US Immigration News

We are still waiting to hear if there will be a temporary non-immigrant worker visa ban for certain US visa categories.  The current coronavirus COVID-19 situation may be used as an excuse for what in reality, if it happens, will be some sort of partial work visa suspension. 

One bit of good news is that from 1 June 2020 there will be a phased re-introduction of premium processing for I-129 non-immigrant work visas and, where relevant, I-140 employment based green card applications.

Currently there are rumours that a number of work related non-immigrant visa categories could be suspended by Trump.  The USCIS service centers that actually deal with non-immigrant visa applications are still open.

How much difference this helpful US H1B visa ruling will make in practice remains to be seen.  The Trump administration is very imaginative in finding ways to restrict immigration.  The head of USCIS is Trump appointee immigration hardliner Ken Cuccinelli.  There are also rumours

The US visa system is very restrictive, and the H1B visa category in particular is tightly regulated.  You need to obtain a “prevailing wage” and certified “Labor Condition Application” from the Department of Labor before submitting an H1B visa petition.  Many employers

The US probably has the most complex immigration system in the World.   The amount of documentation required for many US visa applications to USCIS, headed by immigration hardliner acting director Ken Cuccinelli, is quite enormous.  For example for an US L1 intra-company transfer visa