May 2023 Visa Bulletin Shows Retrogression in EB-2 Rest of the World Category and New Backlog for EB-3 Rest of World Category
The U.S. Department of State has released its visa bulletin imposing per-country cut-off dates that regulate immigrant visa availability, and the flow of Adjustment of Status (AOS) applications and consular Immigrant Visa application filings and approvals. In order...
U.S. Visa Waiver Program Extension to Israeli Citizens Coming Soon
Israel is closer to the implementation of a law that would setup a national center for the collection and analysis of data on flights and passengers entering and exiting Israel – allowing the U.S. to take a major step towards allowing Israeli nationals to travel the...
H-1B Cap Registration Retrospective: What Happened, Why It Happened, and What You Can Do About It
As we reported in our Alert of March 27, 2023, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has completed its Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 H-1B cap registration process. USCIS completed the two lotteries mandated under this process (one for the 65,000 regular...
Express Entry Update: Recent Draw and Lowest Cut-off Score This Year
Express Entry, the immigration system in Canada used by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to manage Canada Permanent Resident (PR) applicants, recently held the latest draw on March 29, 2023. This Express Entry draw included all programs, including...
USCIS Eliminates 60-Day Surgeon Signature Requirement for Form I-693 Medical Exam
Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the immediate and permanent elimination of the requirement that civil surgeons sign Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, no more than 60 days before a foreign...
USCIS Completes Initial H-1B Cap Registration Selection Process for FY 2024
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that, as expected, it received sufficient electronic H-1B cap registration applications during the initial registration period to reach the FY 2024 H-1B numerical allocations of 65,000 (for holders...
Immigration Updates
Effective April 12, 2023, immigration changes from the UK Home Office will impact minimum wage thresholds for Skilled Worker visas, the Global Business Mobility Expansion Worker visa for Australians, and the Youth Mobility Scheme for New Zealanders. Minimum Salary...
April 2023 Visa Bulletin Brings EB-2 Retrogression and Slight EB-3 China Advancement
The U.S. Department of State has released its April 2023 Visa Bulletin, imposing per-country cut-off dates that regulate immigrant visa availability and the flow of Adjustment of Status (AOS) application and consular Immigrant Visa application filings and approvals....
ePass Introduced for EP Renewals
Effective March 17, 2023, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has announced that a digital ePass will be issued for Employment Pass (EP) renewals and its related Passes. The ePass is an electronic pass that will replace the current physical (sticker)...
H-1B Cap Registration Period Extended Until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday March 20
The USCIS announced on its website and on Twitter yesterday that the H-1B Cap registration period, which was due to end today at noon Eastern Time (ET), will be extended until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday, March 20, 2023. This extension was granted because some registrants...