H-1B visa application date is approaching

This week in my "Immigration Consultation" column published online by several impreMedia publications including LaOpinión.com, I explain how to apply for an H-1B visa. Here is the column: One of the ways to legally enter the United States on a temporary basis is through the H-1B visa that is extended to professional foreign workers in specialty occupations. A ... Read more

USCIS continues to accept H-1B visa applications

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that since the registration period opened on April 2, they have received 25,000 H-1B visa petitions that count toward the 65,000 capped quota and another 10,900 that count toward the 20,000 quota dedicated to individuals with degrees ... Read more

USCIS continues to accept applications for FY 2013 H-1B visas

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that in the first week since the registration period opened on April 2, they have received 17,400 H-1B visa petitions that count toward the 65,000 cap and another 8,200 that count toward the 20,000 quota dedicated to individuals ... Read more

How to obtain an H-1B visa

In my column this week in La Opinión, I explain how to obtain an H-1B visa: One of the ways to legally enter the United States is through the H-1B visa that is extended to professional foreign workers in specialty occupations. As of today, April 2, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ... Read more

Mexican national sentenced to prison for human trafficking and forced labor

Simon Banda-Mireles, a 50-year-old Mexican national, was sentenced to nearly 4 years in prison for employing undocumented aliens for commercial purposes. The man, who owned several restaurants in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia admitted to having between 25 to 100 undocumented employees working at his businesses between 2006 and 2008. Banda-Mireles, who ... Read more

Spanish-language E-Verify website launched

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the launch of the Spanish version of its E-Verify website. E-Verify is an Internet-based system that allows businesses to determine whether their employees are legally authorized to work in the U.S. USCIS says it will add information to the website as it ... Read more

Man fined for abusing immigrant employees

In Sunday's edition of The Post Standard newspaper, there was a story about the abuse of a group of immigrants recruited in Mexico to work in Syracuse, New York at a fair. The account of the abuse and mistreatment suffered by 19 Mexicans horrified me. It also infuriated me to learn that there are such inhumane people willing to practically enslave and ... Read more

Registration period for H-1B visas now open

Beginning tomorrow, April 1, applications for H-1B visas for fiscal year 2012 will begin to be accepted. The number of visas available is 65,000. This number does not include the first 20,000 petitions submitted on behalf of individuals who hold graduate degrees obtained in the U.S. The acceptance date for H-1B visas is April 1, ... Read more

USCIS announces 2011 strategy

Yesterday I participated in a conference call hosted by Alejandro Mayorkas, the Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). During this telephone meeting, which was attended by stakeholders from across the country, Mr. Mayorkas outlined what the priorities and goals of USCIS will be during 2011. The ... Read more

H-1B visas sold out for 2011

The number of petitions for H-1B visas has reached the statutory limit for fiscal year 2011. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that Wednesday, January 26, 2011 was the deadline to receive petitions for H-1B visas, which allow U.S. employers to temporarily hire U.S. workers to work in the U.S. in the U.S. for the first ... Read more

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