Akshat Divatia, Author at Harris Bricken

Akshat Divatia

Akshat represents clients in a variety of nonimmigrant and immigrant visa matters, and excels in providing diligent advocacy and simplified immigration solutions to budding entrepreneurs, established companies, and growing families.

Biden-Harris Offers a Chance for an Immigration Reset, Part 2

This is part 2 of a series of blog posts on the likely implications of a Biden Presidency on U.S. immigration policy. Read the first post here. The mission of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is to administer “the nation’s lawful immigration system, safeguarding its integrity and promise by efficiently and fairly

Biden-Harris Offers a Chance for an Immigration Reset, Part 1

This is part 1 of a series of blog posts on the likely implications of a Biden Presidency on U.S. immigration policy. Read the second post here. Inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty, which has been a beacon of hope for dreamers around the world since it was installed in New

The US Border After Canada Legalized Cannabis

Canada’s cannabis legalization creates yet another wrinkle in the relations between the U.S. and its northern neighbor. U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey Sessions harbors a well known hatred towards anything cannabis and he clearly has no love for Canada’s Cannabis Act either. What will this mean though for Canadians who are 100% legally involved in Canada’s cannabis industry when

H-1B Employers: Know and Follow the Visa Rules

Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) arrested and charged Pradyumna Kumar Samal, CEO of two Washington State information technology companies, Divensi, Inc. and Azimetry, Inc., with visa-fraud. The DOJ alleges Mr. Samal initiated and oversaw a multi-year scheme involving the submission of forged documents to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”). The

U.S. Immigration And The Specialty Occupation Minefield: An H-1B Compendium, Part 3

On Friday, April 6, 2018, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that it had received a sufficient number of petitions between April 2-5, 2018 for the Fiscal Year (“FY”) to meet its 2019 H-1B Cap. The announcement confirms the overwhelming demand from U.S. employers for qualified professionals to fill specialty occupation positions. Assuming

U.S. Immigration And The Specialty Occupation Minefield: An H-1B Compendium, Part 2

In my previous post, I explained the H-1B Cap lottery process and described the general steps employers must take to file their petitions during the H-1B Cap window in April. In this post, I will specify the H-1B requirements, define some key terms, and describe the evidence that must accompany the H-1B petition. An H-1B

U.S. Immigration and the Specialty Occupation Minefield: An H-1B Compendium, Part 1

In his first State of the Union address on January 30, 2018, President Trump articulated his four-pillar plan for immigration reform: path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children; securing America’s southern border with a wall; ending the diversity visa lottery and instituting a merit-based immigration system; and, limiting family immigration