This nonimmigrant classification applies to people who wish to perform services in a specialty occupation, services of exceptional merit and ability relating to a Department of Defense (DOD) cooperative research and development project, or services as a fashion model of distinguished merit or ability.
We won this case for the applicant having over eleven years of experience in the field of semiconductor thin films and solar cells. This applicant had received a prestigious international award. We provided evidence of the criteria of this award as well as numerous recommendation letters from other experts in the field describing the competitive nature of the award. Given the level of expertise of this applicant, he was highly sought after to review for prestigious international journals in his field. This is an honor only bestowed on the very best.
An H-3 classification applies to an alien who is coming temporarily to the United States:
(1) As a trainee, other than to receive graduate medical education or training, or training provided primarily at or by an academic or vocational institution, or
(2) As a participant in a special education exchange visitor program which provides for practical training and experience in the education of children with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities.
Family members of the H-1B foreign worker are admitted to the United States in the H-4 category. Qualifying family members include only the spouse and unmarried children under 21 years old. H-4 dependents are admitted for the same period of time for which the H-1B foreign worker is admitted. H-4 dependents may alternatively be admitted in other nonimmigrant categories for which they qualify. H-4 dependents may undertake studies while remaining in the H-4 category, however, they may not engage in any form of employment.
The H-2B visa category is used by U.S. employers to temporarily employ skilled or unskilled foreign nationals in nonagricultural positions for which the employer has a temporary need and for which qualified U.S. workers are unavailable. The company must plan to employ the foreign nationals for a temporary period and the employer’s need for the skills of the foreign nationals must also be temporary. In addition, the employer must seek a “labor certification” from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) certifying that:
ICE updated its list of Student and Exchange Visitor Program approved schools.
On December 23, 2011, the President signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012. The legislation contains language prohibiting the Department from implementing the Wage Rule during the 2012 fiscal year. Based on Congressional intent to continue to implement the current H-2B regulations, the Department has published a Final Rule extending the effective date of the Wage Rule to apply to work performed on and after October 1, 2012. The Final Rule is accessible here.
WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reminds its customers that the open re-registration period for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Honduras and Nicaragua ends on Jan. 5, 2012.
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano extended TPS for eligible nationals of Honduras and Nicaragua for an additional 18 months, beginning Jan. 6, 2012, and ending July 5, 2013.
USCIS published information on the number of Form N-400s pending between October 2009 and October 2011, including office locations, receipts, approvals, denials, and cases pending by fiscal year, as well as service-wide average cycle times.
USCIS executive summary from the 11/2/11 teleconference regarding the adjudication of J-1 Exchange Visitor waivers of the two-year foreign residence requirement.
USCIS reminds the sheepherding industry of the upcoming expiration of the one-time accommodation giving them more time to fully transition to the three-year limitation-of-stay requirements for the H-2A nonimmigrant classification.
USCIS announced its limitation-of-stay requirements under a final rule that became effective on Jan. 17, 2009.
The agency granted a one-time accommodation for sheepherders in H-2A status in December 2009 in deference to their industry’s prior exemption from the three-year limitation. This exemption did not impact other H-2A categories.
Posted by Louis F. Quijas, Assistant Secretary for the Office for State and Local Law Enforcement and January Contreras, Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman