H-1B Amendment Guidance — May 22, 2015

On April 9, 2015, USCIS’ Administrative Appeal Office (AAO) issued a precedent decision, Matter of Simeio Solutions, LLC, which held that employers must file amended H-1B petitions when a new Labor Condition Application for Nonimmigrant Workers (LCA) is required due to a change in the H-1B worker’s worksite location. This memo outlines the kind of location change requiring H-1B amended filings.

Immigration Report — May 21, 2015

USCIS has published information to help eligible H-4 dependent spouses who want to apply for employment authorization under the Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses final rule.

Immigration Report – May 19, 2015

Starting May 26, 2015, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will temporarily suspend premium processing for all H-1B Extension of Stay petitions until July 27, 2015.

Immigration Report – May 14, 2015

The availability of visas per category is based on numerical limits established by law. Where a category is listed as “current”, any eligible beneficiary may proceed with the final stages of the green card process (in most cases, I-485 adjustment of status application) no matter what their priority date. Where a cutoff date is listed for a particular category, only a beneficiary with a priority date on or before the cutoff date may proceed with the final stages of the green card process. A priority date reflects the filing date of the first step toward a permanent residence.