USCIS Update: H-1B Cap for Fiscal Year 2019 Reached

USCIS has announced that the cap for next years H-1B non-cap exempt visa petitions has been reached.

Ekaterina PowellApril 9, 2018United States Citizen and Immigration Services, USCIS, H-1B Specialty Occupation Visa, Business Immigration Attorney, Immigration Law, California, Los Angeles, San Diego, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Employment-Based VisasComment

Green Card Options for Entrepreneurs

Here you will find the best green card options for entrepreneurs who either have an ownership stake or do in fact own the business for which they are applying for an immigration visa.

Ekaterina PowellApril 3, 2018immigration visas and green cards, green cards, Eb-3, EB-2 NIW Green Card, EB-1, EB-5, green cards for entrepreneurs, startup immigration, startup green cards, immigrant visas entrepreneursComment

Filing O-1A Extraordinary Ability Visas: Do's and Don'ts

How to avoid mistakes and craft a successful O-1A petition.

Ekaterina PowellMarch 22, 2018O-1A visa, O-1 immigration lawyer, O-1 attorney, mistakes in O-1A, O-1A visa business, O-1 visa technology, O-1 visa startup, Business Immigration Attorney, California, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Silicon ValleyComment

H-1B Cap Petitions: USCIS Suspending Premium Processing for Fiscal Year 2019

The USCIS-announced suspension of premium processing for cap-subjected H-1B petitions and its notable implications.

Ekaterina PowellMarch 21, 2018United States Citizen and Immigration Services, USCIS, H-1B Specialty Occupation Visa, Premium Processing, Form I-907, Form I-129, Expedited ProcessingComment

USCIS Update: Power of Attorney Signatures No Longer Accepted

Signatures must now be provided solely by valid applicants and petitioners on all USCIS forms.

Ekaterina PowellMarch 16, 2018Immigration Law, Business Immigration Attorney, Immigration Attorney, USCIS, United States Citizen and Immigration Services, Guidance, Signatures, updateComment

Timur's O-1A Petition for Extraordinary Ability in Web Technologies & Mobile App Development

Another example of a successful case we have handled, this one dealing with a client's extraordinary ability in web technologies and application development.

Ekaterina PowellMarch 15, 2018Immigration Law, Business Immigration Attorney, O-1A Visa, Web Technologies, App Development, San Diego, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, CaliforniaComment

Dealing with Claims of Abandonment of LPR Status

CBP will often use frequent travel as an unjustified assertion for abandonment of LPR status.

Ekaterina PowellMarch 9, 2018Lawful Permanent Residents, LPR, Traveling Abroad, Abandonment, Form I-407, Indadmissability, CBP, Customs and Border Protection, California, Business Immigration Attorney, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Silicon ValleyComment

Things to Consider with Mergers & Acquisitions for Nonimmigrant Employees

There are myriad potential complications that can result from a corporate restructuring with potential devastation to a company's employment-based nonimmigrant workforce.

Ekaterina PowellMarch 6, 2018Comment

New Guidance on H-1B Petitions for Third-Party Site Workers

The H-1B specialty occupation visa process has undergone another overhaul, at least when it comes to third-party workers.

Ekaterina PowellMarch 5, 2018H-1B Specialty Occupation Visa, Third-Party Workers, United States Citizen and Immigration Services, USCIS, Itinerary, Labor Condition Application, LCA, US, Employers, Employees, Business Immigration Attorney, San Diego, California, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Silicon ValleyComment

Supreme Court Rejects DACA Case for Now

The DACA program will remain in effect past the original March 5th deadline until the matter reaches its legal conclusion.

Ekaterina PowellFebruary 26, 2018Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA, Supreme Court, The White House, Trump Administration, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Senate, Congress, California, San Francisco, San Diego, Silicon Valley, Business Immigration Attorney, Los AngelesComment

The Senate's Failure to Secure a Deal for Dreamers

Even after their best chance at doing so, the Senate has failed in securing a DACA fix. What happens now?

DACA Renewal Clinics

Because of a court decision delaying the termination of the DACA program, recipients should renew their protected statuses while they still can.

