San Francisco Immigration Law Blog
New Presidential Executive Order Targets Hong Kong Visa Applicants
By Robert P. Gaffney, Esq. and Kristina M. Seil, Esq. Contribution by Wendy C. Yu, Esq. In a speech in the White House Rose Garden on July 14, 2020, the President announced that he had signed an executive order ending U.S. preferential treatment for Hong Kong. In the...
Research refutes claim that H-1B visa holders harm U.S. economy
The Trump administration has been scouting for endorsements to back up its claim that immigrant holders of the temporary H-1B specialty occupation visa are harmful to the American economy. A central argument underpinning restrictions stresses that H-1B visa holders...
How does the EB5 visa process work?
The Immigration Act of 1990 created the employment-based fifth preference, or EB-5 immigrant investor category. Under the EB-5 provisions now in effect, approximately 10,000 visas are available each year to immigrants seeking to enter the U.S. for the purposes of:...
Should You Apply to Adjust Status in the United States or Seek an Immigrant Visa Abroad?
By Wendy C. Yu, Esq. After a beneficiary of an immigrant petition receives approval, she must decide whether to adjust status in the United States or apply for an immigrant visa abroad. With the prolonged adjudication times of adjustment of status applications, many...
5 Things to Know About Trump’s June 22, 2020 Proclamation, a Ban on Nonimmigrant Visas including H-1B, H-2B, L and certain J visas
By Robert P. Gaffney, Esq. and Kristina M. Seil, Esq. On June 22, 2020, the White House issued a Presidential Proclamation[i] (titled “Presidential Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus...
USCIS Policy on Sustainment of Investment and Redeployment
By Robert P. Gaffney, Esq. and Wendy C. Yu, Esq. According to the EB-5 regulations an EB-5 investor will be considered to have sustained the actions required for removal of conditions if he or she has, in good faith, substantially met the capital investment...
2020 Changes to the H-1B Registration Process
The H-1B temporary specialty occupation visa figured prominently in immigration-related reporting this year. Given the current spotlighting of the visa (particulars, potential restrictions and more), it is now important more than ever to have competent immigration...
Can I use an L visa to transfer a foreign employee from within the company to the United States?
Multinational companies may want to transfer employees from one country to another. The L-1 nonimmigrant visa may be a useful tool for facilitating the intracompany transfer of foreign-based employees to the United States on a temporary basis. An L-1 visa is a type of...
Bring over the right talent with a temporary visa
U.S. employers may want to grow their companies by securing a temporary visa for nonimmigrant workers. The U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs states that foreign workers must use a visa to temporarily work in the country. There are a few visa options...
Employer Attestations on an H-1B Labor Condition Application
The H-1B visa category allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. Each federal fiscal year, there is a cap of 65,000 visas/status grants available for bachelor-level H-1Bs (“Regular Cap”), or a cap of 20,000 for...
