Successful Outcome in a DOL case

October 10 2016 - One year ago, a client called us for consultation in a "panic mode" because his employer was refusing to pay him on his contract as an H1B employee. We recommended his case to the Department of Labor. The latter ruled in his favor. He was able to recover his full six months salary with penalties but also he was able to transfer his H1B based on the situation without a pay check stub. Now we are looking into a U visa for him. We wish him all the best!Read More Breaking News

USCIS Increases Validity of Work Permits to Two Years for Asylum Applicants

Effective October 5, 2016, USCIS has increased the validity period for initial or renewal Employment Authorization Documents for asylum applicants from one year to two years. Applicants with pending asylum claims file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, under category (c)(8). This change applies to all (c)(8)-based applications that are pending as of October 5, 2016 and all such applications filed on or after October 5, 2016.Read More Breaking News

Shah Peerally Law Group PC (SPLG) launches Washington DC office!!!

Washington DC October 6 2016 - By popular demand the Shah Peerally Law Group PC has launched its Washington DC office three months ahead of schedule. The office - located at 1020 16th Street NW - is stationed in the heart of Washington DC two blocks away from the White House and in the vicinity of the United States’ most important institutions including the headquarters of the United States Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS). The office will provide legal services focusing on employment and investment based immigration law and will engage in advocacy…Read More Breaking News

Only around 66,000 out of the 179,000 expected H4 EAD applied

According to an article on Bloomberg BNA by Laura.D Francis, only 37% of those eligible to file for an H4 EAD, did file. "The DHS estimated that as many as 179,600 H-4 spouses would be eligible to apply for work permits during the first year. To date, however, only 66,571 applications have been filed and 58,232 approved, according to figures provided to Bloomberg BNA Sept. 30 by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the DHS agency that handles the applications. That’s about 37 percent of the eligible population." Unfortunately, this is not surprising based…Read More Breaking News

BALCA Reverses 372 Denials of Labor Certifications

This is a good example how some labor certifications are wrongfully denied. We are very happy that BALCA did reverse those decisions. Matter of Cognizant Technology, Sept. 29-30, 2016- "For the reasons stated below, we find that: (1) the Employer‟s COLA is a wage adjustment and not merely a per diem payment; (2) because the wage is not required to be stated in newspaper advertisements and in additional professional recruitment steps, a denial for failure to state a locality pay adjustment based on § 656.17(f)(3) or § 656.24(b)(2) is not supported by the…Read More Breaking News

Form I-131A Now Available

USCIS has published Form I-131A, Application for Travel Document (Carrier Documentation), a new form that allows lawful permanent residents (LPRs) to apply for a travel document (carrier documentation) if they: Are returning from temporary overseas travel of less than one year, and their Green Card has been lost, stolen or destroyed, or Are returning from temporary overseas travel of less than two years, and their Reentry Permit has been lost, stolen or destroyed. The length of the absence will be measured from the time the LPR departed the U.S. to the time he…Read More Breaking News

State Department Guidance Directive on Prudential NIV Visa Revocations (Sept. 2, 2016)

The Department would like to bring to your attention a policy implemented on  November 5, 2015, which requires consular officers to prudentially revoke (i.e., without  making a determination that the individual is inadmissible) nonimmigrant visas of individuals arrested for, or convicted of, driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated, or similar arrests/convictions, that occurred within the previous five years, as detailed in 9 FAM 403.11-3(A). This requirement does not apply when the arrest/conviction occurred prior to the date of the visa application and has already been assessed within the context of a…Read More Breaking News

Denaturalizing individuals “wrongfully” Naturalized.

DHS Office of Inspector General, Sept. 8, 2016 - Potentially Ineligible Individuals Have Been Granted U.S. Citizenship Because of Incomplete Fingerprint Records USCIS granted U.S. citizenship to at least 858 individuals ordered deported or removed under another identity when, during the naturalization process, their digital fingerprint records were not available. The digital records were not available because although USCIS procedures require checking applicants’ fingerprints against both the Department of Homeland Security’s and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) digital fingerprint repositories, neither contains all old fingerprint records. Not all old records were included in…Read More Breaking News

USCIS Proposes Rule to Welcome International Entrepreneurs

This might be good news for new investors and bringing more jobs to United States citizens. Release Date: August 26, 2016 WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is proposing a new rule, which would allow certain international entrepreneurs to be considered for parole (temporary permission to be in the United States) so that they may start or scale their businesses here in the United States. Read the advance version of the notice of proposed rulemaking: International Entrepreneur Rule. Once the notice of proposed rulemaking is published in the Federal Register, the public will…Read More Breaking News