John Valdez’s Legal Blog

It has now been several years since the USCIS started providing Premium Processing for selected immigration applications and petitions.  Premium Processing is a USCIS program that permits an applicant or petitioner to submit an extra $1,000 in order to receive fast adjudication.  How fast?  In most cases, the application or petition is decided in 15 […]

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The American immigration system is a mess.  Not many will disagree with this statement. There are roughly 12 to 15 million people in this country without legal papers.  The legal immigration process is severely stalled and ineffective, with many waiting for six, ten, twenty, or more years for a visa.  There are far too many […]

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For many years, immigration attorneys have been advising employers to file their H-1B petitions on the first day possible each year, April 1st, because the number of petitions will far exceed the number of available visas under the H-1B Cap during the first week that petitions may be submitted.  This year is proving to be an […]

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Ruiz-Diaz v. United States of America (”Ruiz”) was a very good decision for religious workers because it put them on equal status with other visa holders seeking permanent residence.  In the past, while most applicants in the U.S. seeking green cards could file an immigrant petition along with an application for adjustment of status (AOS application), religious […]

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