U.S. Immigration, Work Visas, Citizenship By Bhagwati & Associates, PLLC.

Bhagwati & Associates, PLLC. is a premier Law Firm that was founded by Vijay Bhagwati with a stated Mission and focuses primarily on practice of laws in the areas of U.S. Immigration Law, Business Law, Commercial Litigation, Employment Law, Admiralty & Maritime Law and Personal Injury.

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News & Articles

Temporary Protected Status Extended for Hondurans and Nicaraguans
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible nationals of Honduras and Nicaraguans for an additional 18 months, beginning July 6, 2013, and ending Jan. 5, 2015. Current Honduran...
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USCIS Reaches FY 2014 H-1B Cap
For the first time since 2008, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reached the statutory H-1B cap of 65,000 for fiscal year (FY) 2014 within the first week of the filing period. USCIS has also received more than 20,000 H-1B...
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USCIS Temporarily Suspends Adjudication of Most H-2B Petitions Following Court Order
Effective March 22, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) temporarily suspended adjudication of most Form I-129 H-2B petitions for temporary non-agricultural workers while the government considers appropriate action in response to the...
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H-1B Cap Count November 27 2009
Fri, 27 November 2009 As of November 27 2009 approximately 58900 H-1B cap-subject petitions had been filed. USCIS has approved sufficient H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees to meet the exemption of 20000 from the fiscal year 2010 cap....
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DOL Notice on Prevailing Wage Determination Request Process Changes.
Fri, 04 December 2009 The Department of Labor (Department) is providing notice that in accordance with its labor certification regulations as of January 1 2010 the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) National Prevailing Wage and Helpdesk...
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CBP Launches H2 Temporary Worker Exit Pilot Program in Arizona
Thu, 10 December 2009 Washington – U.S. Customs and Border Protection launched on Tuesday December 8 a pilot program for exiting H-2A/B temporary workers. The program will be tested at San Luis and Douglas land ports of entry in Arizona and...
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DOS Advance Copy of Proposed Rule on Schedule of Fees for Consular Services
Fri, 11 December 2009 On 12/11/09 DOS issued an advance copy of a proposed rule that amends the schedule of fees for consular services for nonimmigrant visa application and border crossing card processing fees. The rule raises the application...
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On December 30 2009 USCIS announced
Wed, 30 December 2009 On December 30 2009 USCIS announced that The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months through Nov. 2 2011 to eligible nationals of Sudan and people having no nationality...
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Washington?U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
Wed, 13 January 2010 Washington?U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today issued updated guidance to adjudication officers clarifying the requirements to establish an employer-employee relationship to qualify for the H-1B ?specialty...
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Change of Filing Location for Form I-824 , Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition
Fri, 19 February 2010 WASHINGTON February 19 2010- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced revised filing instructions and addresses for applicants filing Form I-824 Application for Action on an Approved Application or...
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Change of Filing Location for Form I-102 , Application for Replacement/Initial Nonimmigrant Departure Document
Mon, 22 February 2010 WASHINGTON February 22 2010—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced revised filing instructions and addresses for applicants filing an Application for Replacement/Initial Nonimmigrant Arrival-...
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Change of Filing Location for Form I-765 , Application for Employment Authorization
Wed, 24 February 2010 Change of Filing Location for Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization WASHINGTON February 24 2010- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced revised filing instructions and addresses for...
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USCIS Revises Filing Instructions for Form I-824 , Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition
Tue, 02 March 2010 WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced an addition to the recently posted filing instructions for the Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition Form I-824. The revised...
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USCIS Reminds Petitioners to Provide Approved Labor Condition Applications
Wed, 10 March 2010 WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it will not extend the period in which it temporarily accepted H-1B petitions filed with uncertified Labor Condition Applications (LCAs). Due...
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USCIS Launches 'The Beacon - The Official Blog of USCIS
Tue, 16 March 2010 WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently unveiled The Beacon – the agency’s official blog and newest tool that provides immigration-related information and fosters an open dialogue with...
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Change of Filing Location for Form I-131 , Application for Travel Document
Mon, 22 March 2010 WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced revised filing instructions and addresses for applicants filing an Application for Travel Document (Form I-131). The change of filing location is part...
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USCIS Announces Revised Forms I-600 and I-600A
Thu, 01 April 2010 WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced that it has published new versions of the Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative Form I-600 and the Application for Advance...
