During a recent conversation with Charlie Oppenheim of the Department of State's Visa Office, the American Immigration Lawyers' Association (AILA) was provided the following information and updates regarding demand in the employment-based immigrant visa categories. Please note that these notes are based on Mr. Oppenheim's impressions at the time and are subject to change...

The Department of State (DOS) recently released additional, more detailed information about how it calculates immigrant visa availability cut-off dates.

DOS explained that each month, its Visa Office subdivides the annual preference and foreign state limitations into monthly allotments based on totals of documentarily qualified immigrant visa applicants reported at consular posts and U.S....

One of the largest immigration related penalties against a single company was recently reported. Infosys Limited, an Indian company involved in consulting, technology and outsourcing, has agreed to a record $34 million civil settlement based on allegations of systemic visa fraud and abuse of immigration processes, and also agreed to enhanced corporate compliance measures....

The U.S. Department of State is currently accepting applications for the 2015 Diversity Visa program (DV-2015, also known as the green card lottery). The DV-2015 application period, which runs from October 1 to November 2, marks the first time that applicants may include same-sex spouses in their initial applications or add spouses acquired after...

USCIS on October 6th, 2013, has issued policy memorandum about OPT for students enrolled in STEM Program as following:

17-Month Extension of Post-Completion Optional Practical Training (OPT) for F-1 Students Enrolled in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Degree Programs

Purpose

The purpose of this policy memorandum (PM) is to clarify the eligibility requirements for a...

The following is the information with regard to AILA (American Immigration Lawyers Association) intake on persons who overstay their visas.

Policymakers are calling for a solution to address those who have "overstayed their visas." However, the label of "visa overstays" is widely misused and misunderstood. The reality is that identifying visa overstays is an...

It is time to clear-up misconceptions about Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). It is not true that individuals must be under 31 to be eligible for DACA. Any individual born after June 15, 1981 is within-and shall remain within-DACA's age requirements. Only individuals who were 31 years old or older on June 15,...

Now that Congress has ended the government shutdown and narrowly averted hitting the nation's debt ceiling, it should come as no surprise that immigration reform is back ON THE "FRONT BURNER". Supporters of reform are pushing for House leadership to bring a path to citizenship and other immigration bills to the floor for a...