U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has resumed premium processing for all H-1B petitions. However, USCIS will delay premium processing handling for H-1B petitions submitted for this year’s lottery, which opens on April 1. Two Tracks for Premium Processing This year, only H-1B petitioners who are subject to the lottery and are requesting a…
DetailsTax Day—April 15—is fast approaching. Even if you’re not a U.S. citizen, you must file a tax return if you’re considered a “resident alien” for tax purposes. Like U.S. immigration law, U.S. tax law is complicated. We only practice U.S. immigration law, so this consists of a compilation of information from the Internal Revenue Service…
DetailsRestricting international student participation in the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program would have big consequences for the U.S. economy, according to a study by the Business Roundtable. The Trump administration’s efforts to place restrictions on international students and the OPT program prompted the Business Roundtable to assess the program’s impact on the U.S. economy. The Business Roundtable—a group of CEOs…
DetailsA survey of 12 countries by the Pew Research Center found strong public support to welcome immigrants into their country including in the U.S., but only if they are highly skilled. The results of this survey, which the nonpartisan think tank conducted last spring, indicates the support for merit-based immigration in the U.S. Who…
DetailsLegislation introduced in the House and Senate this month would eliminate the seven percent per-country limit on employment-based green cards. Called the “Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act,” the joint legislation also increases the per-country cap for family-sponsored green cards from seven to 15 percent. Rep. Zoe Lofgren and 113 other representatives from both parties sponsored…
DetailsThe Alcorn Immigration Law team’s H-1B season began in December. Since then, we’ve been working with employers preparing H-1B visa applications for the April lottery. Given the increased scrutiny, requests for evidence (RFEs), and denials these applications face, employers and H-1B candidates should focus on assembling the strongest petition they can. Delays, uncertainty about visa…
DetailsWhen Rohan* filed for his green card, he and his American wife, Kristen*, had just returned from their honeymoon in Hawaii. They felt relaxed and blissful. Rohan decided to file his marriage-based green card petition on his own. Filling out the application and assembling the required documentation looked a bit time-consuming, but relatively simple. And,…
DetailsAs the plane touched down in LAX, I remember the welcome wave of the California poppies blowing in the wind in the spaces between the runway. I remember sitting in my seat, my knuckles white, not quite ready to leave my familiar life in India behind. This is my new home, I repeated to myself,…
DetailsMei’s parents immigrated from Taiwan to the U.S. decades ago. Her parents would take her to visit relatives in Taiwan from infancy until she left home for college. As an adult, Mei continued to travel to Taiwan to see family. Mei* met Yan-ting* during one of those trips. After that trip, Mei and Yan kept…
DetailsWhen Ji-hye* married her husband, she thought she found her happily ever after. Ji-hye came to the U.S. from South Korea to attend a university. She had dreamed of leaving her homeland to escape the sexual abuse she suffered for years at the hands of a family member. While in school, she began dating an…
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