On May 20, 2010, an Interim Final Rule was published by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) which indicates that consular fees will increase as of June 4, 2010.  The fee increase will affect most Nonimmigrant Visas (NIV).  The fee will be increased to $140 for many Nonimmigrant Visas and Adult BCCs.  In addition, [...]

According to the Alberta Regional Occupation Outlook 2005 – 2010 report by Alberta Human Resources and Development, employment in the province grew by more than 470,200 jobs over the past ten years.  However, the Alberta government is predicting a shortfall of workers over the next decade – a situation that threatens the $107 billion in [...]

Our firm recently had the success of obtaining an approved I-601 extreme hardship waiver on behalf of our clients.  The I-601 waiver package was thoroughly prepared with extensive supporting documentation and persuasive legal arguments which led to the speedy approval of the I-601 waiver.  If you are a U.S. citizen, married to a foreign national [...]

On September 30, 2010, the facilitated processing for information technology (IT) specialists (“It Worker Program”) will come to an end, except in instances where the employer is hiring foreign workers for positions in Quebec, where the facilitated process will remain in place for a limited time after September 30, 2010. Under the facilitated process, an [...]

Last week Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney, and Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Dr. Eric Hoskins, signed a one-year extension to the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement (COIA). Each of the provinces and two of the three territories in Canada have immigration agreements with the federal government that allow the provinces to nominate [...]

There is still time to organize an H-1B for a start date of October 1, 2011. According to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) approximately 18,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions were filed as of May 11, 2010. Additionally, USCIS has received 7,600 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees. If you are interested in pursuing [...]