Diversity Visa Lottery Registration Ends November 2

Each year, 50,000 lucky persons obtain lawful permanent residence in the U.S. through the Diversity Visa (DV) lottery.

To apply, you must have either:

EB PERM categories Update

USCIS recently updated PERM statistics. The statistics will show demand in various EB categories is currently 4% higher than last year.

In the past months around 28,000 PERM applications (out of 54,000 received) have been approved. 83% of total approved applications are filed by H1B visa holders. 

Government shutdown ended on October 17

As many of you know government shutdown ended on October 17. All government agencies are now currently open and functioning as usual (though there could be a delay due to backlog).

Many agencies including USCIS has provided relief to applicants who may have been affected by the government shutdown.

E-2 Treaty Investors Visa

The E-2 nonimmigrant classification allows a national of a treaty country (a country with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation) to be admitted to the United States when investing a substantial amount of capital in a U.S. business. 

Certain employees and dependent family members of such a person or of a qualifying organization may also be eligible for this classification.

General Qualifications of a Treaty Investor:

To qualify for E-2 classification, the treaty investor must:

The L-1 intracompany transferee visa program

The L-1 visa program facilitates the temporary transfer of foreign nationals with management, professional, and specialist skills to the United States.

For purposes of section 101(a)(15)(L), an alien is considered to be serving in a capacity involving specialized knowledge with respect to a company if the alien has a special knowledge of the company product and its application in international markets or has an advanced level of knowledge of processes and procedures of the company.

Although the above definition is vague, there is more practical idea after the Puleo & Successive CIS memoranda:

Visa bulletin November 2013

November 2013 Visa bulletin has been released (valid from November 1 to November 30 only). Please see below for more details. 

Family Based:

Family-Sponsored	All Charge -ability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	22OCT06	22OCT06	22OCT06	22SEP93	01JUL01
F2A	08SEP13	08SEP13	08SEP13	01SEP13	08SEP13
F2B	22MAR06	22MAR06	22MAR06	01APR94	01MAR03
F3	08FEB03	08FEB03	08FEB03	01JUN93	08JAN93
F4	22AUG01	22AUG01	22AUG01	22OCT96	22APR90

Employment Based:

Employment-Based Quota Limit Reached for FY 2013

The State Department has confirmed to AILA liaison that employment annual limits have been reached, as is often the case at the end of a fiscal year.

USCIS will continue to process pending adjustment cases, and is able to submit visa number requests for all cases which are being finalized. The State Department will place requests in a “pending Demand” file.