Your Custom Text Here
St James's Park in London.
Back in London I was finally convinced that it's springtime when I found these lovely tulips in St James's Park. The park, which also has many daffodils, is only a short walk away from three palaces (St James's, Westminster, and Buckingham Palaces) and is in the heart of historical London. They even have deck chairs to rent! Beautiful flowers and lawn furniture, what more could you ask for?
The E-3 is a nonimmigrant visa that allows Australian citizens to temporarily come to the US to work for a US employer in a professional capacity. To qualify for this visa, Australian foreign nationals must have a legitimate offer of employment in the US with a salary that complies with Department of Labor requirements, fill a position that qualifies as a specialty occupation (i.e., a professional job that requires a bachelor’s degree or higher in a specific field of study), and hold at least a bachelor’s degree (or the equivalent work experience) in a field related to the position.
Read moreCustoms and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the border and airports have almost doubled their searches of electronic devices for individuals entering the US in the last six months, according to data released last week by CBP.
The data shows that CBP searched the electronic devices of 14,993 arriving international travelers since October of fiscal year 2017, with only 8,383 devices searched during the same period of the previous fiscal year. CBP notes that while the number of searches did increase, it only affects 0.008 percent of the approximately 189.6 million travelers arriving to the US. CBP process more than 1 million travelers arriving in the US every day.
Read more
A flowering cherry tree in the Japanese Hill-And-Pond Garden at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
We all know what springtime means: longer days, warmer weather, and, of course, blossoming cherry trees. Ahead of the Cherry Blossom Festival, also called Sakura Matsuri, a few trees at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden have already blossomed. The festival, held later this month, celebrates the Japanese cultural tradition of enjoying each moment of the cherry blossom season and contemplating the beauty and fragility of life. But don't just wait for the festival. Most, if not all, of the cherry trees will soon be in full bloom. Don't have anyone to go with? Not to worry. As the famed Japanese poet Issa says: "Under the cherry blossoms / none are / utter strangers."
As most immigration attorneys were breathing a sigh of relief from having prepared all their H-1B cap cases, and from having rushed to file the H-1B renewals requiring premium processing; and as we were just popping open that bottle of champagne, US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a surprise memo on March 31, 2017. Panic ensued. Trump was blamed. USCIS jumped in to explain that the March 31 memo did not constitute a change in policy but rather a clarification to the Nebraska Service Center (where many H-1Bs are now being processed) of the current policy on H-1Bs for computer programmers. So what does it all mean? Can a computer programmer still get an H-1B? What about other technology jobs? We will try to answer some of these questions below.
Read moreThe Canadian refugee program is one of the most unique in the world. In addition to government sponsorship and resettlement, the Canadian government allows private sponsorship for refugees. Private sponsors—who can be a mix of major organizations and smaller groups and individuals—are involved at every step of the resettlement process, from initial paperwork, maintaining communications pre-arrival, assisting with the screening process, and providing financial support for numerous aspects of the refugees’ lives in Canada, including travel, accommodation, and food, although the government still assists with certain expenses.
Read more
Human Structures is a sculpture outside Penn Station by artist Jonathan Borofsky. Located off Plaza 33, a pedestrian-friendly area on West 33rd Street that has been closed off to traffic, the artwork has a lofty meaning: “It’s humanity connecting together to build our world,” says the artist, who also encourages people to stand inside the sculpture to become part of it. I took his recommendation and did stand inside (unfortunately, no photos of that). Go humanity!
US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that they have reached the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa cap numbers for fiscal year 2018. Additionally, USCIS has also received a sufficient number of filed H-1B petitions to meet the 20,000 US advanced degree exemption numbers, also known as the master’s cap. The agency will reject and return filing fees for all unselected cap-subject petitions that are not duplicate filings. The agency did not specify when the H-1B lottery would occur, but in previous years it typically happens within a few weeks of the filing period being closed.
Read more