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BAL is proud to share that our firm has been named one of U.S. News’ 2025 Best Companies to Work For in the law firm category. This esteemed list recognizes the country’s top law firms based on how the firms best meet the needs and expectations of their employees.
“We’re proud to have U.S. News validate what we already know — that BAL is a great place to work,” said Jeremy Fudge, CEO of BAL. “Our leadership invests heavily into active listening and employee engagement to create a positive work environment that can adapt to the needs of our people. It’s an honor to be recognized for those efforts.”
To calculate the U.S. News Best Companies to Work For: Law Firms list, U.S. News partnered with Leopard Solutions and Revelio Labs to conduct legal market research and calculate the six metrics used in the list: quality of pay and benefits, work-life balance, job stability, physical and psychological comfort, belongingness and opportunities for professional development.
From these metrics, BAL ranked especially high in comfort and quality of pay.
Those interested in joining the BAL team are invited to explore job openings on our careers page: https://www.bal.com/careers/.
Copyright © 2025 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries, please contact copyright@bal.com.
The Department of Labor (DOL) reported that as of Feb. 13, 2025, a total of 5,883 cases were issued Final Decision for fiscal year (FY) 2025 (first half of the visa cap) with a Requested Date of Need from Oct. 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025. Certified positions for this period were allocated for 109,866 workers.
The chart below indicates the number of Final Decisions issued and Positions Certified for filing windows from July 2024 to February 2025:
Final Decision
*Indicates an increase in November– January case and worker numbers from those reported as of Jan. 30.
**As of COB Feb. 13, there were no Final Decisions issued or Positions Certified, although four cases were submitted and positions requested for 79 workers.
As of Jan. 7, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services received enough petitions to reach the additional 20,716 H-2B visas made available for returning workers for the first half of FY 2025 with start dates on or before March 31, 2025.
DOL completed processing of Group A (1,161 cases were issued a Final Decision with Positions Certified for 16,498 workers) and Group B (one case was issued Final Decision) received for Requested Date of Need from April 1, 2025.
DOL is still processing Group C for applications received for Requested Date of Need from April 1, 2025.
Background on Assignment Groups: The initial H-2B Assignment Group (i.e., Group A) will always include the number of H-2B applications containing a sufficient amount of worker positions to reach the applicable numerical visa cap, even if the numerical limits of the Immigration and Nationality Act are subsequently changed. Additional Assignment Groups are assigned in ascending sequential order for all remaining H-2B applications that were filed during the initial three-day filing window that requested the earliest start date of work permitted. Each H-2B Assignment Group after Group A (e.g., Group B, Group C, etc.) will total no more than 20,000 worker positions, or roughly 1,000 applications per group. More background on H-2B Temporary Labor Certification Program and the origin of Assignment Groups can be found here.
This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.
The U.S. Mission to India updated its interview waiver eligibility criteria for Indian foreign nationals renewing visas at U.S. consular posts in India.
Key Points:
Additional Information: Applicants can submit a visa application and documentation for interview waiver processing at Visa Application Centers in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru and other locations that can be found here.
Individuals who have applied for visas and who have appointments to drop off their documentation for interview waiver processing may no longer qualify for an interview waiver. Foreign nationals are reminded to speak with their BAL team prior to international travel and to be aware of general travel requirements, including maintaining a valid visa in their passport.
Other U.S. embassies and consulates that may have updated their interview waiver eligibility criteria include but are not limited to Mexico, France and Japan. All Visa renewal applicants should check interview waiver criteria on their respective U.S. embassy or consulate’s website to confirm.
The U.S. State Department released the March Visa Bulletin. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced filings for employment-based preference categories must use the Final Action Dates chart, which shows advancement in all chargeability areas in the EB-2 visa class. Both China and India will advance for the EB-3 visa class.
Final Action Dates:
EB-1
EB-2
EB-3
Final Action Dates Chart for Employment-Based Visa Applications
Category
Copyright © 2025 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries, please contact copyright@bal.com
The U.S. Embassy and Consulates General in China announced a new nonimmigrant visa appointment schedule.
U.S. embassies and consulates across the Middle East will be implementing a new visa services system effective Feb. 8 and Feb. 9, 2025.
Additional Information: For country-specific updates and details on obtaining nonimmigrant visas for travel to the U.S., interested parties can visit ustraveldocs.com and choose their location.
The Labor Department has posted updated processing times for permanent labor certification (PERM) applications and prevailing wage determination (PWD) requests.
PERM Processing Times: As of Feb. 1, the department was still adjudicating PERM applications filed in September 2023 and earlier and reviewing appeals for reconsideration filed in July 2024 and earlier.
Average Number of Days to Process PERM Applications
PWD Processing Times: As of Feb. 1, the National Prevailing Wage Center was processing PWD requests filed in July 2024 and earlier for H-1B visa Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) and non-OEWS cases, and for PERM OEWS cases and non-OEWS cases.
Redeterminations were being considered on appeals filed in November 2024 and earlier for H-1B visa cases and October 2024 and earlier for PERM cases.
Center Director Reviews were being conducted for H-1B visa cases filed in August 2024 and earlier, and PERM cases filed in April 2024 and earlier.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2026 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 7 and run through noon Eastern on March 24, 2025.
Additional Information: Additional information and resources on organizational accounts, including step-by-step videos, can be found here.
The U.S. Department of Treasury has approved a temporary increase in the daily credit card transaction limit from $24,999.99 to $99,999.99 per day for the FY 2026 H-1B cap season. Transactions of more than $99,999.99 may be made via Automated Clearing House (ACH).
Employers can use the BAL USCIS fee calculator for free to help determine expenses for their foreign national employees.
The U.S. Consulate General Amsterdam announced that due to a scheduled building upgrade project it will be unable to provide visa services from March through May 2025.
Additional Information: Applicants should always carefully review U.S. Consulate General Amsterdam’s operational status before paying any MRV fee or submitting visa applications to U.S. Consulate General Amsterdam.
Relevant building timeline updates and appointment availability can be found on the Mission Netherlands website and Global Support Services website.
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman of Maryland issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against President Trump’s executive order (EO) aimed at limiting birthright citizenship.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the termination of the 2023 Temporary Protected Status designation of Venezuela, after taking steps to vacate the previous secretary’s extension of the designation.