On December 3, 2018, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) introduced a new plan that would require employers to pre-register all potential H-1B candidates for selection in the H-1B lottery. Pursuant to the proposal,...more
On November 16, 2018, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director L. Francis Cissna suggested that USCIS will discontinue its policy of denying certain pending I-131, Application for Travel Document...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released its fall 2018 regulatory agenda, laying out its rulemaking goals through 2019. The published timeline is aspirational and does not represent a strict schedule....more
10/26/2018
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B-2 ,
Biometric Information ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
F-1 Visa ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
H-1B ,
H-4 Spouses ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Students ,
USCIS
Beginning October 1, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) will begin a staggered rollout of a new notice to appear (NTA) policy. The first phase of the rollout does not include employment-based petitions....more
There were no lazy days of summer to be had in 2018—at least not when it came to the introduction of new immigration policies by the Trump administration. The momentum with which it announced and implemented new policies over...more
9/21/2018
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Deportation ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Notice to Appear ,
OPT ,
Popular ,
STEM ,
Students ,
USCIS ,
Visas
Chief executive officers (CEOs) from more than 50 companies signed a letter sent to Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen expressing their concern about the current course of immigration policy in the United States....more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the extension of its suspension of premium processing for all H-1B cases subject to the annual quota (also known as “cap cases”) for fiscal year 2019. The suspension...more
A recent court filing by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reaffirms the agency’s commitment to rescinding the H-4 rule, which provides work authorization to eligible spouses of certain H-1B visa holders who are...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has revised its website and announced that it will now allow F-1 students participating in the optional practical training (OPT) extension for individuals in science,...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a revised final policy memorandum updating the recently implemented unlawful presence policy that changed the way USCIS calculated unlawful presence for foreign...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it is postponing the enforcement of its June 28, 2018, policy memorandum allowing USCIS officers to issue notices to appear to those deemed unlawfully present...more
The rate of requests for evidence (RFEs) and denials issued for H-1B and L-1 petitions by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is up considerably, according to a new report by the National Foundation for American...more
Temporary protected status (TPS) for Somalia has been extended for an additional 18 months, prolonging the program from September 17, 2018, to March 17, 2020. Somalia was originally granted TPS in 1991 and was redesignated...more
Effective September 11, 2018, adjudicators for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will have the authority to deny any application or petition that is incomplete or lacks sufficient evidence without first...more
A new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policy published on July 5, 2018 instructs USCIS officers to issue a notice to appear (NTA) to any individual who is “not lawfully present” in the United States at the...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that nationals of Honduras who wish to extend their temporary protected status (TPS) through the January 5, 2020, termination date must reregister during the...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that nationals of Nepal who wish to extend their temporary protected status (TPS) through the June 24, 2019, termination date must reregister during the...more
On May 11, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) expanding their preexisting collaboration with the goal of better...more
On May 10, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memorandum changing the way the agency will calculate the accrual of unlawful presence for students (F-1), exchange visitors (J-1), and...more