VISA2US Blog

When you’re a foreign national living in the United States, you need permission from the government to obtain work legally. This is given via an EAD or an Employment Authorization Document. Work authorization is the proof an employer needs to hire you, but it isn’t always given to immigrants or foreign nationals. If you’re waiting for a National Interest Waiver or are on another path to a Green Card, and you already have work authorization, keeping it is a precarious thing. Here, we’ll delve into everything you need to know to get or maintain your EAD when you’re waiting for an NIW or Green Card.

As the immigration system in the United States continues to undergo scrutiny, it is slowly evolving one category at a time. Most recently, on September 18, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security issued a proposed rule to bring the H-2 Temporary Visa Program up-to-date, strengthening protections for these workers and making other much-needed changes. What does this modernization attempt mean for skilled and unskilled workers? We’ll break down the changes here.

Premium processing is an optional part of filing certain forms as part of your immigrant or nonimmigrant petition. Although it’s not essential, this feature is often beneficial for those who need their forms adjudicated quickly. Through the expedited processing of your case, you may be able to push your application ahead of others. However, the categories that allow premium processing are limited and frequently changing. USCIS’s latest adjustment to this feature was announced in June 2023, and we have the information that you need to know here.

When you’re in the United States under an H-1B visa, there are specific terms you must abide by during your stay. Yes, the visa gives you permission to work and earn a living in the country, but only for the company that sponsored your petition and only under the job description specified on your Labor Condition Approval. But sometimes, your financial goals aren’t in line with your annual income, and you want to add more money to your bank account. How can you earn extra income while on an H-1B visa without violating the terms of your document? Keep reading to find out what you can do to increase your pay while in the US and what you mustn’t do if you want to avoid penalties.

Changes to how the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services department handles premium processing have begun, and the latest round began on April 3, 2023. These adjustments directly affect students in certain F-1 categories and those petitioning for nonimmigrant foreign worker visas. This blog explains how you may be affected by the new regulations for premium processing.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services filed a petition recently requesting permission to raise its rates. If this proposed rule is approved, certain applications and petitions will see filing fee hikes. As with any fee request, there are advantages and disadvantages to this change, but USCIS and the government aren’t making this decision unilaterally. Those affected by this rule and anyone with an opinion on the proposed rule may be heard, but the public comment period ended on March 13, 2023. What does this mean for you? Read on to learn the details.

H-1B nonimmigrant visas have impacted the US economy and the professions and lives of hundreds of thousands of foreign workers over the years. These visas are designed for those with skills that classify as a “specialty occupation,” but that definition has evolved and continues to change depending on the political and social climate of the country. Recent challenges to the H-1B specialty occupation are in process, and if you’re applying for a new or renewed work visa, you should know what these changes mean for you.

Getting the notice from USCIS that your H-1B visa petition was approved is exciting! All that hard work and stress has paid off, and you’re almost on your way to your new career in the United States. But there’s one more important hurdle to get through before you’re officially a US nonimmigrant working and living in the country: the visa stamping process. What does this process involve, and how have the changes in 2023 affected it? Read on to find out!

When you sign your H-1B visa, you accept the terms provided by USCIS. Those terms stipulate that you’re only allowed to work for the employer listed on the I-129 form — the business that sponsored your visa. But when the salary they pay you isn’t enough for you to reach your financial goals, can you supplement that income in other ways? This guide explains how to stay within the terms of your contract and still make some side cash.

When an employer extends a job offer to a foreign worker, it’s never done lightly. This action comes at a cost — payable to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Labor. Yet, although those fees can seem hefty when you’re the one paying them, USCIS operates on a constant backlog due to high operating costs. The fees have stayed consistent since 2016, but in 2023, a proposed rule seeks to help reduce backlogs by increasing fees and allowing the department to streamline its processes.