Employment-Based Immigration

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...

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,...

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...

Permitted Activities on H-1B Status While Being a Member of a Multi-Owner LLC The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa category that allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. This visa is highly sought after by skilled professionals from around the world, as it provides a pathway to work and potentially...

The EB-5 application process begins with filing an I-526 or I-526E form with USCIS. To file, the investor must have already committed the required capital to a new commercial enterprise (NCE). The minimum investment amount is $1.05 million or $800,000 if the investment is made in a targeted employment area (TEA). The investment must be...

For H-1B visa holders, transitioning to an EB-5 visa can be an attractive option to secure permanent residency. This path eliminates the need for employer sponsorship and can bypass the lengthy visa bulletin backlogs typically encountered when needing to file an I-485 after I-140 approval. Maintaining H-1B Status If an EB-5 applicant is from a...

The Social Security Administration (SSA) issues Social Security Numbers (SSNs) and cards to U.S. citizens, immigrant visa holders, and certain nonimmigrant visa holders residing in the U.S. with work authorization from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Applying for an SSN is free.  SSNs are used for reporting earnings and taxes to the IRS,...

The E-2 visa is an excellent pathway for investors from treaty countries to enter the U.S. and manage their own business. One of the key aspects of securing an E-2 visa is demonstrating a substantial investment in the U.S. enterprise. However, many prospective applicants are unsure if they can use loans to meet the investment...