Immigration Law

Recent Posts

AAO on 'Function Manager' - Matter of G-, Inc., Adopted Decision 2017-05 (AAO Nov. 8, 2017)
Posted on 10 Nov 2017 by Daniel M. Kowalski

USCIS Policy Memo PM-602-0148, Nov. 8, 2017 - "This policy memorandum (PM) designates the attached decision of the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) in Matter of G- Inc. as an Adopted Decision. Accordingly, this adopted decision establishes policy... Read More

AAO on H-1B, Entry Level, Level 1 Wage (Jan. 25, 2018)
Posted on 25 Jan 2018 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Two new decisions today, Jan. 25, 2018: Matter of B-C-, Inc., ID# 1139516 (AAO Jan. 25, 2018) Matter of G-J-S-USA, Inc., ID# 1182139 (AAO Jan. 25, 2018) Read More

Tags: wage , AAO , H-1B , entry level

Breakthrough in Matter of V-S-G- Inc.: AC21 Beneficiaries Given Opportunity to Be Heard When I-140 is Revoked
Posted on 27 Nov 2017 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Cyrus Mehta, Nov. 27, 2017 - "The law generally recognizes that petitioners control their visa petitions. See 8 CFR 103.2(a)(3). A beneficiary cannot force a petitioner to pursue or maintain a visa petition. Therefore, USCIS communicates only with... Read More

Tags: mehta , AAO , i-140 , v-s-g-

AAO Overturns Termination of EB-5 Regional Center: Matter of P.A.S., LLC, ID# 513109 (AAO Dec. 21, 2017)
Posted on 21 Dec 2017 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Matter of P.A.S., LLC, ID# 513109 (AAO Dec. 21, 2017) - "We find that the positive indicia here outweigh the negative and, thus, conclude that the Applicant continues to promote economic growth and warrants preservation of its regional center designation... Read More

Matter of G- Inc.: Clarifying the Role of the Function Manager Under the L-1 Visa
Posted on 20 Nov 2017 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Cyrus D. Mehta and Sophia Genovese, Nov. 20, 2017 - "The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) recently adopted a decision, Matter of G- Inc ., Adopted Decision 2017-05 (AAO Nov. 8, 2017), providing important guidance to U.S. employers who transfer... Read More

News Excerpts From the Feb. 15, 2012, Bender’s Immigration Bulletin
Posted on 9 Feb 2015 by LexisNexis Legal Newsroom Staff

Arizona Must Issue Drivers’ Licenses to DACA Recipients | On January 22, 2015, District Judge David G. Campbell permanently enjoined Arizona from refusing to issue drivers’ licenses to beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood... Read More

Matter of V-S-G- Inc., Adopted Decision 2017-06 (AAO Nov. 11, 2017)
Posted on 16 Nov 2017 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Here is a link to Matter of V-S-G-, Inc. , and here is a link to the USCIS Policy Memo . Nutshell: "Matter of V-S-G- Inc. clarifies that beneficiaries of valid employment-based immigrant visa petitions who are eligible to change jobs or employers... Read More

The AAO Finds That Entry Level Wages Do Not Automatically Preclude H-1B Visa Classification - Cyrus D. Mehta & Sophia Genovese
Posted on 6 Feb 2018 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Cyrus D. Mehta & Sophia Genovese, Feb. 6, 2018 - " As we have previously blogged , many of the Requests for Evidence (RFEs) issued to petitions filed under the FY 2018 H-1B visa lottery objected to the H-1B worker being paid an entry level wage... Read More

Tags: wage , mehta , AAO , H-1B , entry level

Two New AAO I-601 Hardship Waiver Victories
Posted on 16 Nov 2017 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Alan Lee writes : "The law firm won two recent non-precedential decisions at the U.S.C.I.S. Administrative Appeals Office which sided with us in our appeals of I-601 denials. An I-601 approval is required to waive grounds of inadmissibility, which... Read More

Tags: lee , waiver , AAO , hardship , China

That's One Expensive Cut of Meat
Posted on 27 Oct 2014 by Daniel M. Kowalski

When you pay your bill at a restaurant, you are paying for the food, the employees' wages, the real estate, taxes, and more. But when you settle up at Fogo de Chao, you are also paying for lawyers, judges and bureaucrats to fight over the visa for... Read More

USCIS Issues Precedent Appeals Decision on P-3 Nonimmigrant Visa Petition
Posted on 16 May 2012 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) today issued a binding precedent decision addressing the term “culturally unique” and its significance in the adjudication of petitions... Read More

AAO Reverses Denial of I-140 in RIR Case
Posted on 3 Dec 2012 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Jerry Friedman writes: "Attached is a decision from the AAO reinstating an I-140 that was revoked by the Texas Service Center. The revocation was based on the Service Center’s lack of understanding of the reduction in recruitment procedure... Read More

AAO CIMT/Waiver Victory: London
Posted on 11 Aug 2013 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"[W]e acknowledge that the term "moral turpitude" is not in common usage, and it is unlikely that the average person is aware of its meaning and application in U.S. immigration law. In this case, the applicant did not disclose his conviction... Read More

AAO I-601 Victory: China
Posted on 6 Oct 2013 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Alan Lee writes: " Attached is another recent I-601 win at the AAO . In this case, the qualifying relatives were the applicant's U. S. citizen wife and permanent resident parents. The portion of the field office denial relating to the case was... Read More

AAO 'Doing Business' L-1 Victory
Posted on 7 Apr 2014 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Alan Lee writes: "The attached unpublished decision of the AAO involves the interpretation of the words “doing business” in an I-140 EB-1C multinational executive/managerial petition where the U. S. petitioner’s evidence of such... Read More

Tags: lee , doing business , L-1 , AAO