Latest Immigration News

Saturday, March 23, 2019

McKees Rocks Man Sentenced for Role in Marriage Scam

PITTSBURGH - A resident of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to one year of probation on his conviction of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to commit offenses against the United States, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

Senior United States District Judge Donetta Ambrose imposed sentence on Norman Lee McCullough, 55, of McKees Rocks, PA.

In connection with sentencing, the court was advised that from June 2016 to May 4, 2017, McCullough conspired with two other individuals to defraud the Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services. McCullough, a United States Citizen, received money and entered into a sham marriage with a Nigerian citizen so that the Nigerian citizen could obtain legal permanent residency in the United States. McCullough also submitted f

USCIS Announces FY 2020 H-1B Cap Season Start, Updates, and Changes

Simple, smart changes to make the H-1B visa program work better

WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced the start of the fiscal year (FY) 2020 H-1B cap season, start dates for premium processing of cap-subject H-1B petitions, and the launch of its new H-1B data hub, while reminding petitioners of its new H-1B cap selection process. These new efforts underscore the agency’s commitment to supporting President Trump’s Buy American and Hire American executive order designed to protect U.S. workers.

“USCIS continually strives to improve the administration of the H-1B program and make it work better for employers, our agency, and U.S. workers,” said USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna. “We are also committed to fulfilling the president’s Buy Ameri

Panama City Marriage Fraud Conspirators Plead Guilty and Sentenced

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – Ravi Babu Kolla, 47, an Indian foreign national residing in Panama City, pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to commit marriage and visa fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. On Tuesday, his co-defendant Krystal Cloud, 40, of Altha, Florida, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for marriage and visa fraud conspiracy after pleading guilty on December 28, 2018. Lawrence Keefe, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the guilty plea and sentence.

Between February 2017 and August 2018, Kolla operated an immigration marriage fraud business in Bay County that recruited U.S. citizens to marry Indian foreign nationals to gain immigration benefits. The majority of the Indian foreign nationals overstayed their Visas or Student Exchange Visitor Program requirements an

Visa Bulletin May 2019 Predictions

For official April 2019 Visa Bulletin and analysis, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2019/visa-bulletin-april-2019.aspx

Please see May 2019 Visa Bulletin Predictions below (for both Family Based and Employment Based):

Family Based:

Final Action Dates

Dates For Filing Applications

"Final Action Date" is the date when when USCIS/DOS may render their final decision on submitted applications. Your priority date should be before this date.

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	22DEC11	22DEC11	22DEC11	01SEP97	15MAY07
F2A	22MAR17	22MAR17	22MAR17	15MAR17	22MAR17
F2B	08DEC12	08DEC12	08DEC12	01JAN98	22AUG07
F3	15OCT06	15OCT06	15OCT06	22FEB96	08JUL96
F4	08FEB06	08FEB06	01AUG04	01MAR98	15JUL96

"Date for Filing Application" is the date when you can submit I-485/NVC applications to USCIS/DOS. Your priority date should be before this date.

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	15JUL12	15JUL12	15JUL12	08NOV99	22APR08
F2A	22DEC17	22DEC17	22DEC17	22DEC17	22DEC17
F2B	01OCT14	01OCT14	01OCT14	08AUG98	15MAR08
F3	15MAY07	15MAY07	15MAY07	08AUG00	08NOV97
F4	15SEP06	15SEP06	08MAR05	01DEC98	01APR98

Tools Outage

USCIS will conduct a widespread system maintenance on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, from 9 p.m. until midnight (Eastern).

During this time you may experience technical difficulties and many of our online tools may be unavailable, including:

Check My Case Status
e-Request
Change of Address Online
Check Processing Times
Civil Surgeon Locator
FOIA Status Check
Office Locator
File Online
myUSCIS Online Account

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

5 Arrested in Scheme that Hired People to Take English Proficiency Exam on Behalf of Chinese Nationals Seeking Student Visas

LOS ANGELES – Federal authorities this morning arrested five defendants linked to a scheme that helped Chinese nationals obtain student visas by hiring individuals who used fake Chinese passports to take an English proficiency test for the foreign students.

The arrests were made pursuant to a 26-count indictment returned on Friday by a federal grand jury. The indictment charges the defendants with conspiring to use false passports, using false passports, and aggravated identity theft as part of the scheme to impersonate Chinese nationals who were required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) to obtain a student visa.

The five defendants were taken into custody this morning without incident. They are:

Liu Cai, 23, of Woodland Hills, who allegedly facilitated the scheme, took at least five TOEFL exams him

April 2019 Visa Bulletin

For March 2019 Visa Bulletin, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2019/visa-bulletin-march-2019.aspx

For analysis of April 2019 Visa Bulletin, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2019/visa-bulletin-analysis-april-2019.aspx

April 2019 Visa Bulletin has been officially released (valid from April 1 to April 30 only). Please see below for more details.