An Epic Wait: The Lengthy I-829 Approval Process in the EB-5 Green Card Journey

The journey towards obtaining a green card via the EB-5 route can often be long and grueling, as evidenced by one of the most recent cases. The applicant in question initially filed their EB-5 I-526 form back on March 14, 2014. After waiting patiently for over three years, they finally received their conditional Green Card on April 24, 2017. The saga didn't end there, though. They then had to...

Proffered Wage Must Exceed State’s Minimum Wage, Not Just the Prevailing Wage (Federal)

As DOL continues to experience delays in issuing PWD and adjudicating PERM applications, employers must be careful when setting the proposed wage during the PERM process. It must exceed not just the prevailing wage as set by DOL but also exceed the state's (where worksite is located) minimum wage. You do not want to wait 1.5 to 2 years for the PERM to be certified only to find that the I-140 was...

Visa Bulletin Update FY 2023

September 2023 September 2023 Visa Bulletin Highlights Family-Sponsored Second Preference (F2A) Retrogression: A significant update has been made regarding the F2A category. A cutoff date of 09/01/2023 has been assigned to the dates of filing chart. This indicates that I-485 based on F2A should be filed within this month, August 2023. Steady Employment-Based Number Use: Employment-based number...

I-485 EB Processing Time (Filed in FY 2023)

Final Update ***Final update to finish off the processing times for FY 2023. Updates for FY 2024 will be here. *** In this update, we finalize the update for for I-485 EB approvals received before October 2023. Sample Cases: Case 1: Filed on 10/06/2022, approved on 08/11/2023. No RFE or interview. Total processing time: 10 months. Case 2: Filed on 10/06/2022, approved on 08/11/2023. No RFE or...

Sample EB1A Approvals

October, 5, 2023 Here's an EB1a approval that we received in August for a proficient individual specializing in Biomechanics Modeling and Simulation, with around 100 citations and 9 publications. Also had to deal with a challenging 'give me everything' RFE. We also received one in September for a Structural Engineer, who had about 20 publications and 250 citations. This was a straight approval...

Some TPS Holders May Now Be Considered “Inspected and Admitted” and Be Eligible For Adjustment of Status

On July 1, 2022, USCIS issued an update to its policy manual which clarified that Temporary Protected Status beneficiaries may be deemed eligible for adjustment of status to the extent that they meet the inspected and admitted requirement following a return from authorized travel. TPS beneficiaries who travel abroad temporarily, with the prior consent of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security...

Is the New Estimated Case Processing Time Better than Before?

On May 5, 2022, USCIS announced changes to simplify and improve how the agency communicates case processing time data to the public. Users can now immediately find the processing time information for their particular type of case, rather than seeing an aggregate of all related case types. Additional changes include: Adding drop-down options for form categories will help narrow results to only...