BEYOND THE BASICS HR Solutions for US Immigration By David Swaim, a 30-Year Texas Board-Certified Immigration Attorney
Why Do the Preference/Employment Quotas Slow Down In August and September?
By now many people have noticed that several employment preference quotas for immigrant visas (and to some extent family quotas) have slowed down in the Visa Bulletin for August 2023. We anticipate a continued slowdown in the September Bulletin as well. Why does this happen almost every year? The Federal Government’s fiscal year begins on […]
The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same
This year, 2023, is being celebrated as our 45th Anniversary of the creation of our law firm. Started in 1978 as Samuel M. Tidwell and Associates, P.C., the firm went through several name changes with an important change in 1991 when it became Tidwell, Swaim & Associates, P.C. There was one more change to Tidwell, […]
USCIS Announces New Immigration Program for Citizens of Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras
This program is very restrictive, but does apply to people who meet the requirements below: The beneficiary must: There are many questions unanswered by USCIS at this point (such as who is a “US-based petitionerâ€), but we will get more information each week about who qualifies so check our website (www.davidswaimlaw.com) for updates.
USCIS Has Announced New Tracking Information for Service Centers
The article below is an announcement by USCIS that new tracking information is available for service centers. This information includes transfers of cases from one service center to another, as well as an update system that issues notifications of service center or lockbox transfers. USCIS also includes a short explanation as to why some cases […]
Layoff of US Workers in the Perm Context
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has announced some new rules from the US Department of Labor regarding how to handle employee layoffs in the context of a labor certification case. These rules are relatively simple and align with the same rules we have used in the past in this situation. Employers should nonetheless be […]
USCIS Updates OPT Information
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (UCIS) has issued some very helpful tips for applying for post-graduation Optional Practical Training (OPT). The goal of this information is to avoid delays with the issuance of the Employment Authorization Document (EAD). F-1 students cannot work with OPT after graduation unless they physically have the EAD. It […]