Kirkland Immigration, Citizenship and Visa Lawyer

Seattle Immigration Blog

• USCIS ANNOUNCES A THIRD ROUND IN H-1B SELECTION – NEWS FLASH!

  November 19, 2021, USCIS announced it would conduct a third random selection for H-1B petitions.  The selection will happen today, November 19, and petitions for those selected can begin to be filed on November 22nd. Because there is a very limited number of H-1Bs available per U.S. government fiscal year, a random selection (sometimes referred

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• USCIS New Rule Adds H-4, E, L-2 Spouses Eligible for Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization: The Change is Welcome but Insufficient

  On November 12, 2021, USCIS announced a new policy granting an automatic extension of employment authorization for H-4 (spouses of H-1 workers), L-2 (spouses of L-1 employees), and spouses of E status holders.  USCIS Policy Alert, PA-2021-25, November 12, 2021 (Policy Alert).  The change must be noted by every employer and worker.  Not being aware

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• Speaking Engagement at the Northwest Regional Immigration Law Conference 2021

  I am pleased to be speaking at the Northwest Regional Immigration Law Conference 2021: Yesterday’s Lessons, Tomorrow’s Strengths, sponsored by the Washington and Oregon Chapters of AILA.  This year the conference will be held virtually on October 6-8, 2021, and it will offer up to 22.25 CLE credits for attorneys. 

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• USCIS Seattle District Takes Steps to Improve Backlogs

  The Seattle Field Office of USCIS and USCIS District 41, which includes Washington, Oregon, and other states, announced new measures to attempt to address the backlog of pending cases.

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• New Opportunity to Request Reopening H-1B Petitions Previously Denied

  On Friday, March 12, 2021 the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security announced H-1B petitions previously denied pursuant to one of three policies can now be requested to be reopened and reconsidered. 

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• Employment Authorization Announced for Venezuelans

  On March 9, 2021, USCIS announced a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans for an 18-month period beginning March 9, 2021 through September 9, 2022.

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• THE REQUIRED REGISTRATION PROCESS FOR H-1B PETITIONS WILL BE MARCH 9, 2021: H-1B WAGE-BASED SELECTION PROCESS WILL NOT BE IMPLEMEMTED FOR THE 2021 SELECTION

  The USCIS has announced that the initial registration period for H-1B petitions will run from March 9 through March 25, and that the 2021: H-1B wage-based selection process will not be implemented for the 2021 selection.

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• USCIS Announces New Guidance for Completing Form I-9

  DHS has extended the COVID-19 compliance accommodations for Form I-9, and USCIS has issued new I-9 guidance concerning employees with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and for DACA recipients.

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• In a previous blog post, we noted the big changes coming for employment visas and H-1B’s based upon presidential proclamations issued last year.   In that post we noted some of the rules may be withdrawn or delayed by the new administration.  Here is the post-inaugural update. On January 20, 2021, White House Chief of Staff

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• Big Changes Coming for employment visas and H-1Bs: Why Now is the time to go forward.

  There are many new developments regarding visa issuance and changes to H-1B’s.  Some of these changes will not become effective as originally put forward, but they may be implemented in a slightly different form. This year is a good time to petition for any anticipated H-1B needs.

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