Immigration QA

UPDATE06/17/2020:  BREAKING: US government denial of COVID relief to noncitizen students has been blocked by a judge. Check with your DSO! In a letter to colleges last April, the Education Department advised colleges to only give relief funds to students who typically qualify for federal financial aid, excluding international students and beneficiaries of DACA. The letter was not binding at the time. In May, the California community college system filed a lawsuit against the DOE alleging that DeVos exceeded her authority in barring colleges to give aid to whom they please. U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers granted an injunction blocking the Department of Education from enforcing their CARES Act guidance on June 17, 2020. The proposed rule will be up for public comment for 30-days until July 17. During this time period, anyone from the public can file a comment on regulations.gov for the agency to consider. Once the rule is finalized, it will be binding on co...

How many violations in this post can you guess? It seems the immigration scammers become bolder every day. Today I came across this little gem posting for indentured servitude amongst the foreign student population. And why not?  As I said before in previous posts about IT consultant abuse , there are no prevailing wage requirements for foreign student trainees like there is for H1B visa workers. However, this erstwhile recruiter forgot the U.S. has another area of law that governs fair labor for everyone. For fun, how many violations in this post can you guess? So, in the spirit of Jeopardy and honoring Alex Trebeck, here are the "questions": 1) What is a maximum age requirement? 2) What is hiring someone from a specific immigration category? 3) What is inducement into prohibited work arrangements? 4) What is the requirement of work authorization before a job offer? For verification of these violations and more, you can visit the   USCIS expla...

Squeeze / skwēz/:    a state of forcing oneself or being forced into a small or restricted space. The government has started the squeeze on OPT.  It looks like 3rd party staffing as well as remote work situations for OPT trainees are either completely out, or, restricted enough to eliminate practical benefit to IT staffing "companies" using foreign IT students.   Now, this may not be too much of a disruption for entities following the spirit of OPT as a training program.  After all, it is called OP- T , not OP- W , because it is for training experience and not intended to serve as a back-door work program.  But some entities will see a major roadblock in the way they've been doing business, and it seems USCIS is concerned most with these companies in its  January 24, 2018 Update .  The IT staffing "consultancies," especially the one guy LLC who collects billable hours by passing Java and Sharepoint resumes, through his apartment...

Recently I answered the following question: "I am planning to come to the U.S for my Masters in Electrical Engineering.  But, based on the political climate surrounding STEM OPT and CPT, possible revocation by Trump, and general negative mood toward foreign students, should I still come? I do have other options (Canada and Germany)." Answer: Immigration, like politics, moves in cycles. There are myths as well.   Actually, it was Obama who cracked down on H1B’s, and abruptly removed some school accreditations leaving many innocent students stranded without options. Despite many negative actions, Trump has actually discussed merit-based immigration, which bodes well for the skilled and educated.  The point is:  Who knows!  OPT aside, you’ll have a masters from a U.S. school that will serve you long into the future. Plus you are electrical engineering and there’s always a need and desperate need now.  This is still the greatest land of oppor...

I recently answered the following question: "I had applied for my EAD in October, but yesterday received an update from USCIS on the website as Request For Initial Evidence Mailed. What could be the reason for this? And after responding, how much more time can it take for approval?"    ANSWER :    Pardon the corny humor, but RFE's can be "Naughty By Nature" (hey you know me). Sometimes they are issued just to give new USCIS employee experience! So it's important not to panic. It's first good to know what evidence it won't request. Whether or not you have secured the appropriate type of OPT employment will not yet be questioned. This is because securing an OPT job, or offer for job, is not required when submitting an initial application. As such, the RFE will likely focus on basic eligibility, such as questions about your education institution or whether you have enrolled in sufficient schooling. Timing is also an issue a...