A Look at the Latest Exemptions to Trump’s Travel Ban

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By: Rachel Horner Proclamation 10052, also known as the H-1B or L-1 Travel Ban, was enacted in August as a response to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the Trump Administration has relaxed restrictions and created several exemptions. Want to know who’s exempt? Read below. Those Applying for the Same Position with the Same Company H-1B and L-1 visas can now be issued for employees who are “seeking to resume ongoing employment in the United States in the same position with the same employer and visa classification.” Healthcare Workers Those who are working within the healthcare sector, especially on the frontlines for the battle against COVID, and other deadly diseases, like cancer, are exempt from the travel ban. H1B Visa Criteria Broadly speaking, the present criteria for H1B visas ...

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A Close Look at the Looming USCIS Furloughs and What’s Being Done to Prevent It

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By: Rachel Horner A new emergency bill was created and passed over the weekend in an attempt to halt the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) furloughs set to happen August 30 (originally August 3). Of the nearly 20,000 employees, 13,400 are to be possibly furloughed at the end of the month. What brought all of this on? Like the U.S. Post Office, USCIS is not funded by taxes. Its funding is generated through the fees it charges to applicants seeking U.S. citizenship or Visas to visit the country. A decrease in number of petitions points to one of the main reasons behind the proposed furloughs. As the Trump Administration enacted more restrictive policies, such as ending Temporary Protected Status for ...

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Outside the H: Park takes on the L, O, and other specialized visas.

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Outside the H: Park takes on the L, O, and other specialized visas.

By: Ryan Mernin Park is well-known throughout business immigration for specialty occupation expert opinion letters for H-1B visa petitions. However, Park also services L-1, O-1, EB, and a host of other visas offered by the United States government. In this series, “Thinking Outside the H,” we take a look at the unique challenges posed by these other visas, starting here, in this article, with the L-1B “specialized knowledge” petition. The L-1B: How to Make Specialized Knowledge Stand Out in Your Petition When it comes to filing an L-1 petition, perhaps the most difficult thing to do is gauge what USCIS is prone to challenge in your case. If you’re a client is a company executive transferring to the United ...

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CASE STUDY: Is “Business Administration” Too General for Specialty Occupation?

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CASE STUDY: Is “Business Administration” Too General for Specialty Occupation?

By: Mark Anthony Rogers If you’re an immigration attorney or a petitioner seeking an H-1B visa, the degree requirement of a Bachelor’s in Business Administration can be a real headache. You know that even though the position is a specialty occupation, the term “Business Administration” is an obstacle, that it’s sometimes seen as “too general” by USCIS. You might be tempted to avoid the term “Business Administration” altogether when filing for fear of USCIS challenging the specialty nature of the position. The Challenge Park has handled this problem before. In this case, the RFE challenged read as follows: “The OOH does not indicate that Finance Manager positions normally require a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in a specific specialty. ...

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What Could the H-1B Electronic Registration Process Mean for Business Immigration?

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What Could the H-1B Electronic Registration Process Mean for Business Immigration?

By: Anjelica Daskarolis Following USCIS’ announcement of the new H-1B Electronic Registration process, speculation has erupted across the business immigration world as industry experts and attorneys try to forecast how this new technology will impact the H-1B petition process. After the official H-1B cap registration launch, this past Monday, March 2nd, attorneys grit their teeth as the technical problems began to unfold.  System entrance complications, faulty attorney categorizations, passcode dilemmas, payment difficulties, and data delays all played a role in tampering with the much-anticipated lottery kickoff.  With the upcoming registration closing date falling on March 20th, there is fortunately still time for the USCIS to fine-tune these pesky glitches. The electronic system was intended to save employers time, money, and unnecessary paperwork.  By ...

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The Key to an Effective O-1A Visa Expert Opinion Letter

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The Key to an Effective O-1A Visa Expert Opinion Letter

By: Rebecca Anderson What is an O-1 Visa? According to the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, “an O-1 nonimmigrant visa is available for the individual who possesses an extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or who has a demonstrated record of astonishing achievement in the motion picture or television industry and has been recognized nationally or internationally for those achievements.” The O-1A visa, in particular, is for individuals with extraordinary ability in the sciences, education, business, or athletics. These visas are a beautiful thing. First of all, they are the only non-specific work visa, and while candidates must show a letter of intent for future work, they are by no means bound to any single ...

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Top 4 Reasons Why USCIS Might Challenge a Work Experience Evaluation and How to Prevent an RFE

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Top 4 Reasons Why USCIS Might Challenge a Work Experience Evaluation and How to Prevent an RFE

By: Angela Cook One of the more common evaluations H-1B beneficiaries obtain is an experience expert letter that assesses a beneficiary’s academic history and prior work experience. For nearly three decades, this type of expert opinion letter had largely gone unchallenged, as long as the conclusion (that a beneficiary has earned the equivalent of a Bachelor’s degree) was defensible, and the documentation on which the letter was based is accurate and detailed. However, over the last few years, USCIS has taken a tougher stance and has been challenging work experience evaluations more and more. Here are four things to consider when procuring a work experience evaluation that just might help avoid an RFE. 1. The 3:1 Rule – the crux of the ...

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How do I prevent or answer a USCIS “First-Hand Knowledge” RFE?

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How do I prevent or answer a USCIS “First-Hand Knowledge” RFE?

The changing tides of immigration laws have brought with them a host of new requirements for the H-1B Visa application process. What’s more, as is almost always the case with new requirements, they have provided immigration authorities with new opportunities for objections and denials. First-Hand Knowledge Issue The objection is this: USCIS has been challenging how the expert writing the opinion letter gained his or her knowledge about a given position, knowledge leading to the conclusion that the position does qualify as a Specialty Occupation. USCIS believes “the [expert] reached this conclusion by relying on [the organization’s] description of the position rather than any specific study of the position at [the] organization” and wants to see evidence that “the [expert] visited ...

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