2015 Old Blog

The U.S. Department of State's (DOS) September 2015 Visa Bulletin has been released. For updated family and employment-based green card processing times, view the following charts.

Recently, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reported that the denial rate for L-1B visas, for intracompany transfers with specialized knowledge, hit a record high of 35 percent in 2014. In direct response, on August 31, USCIS will implement a policy memorandum to guide its officers in adjudicating L-1B petitions.

On August 12, the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., ruled that the program granting 17-month extensions in F-1 Optional Practical Training for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students was invalid, citing that the program failed to follow the proper enactment procedures.

The immigration process can be stressful for new and seasoned HR professionals alike, due to strict regulations, tedious application requirements and more. However, it’s possible to bring efficiency to the process with a few simple adjustments.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received over 99% of the 2,600 employment authorization document (EAD) cards that were incorrectly sent to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients early this year.

The August 2015 Visa Bulletin is now live. For updated family- and employment-based green card processing times, view the charts below.

United States Immigration and Citizenship Services (USCIS) recently updated the naturalization test, which legal permanent residents must pass in order to obtain U.S. citizenship. To help you prepare, we’ve identified the top 10 things you need to know about the new naturalization test.

United States Immigration and Citizenship Services (USCIS) designates a special visa classification, the L-1, for “intracompany transferees,” i.e. individuals who work for a company outside the U.S. that is related to a U.S. company, so that those individuals can work for the related company in the United States.

USCIS is requiring a small number of DACA holders to return their 3-year employment authorization document (EAD) cards. The reason? About 2,100 3-year work authorization cards were issued after the February 16 deferred action injunction date. If you think this may apply to you, keep reading because we’ve broken down what you need to know about this important DACA update.

If you’re a Canadian employer who regularly hires foreign talent, you’ve probably had to complete the Labour Market Opinion (LMO) in the past to ensure your recruitment of foreign workers doesn’t displace a Canadian citizen from the local workforce. However, the government has made changes to the market test to add more regulations and rigorous compliance aspects to the system and, as a result, renamed the process the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).