By: ISSS U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it will resume premium processing service for H-1B petitions in phases, beginning on June 8, 2020. Premium processing is a service that requires the government to take action on an H-1B petition within 15 days of receiving the request. USCIS’ announcement states that premium…
By: ISSS Key takeaways: The US Government is issuing stimulus payments of up to $1,200 as part of a coronavirus relief package. Only U.S. tax residents who meet certain conditions are eligible to receive the payment. While tax residency is separate from US citizenship, most international students and scholars are nonresidents for tax purposes. Nonresidents…
By: ISSS Key takeaways: On April 22, 2020 President Donald Trump issued an executive order limiting the issuance of immigrant visas for those outside of the United States seeking entry as green card holders for 60 days. It came into effect on Thursday, April 23. The order does not prevent those holding nonimmigrant visas for temporary…
By: ISSS As we have transitioned to remote work, ISSS has been working to implement processes to increase efficiency in immigration processing. In that spirit, we have updated our H-1B application process so that departments and potential H-1B employees can upload the required documents using our eforms. The updated process will be as follows: Departments…
By: ISSS As of Friday, March 20, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has suspended Premium Processing for all H-1B petitions. This temporary suspension of premium processing service is being implemented due to the COVID-19 epidemic. As many of you know, premium processing is a way to expedite USCIS processing of petitions and results…
By: ISSS On February 24, 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which includes U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), will begin implementing the “public charge rule”. The implementation of this rule will require ISSS to list information on form I-129 that was not previously required. Background Under…
By: ISSS Beware of Scams There have been reports of fraudulent emails and phone calls from people pretending to be a government official, such as someone from the IRS (Internal Revenue Service), ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), CBP (Customs and Border Protection), FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), a U.S. Consulate, or other government agencies. It…
By: ISSS If you do not have a Social Security Number (SSN) but are receiving U.S. sourced income such as a non-service fellowship, scholarship, or grant, then you may need an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) for tax purposes. The ITIN is a U.S. taxpayer identification number, issued by the Internal Revenue Service, (IRS). It…
By: ISSS U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it is adjusting the fee to request premium processing for I-129 (H-1B) and I-140 (Permanent Residence) cases starting on November 29, 2019. The premium processing fee will increase to $1,440 from the current fee of $1,410. Premium processing is an optional service which allows petitioners to…