Immigration Update with Lin Walker

One criterion for the O-1B requires evidence that the artist “has received significant recognition for achievements from organizations, critics, government agencies, or other recognized experts in the field in which the alien is engaged.

Such testimonials must be in a form which clearly indicates the author's authority, expertise, and knowledge of the alien's achievements.”

But what does this mean? What do you need to show to satis...

The USCIS O-1B criterion at 8 CFR §214.2(o)(3)(iv)(B)(4) requires evidence that the artist “has a record of major commercial or critically acclaimed successes as evidenced by such indicators as title, rating, standing in the field, box office receipts, motion pictures or television ratings, and other occupational achievements reported in trade journals, major newspapers, or other publications.”

But what does this mean? What do you n...

Today is part three of our six-part deep dive into the O-1B visa.

You can go back to our last two episodes to catch up if you missed them.

This series is about the often convoluted language in the USCIS regulations that gets glossed over and misunderstood, and that that people far too often get wrong.

One of the criterion for the O-1B that, IMHO, causes the most confusion is evidence that the foreign national “has performed, and wi...

Part two of our six-part deep dive into the O-1B visa.

The USCIS regulations for the O-1B visa require evidence that the foreign national “has achieved national or international recognition for achievements evidenced by critical reviews or other published materials by or about the individual in major newspapers, trade journals, magazines, or other publications.”

What’s so difficult about this criterion? And why do so many people get ...

For those of you considering viable options to the H-1B cap we will be doing a deep-dive into the O-1B and O-1A criteria over the next couple of weeks.

One of the criterion for the O-1B that causes the most confusion is evidence that the foreign national “has performed, and will perform, services as a lead or starring participant in productions or events which have a distinguished reputation as evidenced by critical reviews, adverti...

There seems to be a disconnect between the USCIS Policy Manual for National Interest Waivers (NIWs) and the real-world.

The Policy Manual states, “USCIS recognizes the importance of progress in STEM fields and the essential role of persons with advanced STEM degrees in fostering this progress, especially in focused critical and emerging technologies or other STEM areas important to U.S. competitiveness or national security.

But we fo...

On January 31st, USCIS published a new fee schedule (89 FR 6194), which will take effect on April 1, 2024, and significantly impact most employment-based petitions.

Most notably, the new fee schedule will add a mandatory Asylum Program Fee to every Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, filed by for-profit employers. USCIS has published a new fee schedule that will affect m...

This week on the podcast we discuss the implementation of a beneficiary-centric selection process for the H-1B cap.

The new process involves selecting registrations by unique beneficiary, as determined by their biometric information.

The episode highlights the important elements of the new rule, including the requirement for a valid passport or travel document and the restriction on multiple registrations for the same beneficiary.

...

In March 2023, two men set up and carried out staged armed robberies of at least eight convenience/liquor stores and fast food restaurants across the United States, including at least four in Massachusetts.

It is alleged that the purpose of the staged robberies was to allow the clerks present to claim that they were victims of a violent crime on an application for U non-immigration status (U Visa).

In our first episode of the new yea...

With the upcoming holiday season and travel, and given the hectic nature of the admissions process, it is no wonder that the Form I-94 can often contain mistakes, from the "class of admission" (your actual nonimmigrant visa status) to your "admit until date" (the expiration date of your lawful period of stay in the United States).

Mistakes in either field can result in major consequences that impact your ability, for example, to wor...

In this "quick-shot" episode we’re going to focus on documentation of the foreign national's membership in associations in the field, which require outstanding achievements of their members, as judged by recognized national or international experts in their disciplines or fields.

However, not all organizations are qualified to fulfill this requirement.

In this podcast we'll explore what makes a particular organization qualified or UN...

There are people who confuse being entrepreneurial with being parasitic. Where an opportunity arises and there is significant demand and desperation, there are people who will, and have, taken advantage of those who wish to obtain such an opportunity.

Take for example this year’s H-1B lottery debacle, wherein more than 408,000 H-1B registrations were filed for the same 96,000 beneficiaries, leading USCIS to conclude that “several do...

On October 23, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to “modernize and improve the efficiency of the H-1B program, add benefits and flexibilities, and improve integrity measures.”

As a member of AILA, we received a draft of the NPRM yesterday. I read through the 220+ pages and have to admit that I was amazed by the data DHS provided, specifically with regard to the abuse ...

We take a break from Immigration News to bring you a very special episode with mindfulness coach and embodied movement educator Timothy Lewis.

In this episode attorney Lin Walker talks with Tim about mindfulness; what people think it is, what it actually is, and how mindfulness can be an effective tool to combat many different forms of stress.

Other topics discussed include dealing with stress in the workplace, body awareness, proble...

What are some of the advantages that franchise ownership offers over traditional businesses in terms of securing an E-2 visa?

We were honored to be joined on the podcast by Jeremy Bollington, a Franchise consultant with Your Franchise is Waiting, a service that works with qualified foreign nationals to help them find a franchise to support their E-2 visa application.

In this podcast we answer several questions on the minds of poten...

Deborah Reidy of SmartChoice Translations joins immigration attorney Lin Walker to discuss the pitfalls of poor translation in many kinds of legal situations.

In this episode we tackle such questions as:

0:00 What is SmartChoice Translations?

0:52 What services does SmartChoice Translations offer?

4:11 What kinds of training is required for legal translators?

8:18 Why you shouldn't rely on friends or family to translate

11:00 Quali...