The State Department wants to require nearly all US visa applicants to provide social media username and account information, a move that would affect approximately 710,000 immigrant visa applicants and fourteen million nonimmigrant visa applicants. If these proposed changes published in the Federal Register are accepted after the sixty-day public comment period ends, the new requirements would ask for social media handles as well as prior email addresses and telephone numbers from the last five years when individuals apply to come to the US. This comes after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced last year its intention to screen social media accounts of all immigrants, including Green Card holders and naturalized US citizens.
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USCIS: Policy Memo on Multiple H-1B Filings for the Same Beneficiary by “Related Entities”
In time for the start of the H-1B cap filing period, US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has released a policy memo addressing the prohibition on multiple H-1B filings for the same beneficiary by "related entities (such as a parent company, subsidiary, or affiliate).” The memo is based on the Administrative Appeals Office decision in the Matter of S- Inc. which addresses a case where two petitioners not legally related or controlled filed two separate cap-subject H-1B petitions on behalf of the same beneficiary in the same fiscal year for the beneficiary to work in substantially the same job for the same end-client through the same two vendors.
Read moreRainy Day H-1B Blues
H-1B cap season is drawing to a close, since the government will begin accepting H-1B cap cases on Monday, April 2. After months of working on so many H-1B petitions, Liz is sad to say goodbye. The rainy gloomy weather only makes her more sad. As her way of saying a fond farewell, and imparting that “extra something” to each case, she is hugging each and every case and wishing them the best of luck on their long, long journey to California or Vermont to find out if they will be picked in the H-1B cap lottery. Wish them all luck!!!
The Washington Post: “Perhaps tired of winning, the United States falls in World Happiness rankings – again”
The United States has fallen in the rankings of the World Happiness Report for the second year in a row. Currently, the US is ranked eighteenth out of more than 150 countries, making it the worst ranking since the annual report began being published in 2012. The report, published by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), an initiative of the United Nations, measures levels of happiness and changes in happiness globally. This year, along with the usual rankings, the report focuses on migration within and between countries. “The most striking finding is the extent to which happiness of immigrants matches the locally born population,” John Helliwell, a University of British Columbia economist who co-edited the report, tells the Washington Post. “The happiest countries in the world also have the happiest immigrants in the world.”
Read moreFree Myself
The Last Three
The Last Three, the world’s largest rhino sculpture now installed at Astor Place in New York City, was created by artists Gillie & Marc as part of a global campaign to raise awareness about rhino conservation. These bronze sculptures depict the world's last three northern white rhinos, Sudan, Najim, and Fatu, although just this week Sudan, the male rhino aged forty-five, died from old age. Rhino horns are valued more than gold for their so-called medicinal purposes, and poaching has decimated their population. Visitors to Astor Place can have an interactive experience with the Goodbye Rhinos app, an "augmented reality platform" where users can watch rhinos roaming Astor Place, share rhino photos using the hashtag #goodbyerhinos, and leave a message. The Last Three will be at Astor Place until May 2018.
USCIS Will Temporarily Suspend Premium Processing for Fiscal Year 2019 H-1B Cap Petitions
US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that starting April 2, 2018, the first day that H-1B Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 cap cases can be received, USCIS will temporarily suspend premium processing for all cap-subject petitions, including master’s cap exemption cases. This suspension, likely to frustrate many immigration practitioners and petitioners, is expected to last until September 10, 2018. Last year, USCIS temporarily suspended premium processing for all cap and non-cap subject H-1B petitions and resumed it in stages over a six month time period.
Read moreFast Company: “How, Why, And When To Share Your Immigration Status On Job Interviews”
In the current political environment, as politicians and government officials debate the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the H-1B visa, and whether to switch to a “merit-based” immigration system, many immigrants may be afraid to discuss their immigration status with potential employers. Although Ximena Hartsock, an immigrant from Chile and business owner, encourages immigrants to use discretion when talking about their immigration status, at the same time she believes they should “own their immigrant experiences with pride.” Writing in Fast Company, she provides tips for immigrants to navigate the interview process.
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