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USCIS Continues to Accept FY 2011 H-1B Petitions
Thu, 08 April 2010 WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced it continues to accept H-1B nonimmigrant petitions subject to the Fiscal Year 2011 (FY 2011) cap. USCIS will monitor the number of petitions received...
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USCIS To Issue Redesigned Green Card Questions and Answers
Tue, 11 May 2010 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has redesigned the Permanent Resident Card—commonly known as the “Green Card”—to incorporate several major new security features....
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Nonimmigrant Visa Application Fees to Increase June 4
Thu, 20 May 2010 Washington DC On May 20 2010 the Department of State published an interim final rule in the Federal Register to increase nonimmigrant visa application processing fees also called the Machine-Readable Visa (MRV) fee and Border...
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USCIS Transitions the Intake Function from the Service Centers to its Lockbox Network for Several Benefit Requests
Mon, 24 May 2010 WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced that it will be transitioning the intake function of several more forms from the Service Centers to its Lockbox network. By centralizing form and fee...
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USCIS today announced the implementation of the Help HAITI Act of
Mon, 03 January 2011 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced the implementation of the Help HAITI Act of 2010. This new law authorizes USCIS to grant lawful permanent resident status to certain orphaned children from Haiti...
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USCIS announced today that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with
Fri, 14 January 2011 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of State, has identified 53 countries whose nationals are eligible to...
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Naturalization Statistics
Thu, 27 January 2011 USCIS released a naturalization fact sheet, which includes naturalization statistics for fiscal years 2001-2010. Each year, USCIS welcomes approximately 680,000 citizens during naturalization ceremonies...
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USCIS announced that it is now issuing employment and travel
Thu, 27 January 2011 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it is now issuing employment and travel authorization on a single card for certain applicants filing an Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust...
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Visa Bulletin for February 2011
Fri, 11 February 2011 Family All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed CHINA-mainland born DOMINICAN REPUBLIC INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES 1st...
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USCIS is publishing tomorrow a proposed rule that could save U.S. businesses
Wed, 02 March 2011 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is publishing tomorrow a proposed rule that could save U.S. businesses more than $23 million over the next 10 years by establishing an advance registration process for U.S....
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USCIS announced today that some existing Salvadoran Temporary Protected Status beneficiaries....
Tue, 08 March 2011 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that some existing Salvadoran Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries will receive interim Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) during the continued...
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USCIS has announced that beginning March 15, 2011 all Change of....
Fri, 11 March 2011 USCIS has announced that beginning March 15, 2011 all Change of Address, (Form AR-11) and Alien’s Change of Address, (Form AR-11 SR) will change filing locations. Now, all change of address forms must be filed at the...
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In light of the recent earthquakes and tsunami in Japan, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reminds Japanese nationals of certain U.S. immigration benefits....
Thu, 17 March 2011 In light of the recent earthquakes and tsunami in Japan, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reminds Japanese nationals of certain U.S. immigration benefits available upon request. USCIS understands that a natural...
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USCIS Announced
Fri, 18 March 2011 USCIS announced that it will start accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2012 cap on April 1, 2011.... U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will start accepting H-1B petitions...
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Visa Bulletin for April 2011
Fri, 01 April 2011 Family- Sponsored All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed CHINA-mainland born INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES Family- Sponsored F1 01MAY04 01MAY04 01MAY04 15FEB93...
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USCIS implements changes to Form I-9
Thu, 14 April 2011 WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced a final rule that adopts, without change, an interim rule to improve the integrity of the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) process....
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USCIS implements Secure Mail Initiative (SMI)
Mon, 02 May 2011 WASHINGTON-U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has fully implemented the Secure Mail Initiative (SMI), which uses U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation to deliver certain immigration...
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Effective Aug 15, 2011, Form I-130 Petitioners from Countries without USCIS offices can file petitions with Chicago Lockbox facility
Mon, 16 May 2011 WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that effective Aug. 15, 2011, petitioners residing in countries without USCIS offices will be able to file a Petition for an Alien Relative (Form I-130), with...
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USCIS proposes fundamental changes to EB-5 Investor Visa Program
Thu, 19 May 2011 WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) proposed significant enhancements to the administration of the USCIS Immigrant Investor Program, commonly referred to as the EB-5 Program—...
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Visa Bulletin for June 2011
Wed, 01 June 2011 Employment-Based All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed CHINA-mainland born INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES 1st C C C...
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USCIS Reminds Eligible Nationals of Haiti to File for Temporary Protected Status
Fri, 12 August 2011 WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reminds eligible nationals of Haiti (and persons without nationality who last habitually resided in Haiti) to file for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). TPS was...
