Garvish Immigration Law Group is pleased to announce that Elizabeth Garvish, Founder and Managing Member of the immigration practice, has been selected for inclusion in the inaugural guide of 100 Leading Immigration Lawyers by Lawdragon.  This guide represents a remarkable group of elite advisors leading the way in opening doors and borders for businesses and other organizations in their talent needs, as well as individuals in joining their family and seeking a new and better life. Lawdragon is an advocate for equality and inclusion. This guide is 60 percent women and 40 percent inclusiv ..read more

Garvish Immigration Law Group is proud to be the workplace for so many loving mothers! We understand the difficulties working moms may face so we have created an environment that allows us to simultaneously be present with our children while still advancing our careers. To all the amazing mothers we work with and work for, Happy Mother’s Day to you! This is an extra special Mother’s Day for our founder, Elizabeth Garvish, who welcomed her second set of twins this spring. Gabrielle and Maxine joined the Garvish family on February 13, 2023 and were lovingly greeted by their big brothers Christ ..read more

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows foreign workers to work in the United States for a temporary period. It is a popular visa category among skilled professionals who wish to work in the US. However, until recently, the H-1B visa holders’ spouses were not allowed to work in the US, which often put them at a disadvantage. In 2015, the US government introduced a new rule that allowed spouses of H-1B visa holders to work in the US. The rule, called the H-4 Employment Authorization Document (EAD) rule, was a game-changer for many families. The H-4 EAD rule allows spouses of H-1B vis ..read more

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its policy guidance on how individuals can self-select their gender on forms and documents. The new guidance, effective immediately, allows individuals to select their gender marker based on their gender identity, rather than just their biological sex. This means that individuals can choose to identify as male or female despite whether it matches the gender indicated on supporting documents. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is working on options to include an additional gender marker (“X”) for another or ..read more

At the end of April, USCIS announced that over 780,000 H-1B registrations were filed for the 2024 fiscal year compared to 308,000 filed for 2022. This significant increase in registrations could be due to obvious reasons such as the shortage of skilled workers in certain industries, particularly in technology and healthcare. However, many immigration experts, including The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), have expressed concerns regarding fraud and abuse in the registration process.  One of the major issues to address is the large number of beneficiaries with multiple el ..read more

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently made a significant change in its policy regarding the civil surgeon signature requirement on Form I-693. USCIS announced that it has removed the 60-day rule for civil surgeon signatures on the medical examination report, Form I-693 and will now accept signed forms for adjudicative purposes for up to two years after the civil surgeon signed the form. Before this change, a civil surgeon was required to sign Form I-693 within 60 days before an individual applied for an underlying immigration benefit, including Form I-485, Ap ..read more

Senators Amy Klobuchar, Susan Collins, Jacky Rosen, and Thom Tillis have reintroduced bipartisan legislation aimed at building the healthcare workforce in rural and medically underserved areas. The bill, known as the “Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Act,” would expand the Conrad 30 program, which allows foreign doctors to stay in the US for up to three years after completing their medical residency in exchange for working in underserved areas. The Conrad 30 program has been in place since 1994 and has been successful in addressing healthcare workforce shortages in underserved areas. The ..read more

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has recently provided guidance on the International Entrepreneur Parole (IEP) program. This program was created to allow international entrepreneurs to temporarily come to the US to start and grow their businesses. Under the IEP program, eligible entrepreneurs can apply for parole, which allows them to enter the US for up to five years. During this time, they can work on their business and seek funding from US investors. To be eligible, entrepreneurs must demonstrate that their business has the potential for significant growth and ..read more

The H-1B is a nonimmigrant visa that allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. However, a huge caveat of the H-1B visa is that most new petitions are subject to either the 65,000 statutory cap or the 20,000 masters cap. Because there are significantly more applicants than visas available each year, the registration process usually consists of a lottery, where applicants are randomly selected. If you’re selected, then you can proceed with filing your H-1B petition between April 1 and June 30.  If not, then unless there is another round, you won ..read more

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that it would be extending premium processing to certain F-1 students who are seeking Optional Practical Training (OPT) and STEM OPT extensions, and who have pending Form I-765 applications. This is excellent news for those international students who are looking to work in the US after completing their studies. OPT is a program that allows F-1 students to work in the US for up to 12 months after completing their studies. Students who graduate with a degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STE ..read more