The Department of State released the new visa bulletin for February 2011 on January 12, 2011.

For the month of February 2011, the EB-1 category was current for both Chinese and Indian nationals. In the EB-2 category, the cut-off dates moved forward 9 days for Chinese nationals (from June 22, 2006 to July 1, 2006), and still remained unchanged for Indian nationals (May 8, 2006). In the EB-3 category, the cut-off dates moved forward from December 15, 2003 to January 1, 2004 for Chinese nationals and moved forward from February 1, 2002 to February 22, 2002.

For the month of January 2011, the EB-1 category was current for both Chinese and Indian nationals. In the EB-2 category, the cut-off dates moved forward 14 days for Chinese nationals (from June 8, 2006 to June 22, 2006), and remained unchanged for Indian nationals (May 8, 2006). In the EB-3 category, the cut-off dates moved forward from December 8, 2003 to December 15, 2003 for Chinese nationals and moved forward from January 22, 2002 to February 1, 2002 for Indian nationals.

From January to December 2010, our firm received 166 EB-1 case approvals and 223 NIW case approvals. Again, before you start the application process, it is imperative that you consult with a highly trained legal professional, particularly since USCIS has become stricter with EB-1 applications after a memo was released on August 18, 2010. In essence, the USCIS memo breaks the EB-1 evaluation process up into two parts – 1) evaluating whether the applicant meets the baseline criteria for the immigration category and 2) determining whether the applicant’s evidence demonstrates the required high level of expertise for the immigration category. In the second part of the review process the USCIS will evaluate the evidence to see if, as a whole, it proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the applicant is at the very top of his or her field of endeavour.

If you are interested in contacting us for a free consultation, please call our offices at 1-800-230-7040 or email us at info@hooyou.com. One of our experienced attorneys will meet with you to discuss your  options.

Free Immigration Seminars in Four Cities on Saturday January 29

National immigration law firm Zhang & Associates, P.C., is offering free immigration seminars on Saturday January 29 in four cities’ offices. Our senior attorneys will present the fundamentals of immigration law and discuss:

1. F-1 visa and related employment issues
2. H-1B visa, Quota and Strategies
3. National Interest Waiver Green Card – Even a Masters degree can get approval
4. EB-1B and EB-1A Green Card for achieved scholars
5. Green Card strategic plans for students and scholars

Date and time of the seminars:

Silicon Valley, CA
Time: 10:00am ~ 11:30am PST, Sat. Jan 29, 2010
Presenter: Attorney Jerry Zhang
Email: jzhang@hooyou.com
Address: 2225 E. Bayshore Road Suite 200
Palo Alto, CA 94303

New York, NY
Time: 11:30am ~ 1:00pm EST, Sat. Jan 29, 2011.
Presenter: Attorney Joe Zhou
Email: jzhou@hooyou.com
Address: 1350 Broadway, Suite 1710
New York, NY 10018

Houston, TX
Time: 10:30am ~ 12:00pm CST, Sat. Jan 29, 2011.
Presenter: Attorney Jane Xu
Email: jxu@hooyou.com
Address: 9999 Bellaire Blvd, Suite 920
Houston, TX 77036

Los Angeles, CA
Time: 11:00am ~ 1:00pm PST, Sat. Jan 29, 2011.
Presenter: Attorney Daqin Zhang
Email: dzhang@hooyou.com
Address: 70 S. Lake Ave, suite 920
Pasadena, CA 91101

The presentation will be conducted in English with an English PowerPoint slideshow.  If you are interested in the seminar, you may register the seminar free of charge by clicking the following link:

http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e39wg39xgit36ewr/start