Congress recently passed the Border Security Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010. It was was passed by the House of Representatives on July 28, 2010 and then by the Senate on August 5, 2010.  The bill will be forwarded to the President and he is expected to sign it into law. Out of the $ 540 million that was authorized by Congress, the U.S. Customs [...]

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has received enough H-1B visa applications to reach the Congressionally mandated cap of 65,000 for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. The USCIS has determined that December 21, 2009 was the final receipt date for new H-1B visa applications filed by employers requesting a start date in FY 2010. The final receipt date is the [...]

The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services  (USCIS) reported today that as of November 6, 2009, about 54,700 H-1B applications subject to the annual quota of 65,000 have been submitted. The USCIS has already enough H-1B applications under the advanced degree cap of 20,000 visas for foreign nationals who have Masters or Ph.D. degrees. All other H-1B applications submitted including applications where foreign nationals have advanced degrees will now count toward the general H-1B cap [...]

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently sent a memo to the Directors of the US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) four (4) Service Centers clarifying the requirements for H-1B visa petitions where the applicant is seeking employment in a health care specialty occupation. The clarification applies to H-1B visa applicants who have either an unrestricted or a restricted license [...]