Articles Posted in F1 Visa

 

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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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 December 2024 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 December.


USCIS Adjustment of Status


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


Highlights of the December 2024 Visa Bulletin


At a Glance 

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

Employment-Based Categories


  • The Final Action Date for India EB-2 will advance by two weeks to August 1, 2012
  • The Final Action Date for India EB-3 will advance by one week to November 8, 2012
  • All other employment-based Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing will remain the same in December as the previous month

Family-Sponsored Categories


  • All family-sponsored Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing will remain the same in December as the previous month

For more details, please see our analysis of the December 2024 Visa bulletin below.

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The American people have spoken. Donald Trump will return to the White House on January 20, 2025, becoming the next President of the United States.

This past month, the Trump administration has been busy laying the groundwork to implement stricter border policy measures, strike-down Biden-era immigration policies, and put in motion the large-scale deportation of undocumented immigrants.

But how could a Trump presidency impact legal immigration?

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains what we can expect to see from the incoming Trump administration, with a specific focus on the changes that could impact business immigration law. You will learn about the five major changes that employers and foreign workers should consider in the months ahead.

If you’re an employer looking to hire foreign talent, or are actively employing foreign workers, then you won’t want to miss this video. If you’re a foreign worker going through the visa process, or thinking of applying for a visa, we will share with you the insider information you need to know to ensure your process is successful.

Want to know more? Just keep on watching


Overview


The Trump administration’s immigration policies are expected to impact workers in all industries. Individuals close to the President elect have revealed that they are preparing executive actions on immigration to be rolled out soon after Trump takes office in January.

Here are the top five ways that Trump’s immigration policies will impact business immigration.


#1 The Use of Executive Orders


During his first term in office, Donald Trump relied heavily on executive orders to bring about far-reaching changes in immigration policy, including his notorious “Muslim travel ban.”

As you may recall, in 2017 President Trump signed an executive order banning people from six Muslim-majority countries, from entering the United States for a period of 90 days. These countries were Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen.

The executive order prevented nationals from entering, even if they held visas to travel to the United States, causing wide-spread family separation for those seeking to be reunited with their spouses, parents, and children in the United States.

Upon taking office, we expect President Trump to issue a series of executive orders that will restrict the admission of certain foreign nationals to the United States and codify his hardline immigration policies.

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If you are applying for an immigrant visa for a family member, you will encounter the National Visa Center during your immigration process. The National Visa Center is a branch of the Department of State responsible for managing the processing of immigrant visa applications.

Once USCIS has approved your immigrant petition, your case is transferred to the National Visa Center to collect additional documentation from you, before your case can be scheduled for a visa interview at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick explains why there have been delays in immigrant visa processing due to challenges faced by the National Visa Center.


Overview


What are some of the problems causing delays in visa processing?


Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC) Technical Errors


The Department of State uses an online application for immigrant visa applicants to submit required fees, forms, and documents to the National Visa Center (NVC) for review.

This tool is called the Consular Electronic Application Center, or CEAC which requires you to enter your case number and invoice ID number to login in to the platform.

After logging in the platform will instruct you regarding the steps you need to take to complete pre-processing of your case. This includes 1) paying your fees, 2) completing the DS-260 Immigrant Visa Electronic Application, and 3) uploading the required documentation.

Unfortunately, users commonly experience errors while using the Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC) platform. This includes problems with uploading documents.

When trying to upload documents to CEAC, users who see an “Invalid Image Detected” error must save the completed document as a PDF and re-upload it.

Immigrant Visa Processing Delays


Due to these technical errors, the National Visa Center has been experiencing immigrant visa processing delays. These issues have pushed back immigrant visa processing because the National Visa Center has been unable to promptly receive, and review required documentation.

Other common situations causing delays include submitting incomplete documentation or documentation that is missing required information.

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In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick updates our viewers about how long it is taking for an immigrant visa interview to be scheduled at U.S. Consulates and Embassies overseas as of October 2024.

This information can be found on the State Department’s Immigrant Visa Interview Backlog Report. 

Please note that the green card application process will differ for individuals applying from inside the United States (this process is known as Adjustment of Status).

For the purposes of this video, we will focus solely on consular processing for applicants applying for their green card from outside the United States via a U.S. Consulate or Embassy overseas.

If you would like to learn more about this topic, please keep on watching.


How long do I have to wait for NVC to send my case to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate for interview scheduling?


On average, it can take the National Visa Center approximately 45 days to declare your case “documentarily complete.”

A case becomes “documentarily complete” once the applicant has paid all visa fees and submitted all required documents, including the DS-260 Online Immigrant Visa Application, Affidavit of Support, and other supporting documentation.

PRO TIP: To minimize delays, ensure that you are familiar with the documentation you must submit early on, and provide it promptly.

The amount of time you will need to wait for interview scheduling may vary depending on the following factors:

  • Your Preference Category: unless you are the immediate relative of a U.S. Citizen, your preference category will be subject to annual numerical limits. This means that you must check the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin regularly to know how much time you will need to wait before final action can be taken on your case.
  • Country of Nationality: Your country of nationality may also have an impact on the processing of your case. If you are dealing with a U.S. Embassy or Consulate that is in high demand such as India, Pakistan, or the Philippines, then you can expect longer wait times for interview scheduling, due to limited availability of visa interview appointments.

PRO TIP: Be proactive. Ensure that you have submitted all required documentation and follow up with the National Visa Center (NVC) regularly regarding your case.

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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 this blog post covering the release of the November 2024 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 November.


