U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has moved up the date for the annual H-1B lottery by one month. For years, the annual H-1B lottery has kicked off on April 1, with employers submitting H-1B petitions for current or prospective employees. The lottery ended once USCIS received enough H-1B petitions to meet the annual 85,000…
DetailsWe’re thrilled to introduce Paige Whitlow, who brings 20 years of immigration paralegal experience to the Alcorn Immigration Law team. Paige joined our business immigration team last fall. Most recently, Paige worked as an immigration paralegal at a corporate and immigration law firm based in Raleigh, N.C. At Alcorn, Paige works with the business immigration…
DetailsThe days of immediate processing of F2A green cards are coming to an end. And some F4 green cards, as well as EB-2 and EB-3 green cards will retrogress shortly. If you or loved ones are eligible for these green cards, we recommend filing a petition as soon as possible. Every month, Charles Oppenheim, chief…
DetailsThe H-1B visa lottery system is changing fast. And these changes may be a boon for American small businesses and startups and their H-1B candidates. Starting with the April 2020 lottery, employers must now pay a nonrefundable $10 fee to register each candidate for the H-1B lottery. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees U.S.…
DetailsAlcorn Immigration Law won the Women’s Business Enterprise “Excellence in Growth Award” for being one of the fastest growing certified women-owned companies in the Pacific Region of the United States. The firm was nominated alongside 11 other certified women-owned companies in the same category. We are thrilled to receive this recognition! Thank you to WBEC-West…
DetailsLooking ahead to 2020, a lot of changes are in store for U.S. immigration policy. Not through laws passed by Congress, but through rule-making processes from Federal agencies including USCIS. The White House Office of Management and Budget recently released its regulatory agenda, which outlines policy priorities for federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland…
DetailsSenators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced legislation in October that would increase the number of family and employment green cards over five years. The Resolving Extended Limbo for Immigrant Employees and Families (RELIEF) Act is an alternative to the Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act, which the House passed earlier this year.…
DetailsU.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released H-1B data, including records compelled by two Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits, that continues to show the impact of Trump administration’s restrictive immigration policies. The approval rate for all H-1B specialty occupation visa petitions remained steady at nearly 85% in fiscal year 2019, which ended in…
DetailsWe’re pleased to introduce Quratulann Farooqi, who goes by Cori. Cori joined the Alcorn Immigration Law team a few months ago as an associate attorney in our family immigration team. “I feel deeply rewarded when I help people navigate the complicated U.S. immigration system,” says Cori. “I’m honored to be a part of their journey…
DetailsDraper University recently invited me to speak to participants of its Silicon Valley entrepreneurship program. In addition to covering the main pathways for international entrepreneurs to move to the U.S. to grow their startups, I focused on the journeys of three immigrant founders. Their stories all show how employing a bit of creativity produces successful…
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