美国移民局为STEM EB-2 国家利益豁免人才敞开大门
A. 什么是 EB-2 绿卡？ EB-2 绿卡类别适用于拥有硕士学位（或同等学历的学士学位加 5 年工作经验）的申请人。 EB-2 类别对于印度出生的申请人来说积压严重，但对于来自其他国家的申请人面临着更有利的情况。中国EB-2 绿卡排期相当短。所有其他国家根本没有排期。 B. 什么是国家利益豁免？ 国家利益豁免是 EB-2 类别独有的。 通常，任何 EB-2 申请人都需要美国劳工部颁发的经批准的 PERM 劳工证明。这个过程很耗时。它要求美国雇主提供工作机会，该工作机会必须满足美国劳工部设定的最低“现行工资”。它还要求美国雇主采取具体措施招聘符合工作要求的美国当地雇员。在实践中，这些步骤可能需要长达 18 个月到 24 个月才能完成。 国家利益豁免是获得所有这些要求豁免的一种方式。这意味着申请人不需要美国雇主的工作机会。换句话说，它允许潜在的申请人自我担保他们的绿卡。不仅如此，国家利益豁免申请人被豁免从事招聘和遵守正常PERM劳工认证的现行工资要求。无需向美国劳工部提出申请，这将流程加快了 18 至 24 个月。 然而，国家利益豁免的要求从来都不是一件容易的事。最新版本的要求由 Matter of Dhanasar (2016) 中的一项重要法院判决规定： (1) 申请人在美国的拟议工作具有实质性的价值和国家重要性。 (2) 申请人有能力推进所提议的工作。 (3) 如果申请人免于获得雇主担保和提交PERM劳工证明，美国将受益。 C. 新的 USCIS 指导意味着什么？ 2022 年 1 月 21 日发布的新 USCIS 指南旨在让申请人更容易申请 EB-2 […]
USCIS Opens the Door to STEM EB-2 National Interest Waivers
Washington, D.C., January 31, 2022: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced last week that it was issuing new and updated guidance to immigration officers in relation to adjudicating EB-2 requests for “National Interest Waivers” (NIW). This new guidance renders the EB-2 NIW process slightly more flexible and favors qualifying applicants with STEM degrees. A. […]
Happy Chinese New Year 2022 – Year of the Tiger
Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, is just around the corner. Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year 2022 will fall on Tuesday, February 1st, 2022, starting a year of the Tiger, third in the 12-animal Chinese zodiac cycle. Tigers were born in 2010, 1998, 1986, 1974, 1962, 1950 […]
H-1B Registration Starts on March 1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year 2023 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 1 and run through noon Eastern on March 18, 2022. During this period, prospective petitioners and representatives will be able to complete and submit their registrations using our online […]
USCIS Issues New Criteria for Expedited Processing
Washington, D.C., January 25, 2022: At a time of notorious backlogs and delays, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services has decided to issue new guidance relating to the criteria that it uses for approving discretionary requests for expedited processing. The criteria are now available in the USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 1, Part A, Public Services, Chapter […]
New Countries Added to H-2B Program for 2022
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of State (DOS), has announced the lists of countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B visa programs in 2022. For the next year, the Secretary of Homeland Security, with the concurrence of the secretary of state, has decided to: […]
USCIS Provides Clarifying Guidance on O-1 Nonimmigrants in Arts vs. Motion Picture and Television
Washington, D.C., January 18, 2022: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify how it determines whether an O-1B beneficiary is evaluated as a person of extraordinary ability in the arts, or as a person of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry (MPTV). Policy […]
USCIS Extends Flexibility for Responding to Agency Requests
Washington, D.C., December 30, 2021: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is extended the flexibilities it announced on March 30, 2020, to assist applicants, petitioners, and requestors who are responding to certain: Requests for Evidence; Continuations to Request Evidence (N-14); Notices of Intent to Deny; Notices of Intent to Revoke; […]
DHS Files Motion to Dismiss Appeal for EB-5 Investment Amount
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on January 5 th , 2022, filed an unopposed motion to dismiss its appeal to the Behring Regional Center lawsuit. The appeal was filed in August 2021 by Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security; Tracy Renaud, Acting Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; Edie Pearson, USCIS Policy Branch […]
No In-Person Visa Interviews for Temporary U.S. Visas at U.S. Consulates
On December 24, 2021, amid growing concerns of surging Covid-19 cases, the Department of State had announced that it will waive the in-person interview requirement for a range of visa applicants during the entire year in 2022, including for H-1B workers and students, many of whom are from India. The Department of State has authorized […]