Ekaterina PowellFebruary 20, 2018Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA, American Immigration Lawyers Association, AILA, Business Immigration Attorney, Los Angeles, California, Silicon Valley, san diego immigration attorney, San Francisco, San DiegoComment

USCIS Now Accepting Credit Cards for All Fee-Based Forms

At long last, USCIS is accepting credit cards for filing fees on all applicable forms.

Ekaterina PowellFebruary 15, 2018United States Citizen and Immigration Services, USCIS, Credit Cards, Form Filings, Form G-1450, Naturalization, Green Cards, Visas, Business Immigration Attorney, San Francisco, San Diego, California, Silicon Valley, Los AngelesComment

Public Charge Rulemaking Draft Expands Grounds for Inadmissibility

Before, only non-cash oriented government programs would be weighed in determining one's likely status as a public charge. A new rule may change that.

Ekaterina PowellFebruary 14, 2018public charge, government programs, government assistance, Adjustment of Status, immigration visas and green cards, Department of Homeland Security, United States Citizen and Immigration Services, USCIS, DHS, Business Immigration Attorney, Inadmissibility, California, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, San Diego, San FranciscoComment

10 Tips for a Successful L-1A New Office Extension

Ten tips for attaining a successful L-1A new office visa extension.

Ekaterina PowellFebruary 8, 2018L-1B, L-1A New Office Petition, Visa Extensions, Immigration Attorney, Managers and Executives, Business Immigration Attorney, San Francisco, San Diego, California, Silicon Valley, Los AngelesComment

Undocumented Business Owners Under U.S. Immigration Law

While any undocumented immigrant is subject to deportation, whether or not it is illegal for such an individual to own and operated his or her own business is a more complicated matter, and one that has not been adequately addressed.

Ekaterina PowellFebruary 6, 2018Undocumented Immigrants, Business Owners, Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, Employers, Employees, Immigration and Nationality Act, IRCA, INA, Business Immigration Attorney, California, Los Angeles, San Diego, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, EconomyComment

The White House Immigration Framework and its Implications

The White House has released its framework providing a comprehensive DACA fix, but it is combined with a slew of demanded concessions that will prove difficult in finding a foothold within Congress.

Ekaterina PowellJanuary 31, 2018Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA, Immigration Reform, Border Wall, Trump Administration, Republicans, Democrats, Chain Migration Myth, Diversity Visa Lottery, Familiy-based Immigration, Business Immigration Attorney, San Diego, California, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Silicon ValleyComment

Success Story: George's Petition for the EB-2 National Interest Waiver in Internet Technologies

No case is clear cut, and demonstrating exceptional ability to USCIS is no easy feat, but a good strategy can do wonders. Here is one such case in which an exceptional entrepreneur without an advanced degree was successfully granted the EB-2 National Interest Waiver.

Ekaterina PowellJanuary 24, 2018EB-2 Visa, EB-2 NIW Green Card, Green Card, National Interest Waiver, Internet Technology, IT, Exceptional Ability, Entrepreneurs, Startup Immigration, Business Immigration Attorney, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, Information TechnologyComment

H-1B Wage Level 1 RFEs: Specific Actions to Take

USCIS has adopted the inappropriate practice of using wage levels to help determine whether a H-1B position is a specialty occupation. Here are some specific actions petitioners may take in securing a favorable outcome.

Ekaterina PowellJanuary 19, 2018H-1B Specialty Occupation Visa, Department of Labor, DOL, USCIS, United States Citizen and Immigration Services, Wage Levels, Labor Condition Application, LCA, Education, Employment-Based Visas, Degree, Business Immigration Attorney, San Diego, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Los AngelesComment

Strategies for Combating Level 1 Wage RFEs for H-1B Petitions

Each and every argument USCIS uses in justifying its use of wage levels to determine an H-1B position's specialty occupation eligibility is propped up by flaws that, if appropriately expounded upon, may assist in obtaining a favorable adjudication.

Ekaterina PowellJanuary 16, 2018H-1B Specialty Occupation Visa, Department of Labor, USCIS, DOL, United States Citizen and Immigration Services, Wage Levels, Business Immigration Attorney, LCA, Labor Condition Application, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Silicon ValleyComment

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