnel employed overseas [by another related entity] within the organization who perform tasks for the petitioning entity. The case states that an adjudicating officer must assess all relevant evidence in the record concerning the beneficiary’s…Read More Breaking News

Fiscal Year 2017 H-1B Cap Premium Processing to Begin May 12

On May 12, 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions requesting premium processing, including petitions seeking an exemption for individuals with a U.S. master’s degree or higher. USCIS first announced in a news release that it would temporarily adjust its premium processing practice due to the historic premium processing receipt levels, combined with the possibility that the H-1B cap will be met in the first 5 business days of the filing season. USCIS provides premium processing service for certain employment-based petitions and guarantees a 15-calendar-day…Read More Breaking News