John Q Khosravi Law Firm

Please contact our office for more information:

John Q. Khosravi Immigration Law Firm (JQK Law Firm)

Website: JQKLaw.com

Email: info@jqklaw.com

Phone: (818) 934-1561

Skype: john.khosravi


Licensed to Practice in CA. Practice Focus on Federal Immigration Law. This Blog is Legal Advertisement.

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

EB-5 & Other USCIS Timelines For May 2017

For more information about the EB-5 program, please contact the JQK Law Firm

(310) 582-5904 or info@jqklaw.com


Form I-526 (Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur)
Processing cases as of 09/20/2015

Form I-829 (Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions) 
Processing cases as of 10/12/2014

Form I-924 (Application for Regional Center)
Processing cases as of 09/16/2015

Click here for other USCIS Processing times

June 2017 Visa Bulletin

https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/law-and-policy/bulletin/2017/visa-bulletin-for-june-2017.html

New USCIS H-1B Policy Memo

From USCIS:

The following immigration policy memorandum is now available on the Policy Memoranda section of the USCIS website:
Matter of A-T- Inc clarifies that, in order to qualify for an H-1B numerical cap exemption based upon a master’s or higher degree, the conferring institution must have qualified as a “United States institution of higher education” at the time the beneficiary’s degree was earned.

USCIS Message: EB-5 Regional Center Termination Notices Now Online

From USCIS:

Dear Stakeholder,

USCIS now publishes regional center termination notices online. You can access them at Regional Center Termination Notices. USCIS will add additional termination notices as they become available. 

As Immigrant Investor Program Office Chief Nicholas Colucci announced in his March 3, 2017 Stakeholder Engagement remarks, publishing these notices is consistent with our commitment to transparency in the EB-5 program. 

You can easily access and review the termination notices without completing a Freedom of Information Act request. This is an important tool in helping investors, the EB-5 industry, and the public understand the reasons we have terminated a regional center designation, and the types of regional center activities that may trigger the end of a designation. For information regarding the EB-5 Program, please visithttps://www.uscis.gov/eb-5.

Sincerely,

USCIS Public Engagement

Saturday, May 27, 2017

USCIS Reaches CW-1 Cap for Fiscal Year 2018

From USCIS:

USCIS Reaches CW-1 Cap for Fiscal Year 2018
As of May 25, 2017, USCIS has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the maximum possible numerical limit (the “cap”) of workers who may be issued CNMI-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1) visas or otherwise provided with CW-1 status for fiscal year (FY) 2018. Although the FY 2018 cap has not been set, it is required by statute to be less than the 12,998 workers set for FY 2017.
We will issue subsequent guidance when the FY 2018 cap is set and when we are able to announce the final receipt date. Because the final receipt date will depend on the FY 2018 cap, it is also possible that USCIS will not accept some petitions received on or before May 25, 2017.
What Happens After the Cap is Reached
We will reject CW-1 petitions we received on or after May 26, 2017 that request an employment start date before Oct. 1, 2018. This includes CW-1 petitions for extensions of stay that are subject to the CW-1 cap. The filing fees will be returned with any rejected CW-1 petition.
If we reject an extension petition, the beneficiaries listed on that petition are not permitted to work beyond the validity period of the previously approved petition. Therefore, affected beneficiaries, including any CW-2 derivative family members of a CW-1 nonimmigrant, must depart the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) within 10 days after the CW-1 validity period expires, unless they have some other authorization to remain under U.S. immigration law.
Petitions that are Subject to the CW-1 Cap
The following types of Form I-129CW, Petition for a CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker are generally subject to the CW-1 cap:
  • New employment petitions; and
  • Extension of stay petitions.
All CW-1 workers are subject to the cap unless the worker has already been counted towards the cap in the same fiscal year. The U.S. government’s fiscal year begins on Oct. 1 and ends on Sept. 30.
The CW-1 cap does not apply to CW-2 derivative family members.
When to File CW-1 Petitions
We encourage CW-1 employers to file a petition for a CW-1 nonimmigrant worker up to 6 months in advance of the requested employment start date, and to file as early as possible within that timeframe. Please note, however, that we will reject a petition if it is filed more than 6 months in advance.
Alternate Classifications
Go to the Working in the U.S. page for a list of all the immigration classifications available for temporary and permanent workers. A general description of each classification, along with eligibility criteria and other filing requirements, can be found by clicking on the links provided on the page.
For more information about the CW-1 work program, visit the CW-1: CNMI-Only Transitional Worker page or call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.

GOP bill lets foreigners buy US citizenship for $1 million

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/gop-bill-lets-foreigners-buy-us-citizenship-for-1-million/article/2624280

Trump admin gives embassies broad new discretion to limit travelers

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/26/politics/embassies-get-broad-discretion-to-limit-travelers/index.html

Trump administration moves to expand H-2B visa program

http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/may/25/trump-administration-moves-to-expand-h-2b-visa-pro/

Feds file lawsuits to seize properties across San Gabriel Valley, Inland Empire connected to EB-5 fraud

http://www.sgvtribune.com/general-news/20170525/feds-file-lawsuits-to-seize-properties-across-san-gabriel-valley-inland-empire-connected-to-eb-5-fraud

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

DHS: 700K Visa Overstay in 2016

https://www.dhs.gov/news/2017/05/22/dhs-releases-fiscal-year-2016-entryexit-overstay-report

Haitian TPS get small extension

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/federal-officials-dhs-to-extend-temporary-protected-status-to-haitians/2017/05/22/d2796824-3ef5-11e7-8c25-44d09ff5a4a8_story.html?utm_term=.63ecb9261ea5

USCIS Updates Forms I-829, G-639 and I-612

From  USCIS:

Good afternoon,
We recently updated the following USCIS forms:
For more information, please visit our Forms Updates page.

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

USCIS Message: New Phone Scam Targets U.S. Immigrants

From USCIS:

Dear Stakeholder,
If you receive a phone call that appears to come from the Canadian government’s Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Call Centre (1-888-242-2100), hang up! Scammers are altering their caller IDs to appear as if they are calling from the IRCC Call Centre. The scammers tell people that their names and identities are under federal investigation. Sometimes they tell individuals that there is a legal case, an affidavit, and/or allegations against them.

If you receive a call demanding personal information or payment, hang up immediately. If you want to check the status of your case, you may:
  • Make an InfoPass appointment at http://infopass.uscis.gov;
  • Use myUSCIS to find up-to-date information about your application; or
  • Call our National Customer Service Center at 800-375-5283 to ask if you need to do anything about your case or immigration status.
Remember, USCIS officials will never threaten you or ask for payment over the phone or in an email. Do not give payment over the phone to anyone who claims to be a USCIS official. All requests for official payments will arrive on government stationery. In general, we encourage you to protect your personal information and not provide details about your immigration case in any public area.

If you receive a scam email or phone call, report it to the Federal Trade Commission at http://1.usa.gov/1suOHSS. If you are not sure if it is a scam, forward the suspicious email to the USCIS webmaster at uscis.webmaster@uscis.dhs.gov. USCIS will review the emails received and share with law enforcement agencies as appropriate.

Visit the Avoid Scams Initiative at www.uscis.gov/avoid-scams for more information on common scams and other important tips.

Kind regards,
USCIS Public Engagement Division