Chris Prescott

Starting August 19, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began accepting online applications for its new Parole in Place program, introduced under the “Keeping Families Together” initiative. This program is designed to assist non-citizen spouses and stepchildren who entered the U.S. without proper admission or parole. By granting temporary Parole in Place, these individuals...

This article initially set out to compare the pros and cons of filing an Immigrant Petition for a foreign national spouse (Form I-130) versus a fiancé(e) visa (Form I-129F). However, while reviewing the estimated processing times on the USCIS website, the path is no longer clear.  In general, fiancé(e) visas had a shorter processing time,...

The Foreign Labor Application Gateway, commonly known as FLAG, is the centralized hub for all immigration-related processes concerning employment-based applications, including PERM processing. FLAG serves as a comprehensive platform for submitting and managing prevailing wage requests, Labor Condition Applications (LCAs), and other essential immigration documentation.  FLAG recently updated its processing times and unfortunately, they remain...

In June we reported that the Biden administration had announced a parole-in-place program to help unite families.  This new initiative aimed to benefit those married to a U.S. Citizen who had entered without admission or parole and had continuously resided in the U.S. for at least 10 years as of June 17, 2024. Although precise...

Ever since USCIS revoked its 2010 policy memorandum for determining the employer/employee relationship, I strongly believe that sponsoring your own H-1B visa is possible. However, many have been reluctant to attempt this, and for good reasons. For a long time, USCIS required petitioners to meet multiple criteria to demonstrate the existence of an employer/employee relationship,...

On June 17, the Biden administration unveiled a new initiative allowing certain spouses of U.S. citizens to apply for “parole-in-place” through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  Although marriage to a US Citizen allows a foreign national to obtain a green card, those without a legal entry are forced to leave the U.S. and return...

Separate filing fees required for I-765 and I-131 when filing I-485 after April 1, 2024. It’s been 3 months since the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) implemented significant fee increase, including the fee for the Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. Previously.  The previous fee for Form I-485 was...

Consular Processing versus Adjustment of Status for Spouses For many foreign nationals married to U.S. citizens (USC) or lawful permanent residents (LPR), the ultimate goal is to obtain permanent residency in the United States. However, the process of achieving this status can vary significantly depending on whether the individual pursues Consular Processing or Adjustment of...