Articles Posted in Employment Based Sponsorship

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Are you applying for an immigrant visa and want to know when your priority date will become current? Then you won’t want to miss our analysis of the June 2025 Visa Bulletin.

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what you can expect to see in terms of the movement of the family-sponsored and employment-based visa categories in the month of June.

USCIS Adjustment of Status

For employment-based preference categories, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed it will continue to use the Final Action Dates chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of June.

For family-sponsored preference categories, USCIS will also continue to use the Dates for Filing chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of June.

Please click here for more information.

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Are you applying for an immigrant visa and want to know when your priority date will become current? Then you won’t want to miss our analysis of the May 2025 Visa Bulletin.

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what you can expect to see in terms of the movement of the family-sponsored and employment-based visa categories in the month of May.

USCIS Adjustment of Status

For employment-based preference categories, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed it will continue to use the Final Action Dates chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of May.

For family-sponsored preference categories, USCIS will also continue to use the Dates for Filing chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of May.

Please click here for more information.

Highlights of the May 2025 Visa Bulletin

At a Glance

What can we expect to see in the month of May?

Employment-Based Categories

Dates for Filing Advancements

  • No change

Final Action Advancements & Retrogressions

EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers

  • EB-3 India will advance by 2 weeks to April 15, 2013

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You have just learned that your work visa petition has been approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Now you are ready to attend your Consular visa interview bringing you one step closer to achieving your dream of working in the United States.

Unfortunately, receiving a USCIS approval notice does not guarantee the successful issuance of a visa by the U.S. Consulate. In fact, for some unlucky few that fail to pass their visa interview, the U.S. government can still revoke or cancel a petition that was previously approved by USCIS.

What can you do in this situation? Is this the end of the road? Learn everything you need to know about this important subject in this video.

Overview

Can the State Department revoke a work visa petition that was previously approved by USCIS?

Unfortunately, yes. After receiving an approval notice from USCIS, work visa applicants must still attend an in-person Consular interview to demonstrate their eligibility for the visa classification they are seeking. A Consular officer will question the applicant further to ensure they qualify for the visa and may request further evidence.

When a Consular visa interview goes south, not only can the visa application be denied, but the Consulate can also direct USCIS to revoke the underlying petition that was previously approved by the agency.

The petition revocation process begins when the State Department returns the application to USCIS along with the results of any investigation they have conducted.

Once USCIS has received the returned petition and the results of the investigation, they will issue a Notice of Intent to Revoke (NOIR) to the petitioner of the previously approved petition. The NOIR will include details about USCIS’ plans to revoke the underlying petition, as well as the discovery of new, derogatory information leading to the visa denial. A statement of facts underlying the revocation will be provided along with any evidence supporting the revocation.

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Are you applying for an immigrant visa and want to know when your priority date will become current? Then you won’t want to miss our analysis of the April 2025 Visa Bulletin.

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what you can expect to see in terms of the movement of the family-sponsored and employment-based visa categories in the month of April.

USCIS Adjustment of Status

For employment-based preference categories, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed it will continue to use the Final Action Dates chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of April.

For family-sponsored preference categories, USCIS will also continue to use the Dates for Filing chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of April.

Please click here for more information.

Highlights of the April 2025 Visa Bulletin

At a Glance

What can we expect to see in the month of April?

Employment-Based Categories

Dates for Filing Advancements

EB-2 Members of the Professions and Aliens of Exceptional Ability

  • EB-2 India will advance by 1 month to February 1, 2013
  • EB-2 China will advance by 1 month to November 1, 2020

EB-3 Other Workers

  • EB-3 Worldwide, Mexico, and the Philippines will advance by 1 month to June 22, 2021

Final Action Advancements & Retrogressions

EB-1 Aliens of extraordinary ability, Outstanding Professors and Researchers, and Certain Multinational Managers or Executives

  • EB-1 India will advance by 2 weeks to February 15, 2022

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In this video attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses a new executive order signed by President Trump called “One Voice for America’s Foreign Relations,” instructing U.S. Consulates and Embassies worldwide to start laying off visa officers and local employees.

How will this impact those currently going through the non-immigrant or immigrant visa process?

What about employees inside and outside of the U.S. who need to visit a U.S. Consulate or Embassy for visa stamping?

Learn everything you need to know about this executive order in this video.

Overview

“One Voice for America’s Foreign Relations,” is a new executive order signed by the President that calls for major reforms of the Foreign Service, including U.S. Embassies and Consulates.

Specifically, the executive order calls for changes to recruiting, performance, evaluation, and retention standards, and the programs of the Foreign Service Institute, “to ensure a workforce that is committed to faithful implementation of the President’s foreign policy.”

In implementing the reforms, the order directs the Secretary of State to revise or replace the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) used by Consular officers when deciding whether to issue U.S. visas, and directs subordinate agencies to remove, amend, or replace any handbooks, procedures, or guidance used for issuing visas.

The impact of this executive order will be the reduction of visa staff and local employees working at U.S. Embassies and Consulates responsible for issuing visas.

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Are you applying for an immigrant visa and want to know when your priority date will become current? Then you won’t want to miss our analysis of the February 2025 Visa Bulletin.

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what you can expect to see in terms of the movement of the family-sponsored and employment-based visa categories in the month of February.

