Employment-Based Immigration

Students on F-1 status need to ensure they maintain status.  A failure to maintain status could result in a violation which could have an impact on their immigration future.  At PSBP we often see requests for evidence questioning maintenance of status for F-1 students, who have submitted an H-1B cap petition requesting a change of...

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will now withdraw its duration of status rule.  Students have for a long time had the benefit of being admitted for the duration of status.  In other words, unlike other nonimmigrants, they are not admitted for a specific length of time.  This flexibility has allowed them to extend their...

Last October saw thousands of people applying for downgrades due to the forward movement in the Employment-based EB-3 priority dates. By filing a downgrade, applicants were able to concurrently file an I-485, Application to adjust status and also apply for employment authorization and travel document. One client, working as a Physical Therapist had asked us...

Having previously written two articles on Day 1 CPT (Curricular Practical Training) I keep being asked whether I would recommend Day 1 CPT and what are the potential consequences of taking it. If you haven’t read my previous articles, please find the links below: https://patel-law-group.local/why-day-1-cpt-is-not-a-good-idea-and-can-cause-more-problems-than-it-solves/ https://patel-law-group.local/day-1-cpt-revisited/ Please note that the first article was written during...

On June 9, 2021, USCIS announced some important policy changes as well as their intention to start issuing 2-year EADs (Employment Authorization Document) for certain adjustment of status applicants. 2- year EADs Certain adjustment of status applicants will now receive a 2-year EAD, instead of just a 1-year card.  Although adjustment of status applicants are...

USCIS has stated it will suspend the biometrics requirements for H-4, L-2, E-1, E-2 and E-3 applicants from May 17th, 2021 for a period of 2 years.  The biometric requirement was introduced by the Trump administration and was particularly cumbersome for H-4 and L-2 applicants as it meant that their applications would no longer be...

During an interview with Charlie Oppenheim of the State Department, the following statements and predictions were made in relation to employment-based and family-based categories. Employment-based visas In 2021 there are approximately 262,000 employment-based visas. However, it is expected that the Department of State (DOS) will not be able to process all these visas due to...

More great news coming from the Biden Administration. In 2004 USCIS released a policy which stated that officers should generally defer to prior determinations when making a decision on an extension petition.  However, the Trump administration rescinded this policy which created havoc, especially in the H-1B community.  It meant that individuals who had previously been...