USCIS Adjustment of Status


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


Highlights of the November 2024 Visa Bulletin


At a Glance

Employment-Based Categories


  • All employment-based Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing will remain the same in November as in the October Visa Bulletin.

Family-Sponsored Categories


Final Action

  • F1 Mexico will advance by 1 year and 10 months to November 22, 2004
  • F2A Mexico will advance by 1.2 months to April 15, 2021
  • F2A All other countries will advance by 1.3 months to January 1, 2022
  • F2B Mexico will advance by 5.5 months to July 1, 2005
  • F3 Mexico will advance by 2 months to October 22, 2000
  • F3 Except for the Philippines All other countries will advance by 2 weeks to April 15, 2010
  • F4 Mexico will advance by 1 week to March 1, 2001
  • F4 India will advance by 1 week to March 8, 2006

Dates for Filing

  • F2B Mexico will advance by 11 months to July 1, 2006
  • F3 Except for Mexico and the Philippines All other countries will advance by almost 10 months to April 22, 2012
  • F4 Philippines will advance by almost 12 months to July 22, 2007
  • F4 India will advance by 1.5 months to August 1, 2006

Now let’s analyze each chart.

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Are you waiting for your priority date to become current on the visa bulletin? Then you won’t want to miss this blog post covering the release of the October 2024 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 October.


USCIS Adjustment of Status


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

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


Highlights of the October 2024 Visa Bulletin


At a Glance

Employment-Based Categories

  • The Final Action date for China EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers will retrogress by five months, to April 1, 2020. The Date for Filing will retrogress by almost 8 months, to November 15, 2020.
  • The Final Action date for EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers Worldwide will advance by almost two years, to November 15, 2022. The Date for Filing will advance by one month, to March 1, 2023.
  • The Final Action date for China EB-5 Unreserved will advance by seven months, to July 15, 2016. The Date for Filing will retrogress by three months, to October 1, 2016.
  • The India EB-5 Unreserved Final Action date will advance by more than one year, to January 1, 2022. The Date for Filing will remain at April 1, 2022.

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In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses the process of applying for a green card via “consular processing” for individuals residing outside of the United States.  Additionally, in this video you will learn how long it is taking for an immigrant visa interview to be scheduled as of September 2024.

Please note that the green card application process will differ for individuals applying from inside the United States (this process is known as Adjustment of Status).

For the purposes of this video, we will focus solely on consular processing for applicants applying for their green card from outside the United States via a U.S. Consulate or Embassy overseas.


Steps Involved in Applying for a Green Card via Consular Processing


There are multiple steps involved when applying for a green card visa consular processing. To understand this process, here is an overview of what lies ahead:

Step 1: The first step to begin consular processing is for your qualifying relative to petition for your visa by submitting Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Step 2: After submitting the immigrant petition, it takes USCIS several months to approve the petition. The time it takes for this petition to be approved depends on several factors including the workload of the service center processing your petition and current USCIS backlogs.

Step 3: Once your petition is approved by USCIS, you must check the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin to see whether a green card is available for you based on your priority date as listed on your I-130, I-140, or I-360 approval notice. For PERM applications, the priority date is the date when the PERM was filed with the Department of Labor. Please note that immediate relatives of U.S. Citizens have a green card immediately available, and they do not need to wait in line. However, other green card applicants are subject to numerical quotas.

Step 4: Once your priority date is current on the Visa Bulletin, and a green card is available, USCIS will forward your petition to the National Visa Center (NVC) for further processing. It takes approximately 90 days for the NVC to receive your case from USCIS. The NVC is an intermediary between USCIS and the Department of State, responsible for preparing your application to be sent to the U.S. Consulate or Embassy abroad where you will be interviewed at the end of your application process.

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If you are currently going through the immigrant visa process and are waiting for your interview to be scheduled at a U.S. Consulate or Embassy overseas, then you won’t want to miss this important video. In this video attorney Jacob Sapochnick shares the latest updates regarding the operational capacity of U.S. Consular posts and Embassies worldwide as of June 2024.


Annual Numerical Limits – Visa Bulletin


Please note that certain categories of immigrants are subject to annual numerical limits which means that applicants must wait until an immigrant visa becomes available to them, before they can be scheduled for an immigrant visa interview at a Consulate overseas.

These include unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. Citizens, spouses and children of permanent residents, unmarried sons and daughters (21 years or older) of permanent residents, married sons and daughters of U.S. Citizens, and brothers and sisters of adult U.S. Citizens.

Additionally, all employment-based immigrant visa categories are subject to annual numerical limits.

If any of the above-mentioned categories apply to you, you must check the Visa Bulletin every month to determine whether your priority date is current according to your preference category and country of nationality. Only once your priority date is current on the final action date chart of the Visa Bulletin, can your case be scheduled for a visa interview.

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Have you ever been confused about how to read the Visa Bulletin or wanted to learn more about how it works? Then you won’t want to miss this important video.

In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick breaks down everything you need to know about how to read and understand the Visa Bulletin issued by the State Department.


Overview


What is a Priority Date?


First, let’s discuss what a priority date is in immigration law.

A priority date is the date that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received your I-130 immigrant petition for alien relative, or I-140 immigrant petition for alien worker. For employment-based cases, where a labor certification application is required, the priority date is the date on which the labor certification was received by the Department of Labor.

Essentially, a priority date determines a person’s place in line in the immigrant visa queue because there are a limited number of green cards available in a given year. The limited number of visas is also referred to as an annual numerical limitation or “visa cap,” set by the U.S. Congress.

A priority date is critically important because it determines when you can apply for your green card (if you are in the U.S.), or your immigrant visa at a consulate overseas.

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