April 22, 2012 by Bradley Maged.

According to a USCIS News Release:  “USCIS is now offering Civics Flash Cards in Spanish on the Citizenship Resource Center. The Civics Flash Cards will help you learn about U.S. history and government while preparing for the naturalization test. The 100 civics (history and government) questions and answers for the naturalization test are included in these flash cards. The civics test is an oral test and the USCIS Officer will ask you up to 10 of the 100 civics questions. You must answer 6 out of 10 questions correctly to pass the civics portion of the naturalization test. Certain applicants, because of age and time as a permanent resident, are exempt from the English requirements for naturalization. For more information on exceptions and accommodations, see www.uscis.gov.  Visit Study Materials for the Civics Test and select “Publications” to see electronic versions of the Civics Flash Cards in Spanish.”

Please visit our firm’s websites at www.immigrantconnect.com and www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and become our fan on Facebook!

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April 19, 2012 by Bradley Maged.

According to an article on news.yahoo.com:  “Mitt Romney may adopt a softer tone on illegal immigration now that the long and divisive primary is all but over and he gears up for a head-to-head battle with President Barack Obama.”

Would Romney softening his stance on immigration be smart politics?  Of course.  However, one can argue that a candidate who changes his stance so easily does not actually have a genuine position on the issue and may say or do whatever is politically convenient to get his hands on the keys to the White House.  This makes it hard to predict what Romney would support or oppose if he were to get elected.

Please visit our firm’s websites at www.immigrantconnect.com and www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and become our fan on Facebook!

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April 19, 2012 by Bradley Maged.

According to the USCIS, as of April 13, 2012, the agency has received 20,600 out of 65,000 available cap-subject H-1B petitions for FY-2013 and 9,700 out of 20,000 available petitions under the H-1B Master’s Cap Exemption.

Please visit our firm’s websites at www.immigrantconnect.com and www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and become our fan on Facebook!

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April 9, 2012 by Bradley Maged.

According to the USCIS, as of April 9, 2012, only one week after petitions were first accepted, the agency has received 17,400 out of 65,000 available cap-subject H-1B petitions for FY-2013 and 8,200 out of 20,000 available petitions under the H-1B Master’s Cap Exemption.

If you are a cap-subject organization that wishes to file an H-1B on behalf of a qualified foreign-national, this would be a good time to do it.  H-1B petitions are being filed at a faster pace than in recent years.

Please visit our firm’s websites at www.immigrantconnect.com and www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and become our fan on Facebook!

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April 7, 2012 by Bradley Maged.

According to AILA, USCIS has informed the organization that as of April 4, 2012, 22,323 cap-subject H-1B cases were received by the USCIS.  Approximately 25% of these were for U.S. advanced degree cases.  This is almost double the number of cases received at the same time last year. (AILA Infonet Doc. No.: 12040553 (posted Apr. 5, 2012)).

Please visit our firm’s websites at www.immigrantconnect.com and www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and become our fan on Facebook!

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April 7, 2012 by Bradley Maged.

The Visa Bulletin for May 2012 is now available.

Please visit our firm’s websites at www.immigrantconnect.com and www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and become our fan on Facebook!

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April 4, 2012 by Bradley Maged.

A recently-issued USCIS Q&A “…address(es) the automatic extension of F-1 student status in the United States for certain students with pending or approved H-1B petitions (indicating a request for change of status from F-1 to H-1B) for an employment start date of October 1, 2012 under the Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 H-1B cap.”

Please visit our firm’s websites at www.immigrantconnect.com and www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and become our fan on Facebook!

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March 26, 2012 by Bradley Maged.

It is that time of year again. The H-1B cap for FY-2012 has been exhausted and on April 1, 2012, the USCIS will begin accepting petitions for cap-subject and Master-cap H-1Bs.  The fiscal year for 2013 begins October 1, 2012, the earliest start date that may be requested for such cases.  The USCIS will accept 65,000 cap-subject petitions plus an additional 20,000 petitions where the beneficiaries are graduates of US colleges or universities who have earned at least a Master degree.

This year our office has seen an increase in demand for new H-1Bs in contrast to the past couple of years.  Although anecdotal, this trend suggests that numbers may not be available for as long as they were last year.  The good news is that when we see demand for H-1Bs increase, it is usually a good barometer for how the country’s economy is doing as it means that employers are not only hiring, but are seeking some of the best and brightest foreign nationals as well.

Please visit our firm’s websites at www.immigrantconnect.com and www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and become our fan on Facebook!

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March 23, 2012 by Bradley Maged.

The April 2012 Visa Bulletin is now available.

Also, according to AILA, Charlie Oppenheim, Chief, Immigrant Visa Control & Reporting in the State Department stated that when the May Visa Bulletin is published, the China and India EB-2 cut-off will retrogress to August 15, 2007. (AILA Infonet Doc No:  12032365 (Posted Mar. 23, 2012)).

Please visit our firm’s websites at www.immigrantconnect.com and www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and become our fan on Facebook!

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March 15, 2012 by Bradley Maged.

We are pleased to announce that Maged Rost is moving.  Although we are smack in the middle of an intense H-1B preparation period as cap-subject petitions for the 2013 fiscal year that starts 10/1/2012 may be filed as early as 4/1/2012, it is an exciting move for the firm.

Starting 3/19/2012, our new address will be: 92 State Street, 7th Floor, Boston, MA 02109, telephone:  617-720-5577, fax:  617-344-1050.  Our e-mail addresses and toll-free number (1-800-488-5352) will remain the same.

We look forward to meeting our existing and future clients at our new location!

Please visit our firm’s websites at www.immigrantconnect.com and www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and become our fan on Facebook!

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