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N-400 Priority Processing for Certain Non-Citizen SSI Recipients
Fri, 12 August 2011 WASHINGTON—USCIS will prioritize the processing of Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, for certain SSI recipients when the applicant’s: • SSI benefits will be terminated within 1 year from the date listed...
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USCIS Centralizes Filing of Form I-130
Tue, 16 August 2011 WASHINGTON - Effective Aug. 15, 2011, petitioners residing in countries without USCIS offices must file their Form I-130, Petition for an Alien Relative, with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) lockbox...
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USCIS Automatically Extends Validity of Employment Authorization Documents
Tue, 16 August 2011 WASHINGTON— U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced its intention to automatically extend employment authorization for Liberian nationals covered under Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) through...
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Washington state couple sentenced for alien harboring and illegal employment
Mon, 22 August 2011 WASHINGTON — A husband and wife from northern Washington state have been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to federal charges stemming from a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland...
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Visa Bulletin for September 2011
Thu, 01 September 2011 Family- Sponsored All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed CHINA-mainland born INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES F1 01MAY04 01MAY04 01MAY04 15MAR93 01NOV96...
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USCIS announces launch of enhanced EAD and Certificate of Citizenship
Tue, 25 October 2011 WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced launch of an enhanced Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and a redesigned Certificate of Citizenship (Form N-560) with new features to strengthen...
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USCIS introduces new Form I-693
Tue, 01 November 2011 On Nov. 1, 2011, USCIS will introduce a new, more user-friendly version of the form used to report results of medical examinations for those seeking certain immigration benefits, Report of a Medical Examination and Vaccination...
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Visa Bulletin for November 2011
Tue, 01 November 2011 Family- Sponsored All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed CHINA- mainland born INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES F1 22JUL04 22JUL04 22JUL04 01APR93 08FEB97 F2A...
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USCIS Announces Ability to Bundle Filings of L-1 Petitions
Thu, 03 November 2011 USCIS recognizes that businesses often need to temporarily move multiple employees to the United States for particular projects which draw upon their specialized knowledge. In order to do this, employers may petition for their...
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USCIS Publishes Notice on the TPS Extension for Hondurans
Fri, 04 November 2011 WASHINGTON – The Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible nationals of Honduras for an additional 18 months, beginning Jan. 6, 2012, and ending July 5,...
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USCIS Publishes Notice on the TPS Extension for Nicaragua
Fri, 04 November 2011 WASHINGTON – The Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) has extended the designation of Nicaragua for temporary protected status (TPS) for 18 months from its current expiration date of January 5, 2012 through July 5...
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USCIS Announces Changes to Stand-Alone I-130 Filing Locations
Sun, 01 January 2012 On January 1, 2012, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) changed the filing locations for Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. Domestic petitioners will now mail their stand-alone I-130 applications to either...
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USCIS Warning Regarding Scam Targeting Bhutanese Refugees
Tue, 03 January 2012 The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has been alerted to a new telephone scam apparently targeting Bhutanese refugees. A man identifying himself as a representative of the "Federal Grants Department" calls from a...
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The U.S. Consulate General in Chennai will no longer process Immigrant Visa petitions as of January 1, 2012.
Thu, 05 January 2012 The U.S. Consulate General in Chennai will no longer process Immigrant Visa petitions as of January 1, 2012. The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi and U.S. Consulate in Mumbai will become the only acceptance centers in India for...
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Visa Bulletin for February 2012
Wed, 01 February 2012 Family-Sponsored All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed CHINA-mainland born INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES F1 22DEC04 22DEC04 22DEC04 22APR93 22MAY97 F2A...
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Visa Bulletin for October 2012
Thu, 13 September 2012 Family-Sponsored All Charge-ability Areas Except Those Listed CHINA- mainland born INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES F1 08OCT05 08OCT05 08OCT05 15JUN93 01APR96 F2A...
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Asylum and Pitfalls
Asylum is relief for a foreign national that allows a refugee to remain in the United States of America and ultimately apply for permanent residence. The term “refugee” is defined in 8 U.S.C § 1101 (a)(42)(A) to mean, among other things, an...
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Can I move from EB3 to EB2; a perplexing question fighting many
Reasonably paced EB2 for past few months has lead many sitting under the umbrella of EB3 for almost a decade to think if there is any possibility to file another PERM under EB2 category retaining the EB3 priority date and jumping on to a fast moving...
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