On December 23, 2022, the Department of State announced that the Secretary of State made a determination extending the authority of consular officers to waive in-person interviews for certain nonimmigrant visa categories...more
On December 19, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released information regarding nonimmigrant workers whose employment is terminated, either voluntarily or involuntarily. USCIS indicated that...more
12/28/2022
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Expedited Actions Process ,
Foreign Workers ,
Grace Period ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
Portability ,
Stays ,
Termination ,
USCIS ,
Visas
Since March 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has granted petitioners and beneficiaries certain flexibilities with respect to various petitions filed with USCIS. Since that time, those flexibilities have...more
On September 29, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it would be extending the temporary waiver of the requirement that the civil surgeon’s signature on the Report of Medical Examination and...more
Effective September 26, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began automatically extending the validity of Permanent Resident Cards (i.e. Green Cards) to 24 months for lawful permanent residents who file...more
On September 15, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will be implementing the next phase of the premium processing expansion for certain petitioners who have a pending Form I-140...more
On September 6, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) filed a Court Declaration indicating that the agency has used nearly all available employment-based (EB) immigrant visas for this fiscal year (ending...more
On Tuesday, May 3, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a Temporary Final Rule (TFR) that increases the automatic extension period for certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for up to...more
On Tuesday, March 29, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USICS) announced that it had received enough electronic registrations during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year (FY) 2023 H-1B...more
On Tuesday, March 29, 2022, USCIS announced an action plan aimed to increase efficiency and reduce burdens to the legal immigration system. USCIS indicated three main goals within this new plan, including:...more
On Friday, January 28, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the initial registration period for the FY2023 H-1B Cap Lottery will begin on March 1, 2022. The initial registration will open at...more
On November 12, 2021, USCIS issued a new policy that automatically extends employment authorization for dependent spouses in L-2 and E-1/E-2/E-3 status. The new policy also automatically extended employment authorization for...more
Employment Authorization Policy for Nonimmigrant Dependent Spouses On November 10, 2021, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reached a settlement in a landmark case, which provided structural changes for...more
11/17/2021
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Form I-9 ,
Form I-94 ,
H-4 Spouses ,
Immigration Procedures ,
L-Visas ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
Spouses ,
Time Extensions ,
USCIS ,
Visas
President Biden has announced that the current COVID-19 travel bans impacting visitors to the United States will end on Monday, November 8, 2021. This current presidential proclamation will eliminate the travel restrictions...more
President Biden has announced that the current COVID-19 travel bans impacting visitors to the United States will end on Monday, November 8, 2021. This current presidential proclamation will eliminate the travel restrictions...more
The Biden administration will be easing travel restrictions on all fully vaccinated international travelers for air travel and land border crossings effective November 8, 2021. As previously confirmed with the Centers for...more
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) Bureau of Consular Affairs announced that the online registration period for the 2023 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV lottery program) began on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, at 12:00 p.m....more
On Monday, September 20, 2021, the White House announced that the Biden administration plans to ease travel restrictions on all international travelers coming into the United States. Beginning in early November 2021, the...more
On August 24, 2021, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a new policy that will require foreign nationals applying for a U.S. permanent resident card (green card) to be fully vaccinated against...more
8/31/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Green Cards ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Permanent Residence Cards ,
USCIS ,
Vaccinations ,
Visas
On July 28, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will no longer accept written requests to reschedule biometric services appointments at application support centers. If an applicant needs...more
On June 9, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued new policy updates to the USCIS Policy Manual that will clarify the criteria and circumstances for expedited processing; improve the existing request...more
On May 25, 2021, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of State (DOS) announced that U.S. citizens will be able to return to the United States on an expired U.S. passport from May 21, 2021 through December...more
On May 13, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will temporarily suspend the biometrics requirements for certain I-539 applicants for a two-year period beginning on May 17, 2021. ...more
5/18/2021
/ Biometric Information ,
Foreign Nationals ,
H-4 ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
L-2 Visas ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
USCIS ,
Visa Applications ,
Visas
On Friday, April 30, 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed that there will be new travel restrictions from India. Specifically, the United States will restrict travel from India starting Tuesday, May 4, 2021, at 12:01 a.m....more
5/4/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Green Cards ,
Immigrants ,
India ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Travel ,
National Interest Waiver ,
Public Health ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Traveling Employee
On April 27, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced new policy guidance, to take effect immediately, to address the issue of deference to prior approvals when adjudicating a request for an...more