Blog — Nadia Yakoob & Associates

How Congressional Representatives Can Help with Immigration Cases

Many people don’t know that US Senators and Representatives can assist with immigration cases. In fact, members of Congress usually have one or more staffers liaising with the federal agencies that are responsible for immigration processing and enforcement, including US Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), and the US Department of State (“DOS”). Although the Congressional members cannot force the agencies to make a particular decision or reverse a denial, they can put a spotlight on a case by their involvement.

February 2019 Visa Bulletin Released

The Department of State (DOS) has issued its February 2019 Visa Bulletin. Overall, movement in all categories has slowed down. EB-1 for most nationals advanced by two months while Chinese and Indian nationals advanced by only one month. For the EB-2 category, Chinese nationals advanced by two months while Indian nationals advanced by only five days. Lastly, EB-3 for Chinese nationals moved forward by twenty-three days, while Indian and Philippine nationals advanced by a month and a few days.

E-Verify and the Federal Government Shutdown

Although the US federal government has partially shut down as of December 22, 2018, due to the President’s inability to sign a spending bill, most immigration-related processes remain operational at USCIS, DOL, and the State Department. However, USCIS has announced that E-Verify and E-Verify services are inaccessible. Several policies have been implemented to ease the burden on both employers and employees.

Nonimmigrant, ImmigrantNadia YakoobDecember 27, 2018I-9, E-verify, immigration, immigration law, government shutdown

January 2019 Visa Bulletin Released

The Department of State (DOS) has issued its January 2019 Visa Bulletin. Overall, there was very little movement in most categories this month. EB-1 for all nationals advanced by three months. There was no movement for the EB-2 category, except for Chinese nationals which advanced by one month. EB-3 for Chinese and Indian nationals remained unchanged, while Philippine nationals advanced by another week.

USCIS, Nonimmigrant, Immigrant, Visa BulletinNadia YakoobDecember 14, 2018visabulletin, january 2019 visa bulletin, green card

December 2018 Visa Bulletin Released

The Department of State (DOS) has issued its December 2018 Visa Bulletin. Overall, there was very little movement in most categories this month. EB-1 for all nationals advanced by three months. EB-2 worldwide is still current (except for China and lndia). EB-2 for Chinese nationals advanced by one and a half months, and EB-2 Indian nationals advanced by almost two months. EB-3 for Chinese and Philippine nationals moved forward by one week, while Indian nationals advanced by two months.

November 2018 Visa Bulletin Released

The Department of State (DOS) has issued its November 2018 Visa Bulletin. Overall, there was very little movement in most categories this month. EB-1 for Chinese and Indian nationals had no movement. EB-2 worldwide is current (except for China and lndia). EB-2 for Chinese nationals advanced by one and a half months, but there was no movement for EB-2 Indian nationals. EB-3 is current (except for China, India, and the Philippines). EB-3 for Chinese and Indian nationals had no movement, but Philippine nationals moved forward by one week.

USCIS, Immigrant, Visa BulletinNadia YakoobOctober 12, 2018visabulletin, visa bulletin, november2018visabulletin, uscis, prio, green card

New USCIS Policy on Removal Proceedings Takes Effect

Starting October 1, 2018, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) may begin removal (also referred to as “deportation”) proceedings after denying an application for a benefit, such as an application for adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident (Form I-485), naturalization (Form N-400), or change or extension of status (Form I-539). This new policy stems from President Trump’s Executive Order 13768, “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States.”

Registration for the Annual Green Card Lottery Ends November 6, 2018

The Department of State just announced that the online registration for the annual Green Card lottery, formally referred to as the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program 2020 (DV 2020), will begin at 12 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT–4), Wednesday, October 3, 2018, and end at 12 noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT–5), Tuesday, November 6, 2018. We recommend registering as soon as possible because the DOS website slows down or freezes due to very heavy traffic towards the end of the registration period.

ImmigrantNadia YakoobSeptember 25, 2018usdos, diversity lottery, dv2020, Department of State, green card, green card lottery, immigrant

Understanding the State Department's Monthly Visa Bulletin

The Department of State’s monthly Visa Bulletin can be difficult to understand. All those dates and charts and categories are confusing. But knowing how to read the Visa Bulletin is important if you are seeking permanent residence in the United States so you can understand how long you will have to wait before you finally have your green card. The following explanation is specifically for individuals going through the permanent residence process based on employment.

October 2018 Visa Bulletin Released

The Department of State (DOS) has released its October 2018 Visa Bulletin. October 1 marks the start of the new fiscal year so all the immigrant visa categories benefit from new visa numbers. As a result, all categories will experience significant advancements, some as many as four to six years.