US Immigration News

H-1B lottery open from March 1 to March 17 2023

Wednesday March 1, 2022 will be Opening Day for this year's H-1B lottery for H-1B "Cap cases." Beginning Noon EST on Wednesday March 1, employers can start to register current or future employees who need H-1B visas to work in the United States. The lottery will remain open until Noon EST on Friday March 17, 2021. Only employers can enter persons in the lottery. Individuals cannot enter themselves. If you need help registering your employee for the H-1B lottery, send us an email now or call us at (216) 593-0180. The purpose of the lottery is to decide who can apply for...

USCIS resumes premium processing of concurrent H-4/EAD extensions

As part of the settlement of a federal court lawsuit reached on January 19, 2023, USCIS has agreed to resume "bundling" of H-4 and H-4 EAD extensions along with the spouse's H-1B extension. This will apply to both regular processing and premium processing. This means if an H-1B petition is filed with premium processing, the H-4 extension and new H-4 EAD will also receive premium processing. Both the H-1B and H-4 must be filed together in the same envelope. This will result in much faster processing of H-4 EAD extensions, putting an end to the long periods of forced unemployment...

EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act signed into law

On March 15, 2022 President Biden signed into law the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 ("RIA"). This law makes major changes to the EB-5 program. Most importantly, the new law revives the Regional Center program, which sunset on June 30, 2021. Ninety percent of all EB-5 petitions are filed under the Regional Center program. Changes brought about by the new law include the following: The Regional Center program is extended to September 30, 2027. The minimum investment for Targeted Employment Areas is raised from $500,000 to $800,000. The minimum investment for non-TEA investments is raised from $1,000,000 to...