USCIS Adjustment of Status

For employment-based preference categories, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed it will use the Final Action Dates chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of February.

For family-sponsored preference categories, USCIS will use the Dates for Filing chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the month of February.

Please click here for more information.

Highlights of the February 2025 Visa Bulletin

At a Glance

What can we expect to see in the month of February?

Employment-Based Categories

Dates for Filing

  • No change from previous month 

Final Action Advancements

EB-2 Members of the Professions and Aliens of Exceptional Ability

  • EB-2 India will advance by two weeks to October 15, 2012

EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers

  • EB-3 India will advance by two weeks to December 15, 2012
  • EB-3 China will advance by one month to July 1, 2020

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Now that 2025 is in full swing, in this video, we will discuss our predictions for visa availability for employment-based and family-sponsored preference categories, based on historical patterns and statistical information from the past year.

If you are waiting for your priority date to become current on the Visa Bulletin and want to know when your immigrant visa might be issued, you won’t want to miss this video.

Overview

Each year, the availability of immigrant numbers for employment-based preference immigrants is calculated based on Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

For FY 2024, the annual numerical limit for family sponsored immigrant visas was 226,000. Of these visas, only about 170,000 visas were actually allocated and issued to family sponsored immigrants. Approximately 58,000 visas were left unused in fiscal year 2024 due to country specific backlogs and scheduling delays.

That leaves a substantial number of unused family visa numbers that can potentially be transferred to employment-based visas in fiscal year 2025.

It is important to note that for fiscal year 2024, the Department of State determined that the employment-based annual limit would be 160,791, due to unused family-sponsored visa numbers from fiscal year 2023 being added to the employment-based limit for fiscal year 2024.

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In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses an interesting situation that can occur when the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issues a green card by mistake.

Learn what can happen in this situation and the steps you need to take to inform USCIS of the mistake, so that it does not cause complications for you down the road.

Overview

You might be wondering, how is it possible for a green card to be issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) by mistake? Although this is not a common occurrence, there are situations where an administrative or clerical error, can lead USCIS to issue a green card before an applicant is eligible to receive one, or before a green card is available.

It is important for you to understand that receiving a green card in error can have serious immigration consequences. Those who fail to take action to correct or remedy the mistake within a reasonable time can lose their ability to apply for U.S. Citizenship or even jeopardize their green card status.

How Does This Occur?

Green Card Issued Before a Priority Date is Current

Under U.S. immigration law, except for immediate relatives of U.S. Citizens, there are annual numerical limits on the number of green cards that can be issued to green card applicants. This applies to both employment-based and family-sponsored applicants. Due to these numerical limitations, the majority of green card applicants must wait their place in line until a green card is available to them. Only once an applicant has reached the front of the line (their priority date becomes current for final action on the Visa Bulletin), can they be eligible to receive a green card.

To know when a priority date is current for final action, applicants must regularly review the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin. A green card applicant’s priority date can be located on the I-130 or I-140 Form I-797 Notice of Action. The priority date generally falls on the date when the I-130 or I-140 immigrant petition was filed with USCIS. This date will determine your place in line in the green card queue.

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently published a final rule in the Federal Register aimed at modernizing the H-1B and H-2 work visa programs.

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick shares the ways in which the final rule will impact H-1B workers, H2 workers, and their employers. In general, these changes will make it easier for H-1B workers to obtain visa renewals in the new year and will prevent workplace interruptions for F-1 international students seeking to change their status to H-1B.

The final rule impacting H-2 temporary workers will allow U.S. companies to hire seasonal workers more quickly and more efficiently than ever before.

H-1B Final Rule Highlights

  • Modernizes the definition and criteria for H-1B specialty occupations
  • Introduces cap-gap protections for F-1 students seeking a change of status to H-1B
  • Streamlines the processing of applications for individuals who were previously approved for an H-1B visa
  • Allows H-1B beneficiaries with a controlling interest in the petitioning organization to be eligible for H-1B status subject to certain conditions
  • Clarifies that employers must have a legal presence in the United States

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President Trump will soon return to the White House, bringing with him many changes in the world of immigration.

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick shares the ways in which the Trump administration will impact the processing at visas U.S. Consulates and Embassies worldwide, including immigrant and non-immigrant visas.

This video also covers the latest updates regarding the operational capacity of U.S. Consular posts and Embassies as of November 2024.

If you are currently waiting in line for a visa interview at a U.S. Consulate or Embassy abroad, you won’t want to miss this video.

Overview

President Trump will settle into the White House on January 20, 2024, bringing with him new appointments to cabinet level positions. His pick for Secretary of State is likely to be the Republican Marco Rubio, a known conservative who supports legal immigration and a crackdown on illegal immigration.

Nonimmigrant visa applicants may face new restrictions when applying at U.S. Consulates and Embassies. During the previous Trump administration, work visa applicants were under much heavier scrutiny than ever before. H-1B, O-1, L-1, and J visa applicants found it much more difficult to obtain approvals both at the USCIS and Consular level.

These challenges existed even for applicants seeking extensions of their work visa.

To avoid being subject to greater scrutiny, applicants should file their cases as soon as possible. If premium processing service is available for your petition, take advantage of it.

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