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The number of H-1B filings this year seems to be moving along at a much faster pace than in the past few years.  Last year USCIS issued a press release on April 8, 2011 stating that 5,900 petitions had been filed in the first week of the filing period and it took until November 23, [...]

The United States Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments regarding Arizona’s immigration law this Wednesday, April 25th.  The question presented is whether federal immigration laws preclude Arizona’s efforts at cooperative law enforcement and impliedly preempt four provisions of S.B. 1070, which were enjoined by the lower courts, on their face.  The audio recording of the [...]

H-1B season for fiscal year 2013 starts April 1, 2012.  For first-time H-1B employees, a company can apply for an individual beginning April 1 but the H-1B will not be valid for employment until October 1.  When the economy was robust and unemployment was relatively low all 65,000 available H-1Bs were snapped up on April [...]

A sad reality of the American immigration process is that immigrants are sometimes taken advantage of.  One common way that this happens is when immigrants put their immigration status and their lives in the hands of unqualified people who are not licensed to practice law.  These unlicensed predators are commonly known as “notarios” in the [...]

In Georgia and throughout the United States some employers are required to use the E-verify program (Check out this blog post for more information on E-verify requirements imposed by Georgia’s new immigration law ).  Here’s a link to a useful video from USCIS regarding your E-verify rights:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFUe_Fkvtzk.

The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments regarding Arizona’s immigration law.  The court’s decision will have an effect on immigration laws passed in other states including Georgia.  Here is a link to an article from msnbc which has the basics of what’s at stake.  http://nbcpolitics.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/12/9389268-high-court-to-look-at-state-immigration-laws

USCIS issued a press release on November 23, 2011 stating that as of November 22, 2011 all 65,000 H-1B petitions for the fiscal year have been used up.  Only eight days earlier they issued a press release saying 56,300 had been used up!  I’m skeptical that 8,700 petitions were filed within eight days.  The inaccurate [...]

As of November 14, 2011, all 20,000 H-1B Masters Exempt H-1B visas have been taken.  In addition, USCIS is reporting that 56,300 of the 65,000 regular cap H-1Bs have been taken.  At this rate the remaining H-1Bs for the year should be used up within the next month or two.  If you were planning on [...]

The Obama administration has proven itself an unlikely stalwart in the removal of illegal immigrants from the United States.  Many who are skeptical of the administration’s immigration policy were surprised to read an October 18, 2011 News Release issued by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement which boasted that it had removed 396,906 individuals from the [...]

On October 11, 2011 USCIS issued a press release announcing its “Entrepreneurs in Residence” initiative.  “This new innovative initiative will utilize industry expertise to strengthen USCIS policies and practices surrounding immigrant investors, entrepreneurs and workers with specialized skills, knowledge, or abilities.” The initiative appears to be designed to obtain critical feedback from the public and [...]