The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that, effective January 31, 2022, spouses of E and L visa holders will receive a special notation on their Form I-94, confirming that they are spouses of these visa holders.
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It's that time of the year again! The registration period for this year's H-1B visa lottery runs from Tuesday, March 1 at 9 AM PST / 12 PM EST to Thursday, March 18 at 9 AM PST / 12 PM EST. We highly recommend registering early on during this period so there is time to accommodate any system glitches or crashes before the registration period closes on March 18.
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The White House has announced a series of new initiatives to attract and maintain STEM talent in the United States.
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The Department of State (DOS) has issued its February 2022 Visa Bulletin. The most important takeaways for February are that priority dates for EB-3 India and China have remained the same as the previous month while EB-2 India and China continue to advance. India, specifically, had over a five-month jump forward in EB-2 visas. Family-based priority dates remain the same across all categories.
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The Department of State has authorized consular officers to waive the in-person interview requirement for certain visa applications through the end of 2022. Visa applicants would apply for visas through the mail instead of scheduling an in-person interview at the US Consulate.
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The Biden administration announced yesterday that it is ending the current restriction on travelers from eight countries in Southern Africa on December 31, 2021. The travel restriction was implemented on November 26, 2021 in an effort to curb the spread of a new COVID-19 variant (“Omicron”), and suspended entry for travelers who have been physically present in the following countries during the 14-day period prior to their attempted entry into the US.
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has officially withdrawn a rule that would have changed the way the annual H-1B lottery is conducted by giving priority to registrations with the highest wage level. It will continue with the current method of randomly selecting the H-1B registrations in the annual lottery.
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The Department of State (DOS) has issued its January 2022 Visa Bulletin. The most important takeaways for January are that priority dates for EB-3 India and China have remained the same as the previous month while EB-2 India and China continue to advance. Family-based priority dates remain the same except for slight advancement for nationals of Mexico across all categories.
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For employers who continue to operate remotely, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) has once again extended the ability of employers to remotely verify a new employee’s identity and employment authorization documents for Form I-9 purposes through April 30, 2022. The employer must continue to have its employees working remotely in order to benefit from this option.
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In an effort to curb the spread of a new COVID-19 variant (“Omicron”), President Biden has issued a Proclamation, which suspends entry for travelers who have been physically present in the following countries during the 14-day period prior to their attempted entry into the US:
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