Trupti Patel is a recipient of a Choice Award for 2023

Award for Community Service

Immigration Attorney and Saheli’s Board of Advisors
Ms. Patel is a respected immigration lawyer for her unwavering commitment and tireless efforts in championing rights and advocating for immigrants while providing free or discounted services to those who cannot afford legal services. In addition, she is a member of the Board of Advisors of Saheli, which has helped over 1,000 women escape domestic violence by providing them with transitional housing, scholarships, legal advocacy, and in-house mental health counseling, among others. Attorney Patel has been volunteering for Saheli for many years.

Having traveled widely from an early age, Ms. Patel was born in India and grew up in both Central Africa and England, UK. She has dedicated her career to helping others with their immigration needs and to help them navigate the US immigration system and start a new life in the United States. She is the founder of the Law Offices of Trupti N Patel & Associates, which represents clients from all over the United States and throughout the world.

Her firm is active in the local community providing information and guidance to immigrant communities. Attorney Patel is often called to give talks and holds clinics on immigration-related matters. She also mentors other up-and-coming immigration attorneys in the Boston area. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), American Bar Association (ABA), Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts, Boston Bar Association, and Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA) as well as a member of the committee on immigration at MBA.

For more information about the event, please see here: https://indianewengland.com/joined-by-boston-mayor-michelle-wu-over-400-people-gather-to-honor-new-england-choice-awards-winners-of-2023/

Watch the video presentation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2_LM3Ewt-o

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that the initial registration period for the FY 2024 H-1B cap will begin on March 1, 2023, at noon Eastern and will run through March 17, 2023, at noon Eastern. Prospective petitioners must use the online H-1B registration system and pay a $10 registration fee for each beneficiary. A confirmation number will be assigned for each registration, and if enough registrations are received by March 17, the USCIS will randomly select registrations and send selection notifications by March 31. The daily credit card transaction limit has been temporarily increased from $24,999.99 to $39,999.99 per day. Only a petitioner whose registration for the beneficiary named in the H-1B petition was selected in the H-1B registration process may file a petition. See uscis.gov for further information.

The USCIS is extending the validity of Green Cards for 48 months beyond their expiration date for petitioners who file Form I-751 or I-829 to Remove Conditions on Residence. This is to accommodate for the increased processing times for these forms over the past year. The USCIS has updated the language on receipt notices and will issue new receipt notices to eligible conditional permanent residents who previously received notices with an extension shorter than 48 months and whose cases are still pending. These receipt notices can be used with an expired Green Card as evidence of continued status, while the case is pending with the USCIS, allowing the individual to work and travel for 48 months from the expiration date of their expired Green Card. See uscis.gov for further information.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 18,216 H-2B visas made available for returning workers for the first half of FY 2023 with start dates on or before March 31, 2023, under the H-2B supplemental cap temporary final rule. Petitions for the remaining 20,000 visas allotted for nationals of Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are still being accepted. USCIS will also continue to accept petitions for current H-2B workers, fish roe processors and technicians, supervisors of fish roe processing, and workers in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and/or Guam. More information can be found on the Temporary Increase in H-2B Nonimmigrant Visas for FY 2023 page. See uscis.gov for further information.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it will start issuing redesigned Permanent Resident Cards (Green Cards) and Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) from January 30, 2023. The new designs will feature state-of-the-art technology to prevent document tampering, counterfeiting, and fraud, and will include improved artwork, tactile printing, optically variable ink, and holographic images on the front and back of the cards. The existing cards will remain valid until their expiration date, and some cards issued after January 30, 2023, may still display the existing design format until current supplies are depleted. Both versions of the cards will be acceptable for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, E-Verify, and Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE). See uscis.gov for further information.

USCIS is implementing the final phase of premium processing expansion for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, under the EB-1 and EB-2 classifications, which will apply to new (initial) petitions as well as previously filed Form I-140 petitions. Petitioners who wish to request premium processing must file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service. Starting January 30, 2023, USCIS will accept Form I-907 requests for all pending and initial E13 multinational executive and manager petitions and E21 NIW petitions. USCIS plans to expand premium processing to certain F-1 students seeking OPT in March and April and expand premium processing for certain student and exchange visitors with pending or initial Form I-539 applications in May and June. USCIS will adhere to the legislative requirement that the expansion of premium processing does not increase processing times for immigration benefit requests not designated for premium processing or regular processing of immigration benefit requests so designated. See uscis.gov for further information.