Archive for August, 2010

Political Asylum Series: India

Political Asylum – Part I Spotlight: India I’m going to introduce a new segment to my blog readers.  Many current and potential clients contact me or my office to discuss whether or not they have a legitimate claim to asylum in the United States.  I am going to start a series on this blog to […]

Posted on August 30, 2010 at 2:07 pm by Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith · Permalink · 9 Comments
In: Political Asylum · Tagged with: 

FY2011 H1B Visa Cap Count as of August 20, 2010

USCIS has updated its FY 2011 H1B cap count and reports that, as of May 11, 2010, 33,900 regular cap petitions filed and 12,600 Master’s degree cap petitions filed.  The H1B cap for FY 2011 is 65,000 for regular cap filings and 20,000 for Master’s cap filings.

Posted on August 26, 2010 at 1:55 pm by Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: H-1B Visa, H-1B Visa Cap · Tagged with: ,

USCIS Filing Fees on the Rise Again!

On August 13, 2010, President Obama signed Public Law 111-230 into law which dramatically increases H1B and L1 filing fees for certain US companies.  The new law went into effect immediately and though Form I-129 has not yet incorporated the new law into the form, all US petitioning companies must disclose whether they are subject […]

Posted on August 26, 2010 at 1:37 pm by Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: Filing Fees, USCIS · Tagged with: ,

H1B Visa Extensions Beyond the Six Year Limitation

The maximum duration for status as an H1B visa holder is six years.  Any time spent in L status or other H status such as H2B or H4 visa status is included.  Normally, a foreign national who wishes to hold H1B visa status beyond the six year maximum is prohibited unless he or she spends […]

Posted on August 17, 2010 at 8:21 pm by Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith · Permalink · 2 Comments
In: AC21, H-1B Visa · Tagged with: ,