Department of State Alert: Technological System Issues with Overseas Passport and Visa Systems

On June 25, 2015, DOS updated their alert with the following language:

• The Bureau of Consular Affairs reports that 165 posts, representing more than 85 percent of our nonimmigrant visa demand worldwide, are now online and issuing visas.
• Posts overseas issued more than 82,000 visas on June 24.
• Posts overseas have issued more than 238,000 non-immigrant visas this week. For context, if systems had been operating normally, posts would have issued approximately 540,000 visas since the outage started.
• We will continue to bring additional posts online until connectivity with all posts is restored. All posts worldwide are now scheduling interviews with applicants, including with those who applied after the systems problems began on June 9.
• We will continue to bring additional posts online until connectivity with all posts is restored. All posts worldwide are now scheduling interviews with applicants, including with those who applied after the systems problems began on June 9.
• We deeply regret the inconvenience to travelers who are waiting for visas, as well as their families and U.S. businesses that have been affected.
• We continue to post updates to our website, travel.state.gov.

SEC Charges Florida Company with Unregistered Broker-Dealer Activity in EB-5 Investments

Boca Raton-based Ireeco LLC and its successor, Hong Kong-based Ireeco Ltd., made history Thursday by being the first to be charged with unregistered broker activity in the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program.

EB-5 Class Action Lawsuit Filed: Zhang v. USCIS (Cash is Cash)

"This is a putative class action brought by immigrant investors who sought and were unlawfully denied the chance to immigrate to the United States pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(5), known as the “Immigrant Investor Law” or “EB-5 Program.”

VISA BULLETIN (JULY 2015)

Visa Bulletins are issued by the Department of State on a monthly basis, and summarize the availability of immigrant visa numbers for the given month.  

Big news affecting Filipino nationals who have filed under the EB-3 category.  As of July 2015, PHILIPPINES EMPLOYMENT THIRD PREFERENCE AND THIRD OTHER WORKER PREFERENCE CATEGORIES ARE UNAVAILABLE.  

According to the Bulletin, "despite two retrogressions of the Philippines Employment Third and Third Other Worker cut-off dates in an attempt to hold number use within the annual limit, it has now become necessary to make the category “Unavailable” for the month of July."  

Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses

Beginning May 26, 2015, certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants can file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, as long as the H-1B nonimmigrant has already started the process of seeking employment-based lawful permanent resident (LPR) status. Specifically, H-4 dependent spouses may apply for employment authorization if the H-1B nonimmigrant:

• Is the principal beneficiary of an approved Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker; or
• Has been granted H-1B status under sections 106(a) and (b) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000 as amended by the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act (AC21). AC21 permits H-1B nonimmigrants seeking lawful permanent residence to work and remain in the United States beyond the six-year limit on their H-1B status.

The Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses final rule (H-4 rule), effective on May 26, 2015, seeks to support the goals of attracting and retaining highly skilled foreign workers and minimizing the disruption to U.S. businesses resulting from H-1B nonimmigrants who choose not to remain in the United States and pursue LPR status.