For 2020 H-1B cap cases (FY 2021), USCIS requires an online registration between March 1st through March 20th, 2020. The government has published Final Rule for the H-1B registration requirement. Here are the important applicable procedures: (1) Electronic registration requirement: The regulations requires H-1B Petitioners to register online at www.uscis.gov before filing a cap-subject H-1B[Read More]
News & Alerts
USCIS Announces Implementation of H-1B Electronic Registration Process for the Cap Season in 2020 (Fiscal Year 2021)
Dec 6, 2019, Washington, D.C. USCIS announced today that it has completed a successful pilot testing phase and is implementing the registration process in the next H-1B lottery. Earlier we had posted a news article about the USCIS proposal to implement H-1B registration process. Employers seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions for the fiscal year[Read More]
USCIS Proposes to Increase Fees for various Applications
Nov. 8, 2019, Washington DC, Adhikari Law PLLC. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has posted a 314 pages public notice on Federal Register for public inspection about increase on fees (about 21%) for various types of immigration applications including H-1B ($100), L-1 ($355), TN ($245), changing Premium Processing limit to 15 Business Days in[Read More]
USCIS plans to Implement e-registration process for the fiscal year 2021 H-1B Cap Cases (to be filed in 2020) Pending completed testing of the System
Nov. 7, 2019, Washington DC, Adhikari Law PLLC. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced today a final rule that will require a non-refundable small fee of $10 for each H-1B e-registration submitted by petitioning employers, once it implements the electronic registration system. The pre-registration was previously announced by the agency. The H-1B program allows[Read More]
SEVP Policy Guidance on Practical Training: Determining a Direct Relationship Between Employment and a Student’s Major Area of Study
Student and Visitor Exchange Program (SEVP) of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) within U.S. Department of Homeland Security issues a Policy Guidance which addresses both OPT and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) OPT extension opportunities and explains that students are responsible for providing a description of how their job relates to their major[Read More]
H-1B Employees are subjected to Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax withholding
Employees in F-1, J-1, M-1, Q-1 or Q-2 non-immigrant status are exempt from FICA therefore no withholding has to be made. However once these nonimmigrant change their visa status to H-1B, generally beginning from Oct 1st, then they are no longer exempt from FICA. So the employer should review payroll procedures and update tax withholding[Read More]
DHS Proposes a small Registration Fee for Petitioners Seeking to File H-1B Cap-Subject Petitions
September 3, 2019, Adhikari Law, Washington, DC. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced a notice of proposed rule making that would require petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions to pay a $10 fee for each electronic registration they submit to USCIS. Because USCIS must expend resources to implement and maintain the H-1B registration system,[Read More]
FAQ about Automatic re-validation of an expired non-immigrant visa based on valid status: What is re-validation of a nonimmigrant visa?
What is re-validation of a nonimmigrant visa? Generally, the nonimmigrant visa is valid until the duration given on the visa itself. The validity of an expired nonimmigrant visa issued under Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA” or “Act”) may be considered to be automatically extended to the date of application for readmission in cases where the[Read More]
DHS published the Final Rule related to the public charge ground of inadmissibility citing Section 212(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
Washington, DC. On August 14, 2019, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds final rule that codifies regulations governing the application of the public charge inadmissibility ground under INA section 212(a)(4). On Oct. 10, 2018, DHS issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which published in the Federal Register for a 60-day comment period. DHS received and considered over 266,000 public comments before issuing this final rule. The final rule provides summaries and responses to all significant public comments. The final rule enables the federal[Read More]
USCIS publishes a final rule which makes a number of significant changes to its EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program
Adhikari Law PLLC, Washington, D.C. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published a final rule on July 24 that makes a number of significant changes to its EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, marking the first significant revision of the program’s regulations since 1993. The final rule will become effective on Nov. 21, 2019. New developments under the final[Read More]