On March 16, 2022, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas designated Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months. Temporary Protected Status is only granted to individuals already residing...more
Effective March 1, 2022, the United States government extended Temporary Protected Status to Ukrainians present in the United States and the relaxation of entry requirements for Ukrainian nationals.
On March 3, 2022,...more
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) has begun the process of implementing a federal court order following a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security relating to the immediate ability of L and E spouses...more
Effective January 21, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security updated and expanded the list of STEM fields of study falling within the regulatory definition of “STEM field.” The list, known as the “DHS Stem Designated...more
1/25/2022
/ Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
F-1 Visa ,
Federal Register ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Students ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Joe Biden ,
SEVP ,
STEM ,
USCIS
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is expected to release new guidelines for employment authorization which will affect H-4 and L-2 spouses resulting from a settlement agreement reached in a federal court...more
On October 25, President Joseph R. Biden issued a Presidential Proclamation officially rescinding all current COVID-19 regional travel bans and instead imposed a COVID-19 vaccine requirement on all nonimmigrants traveling to...more
On May 24, 2021, the U.S. Department of State announced that it was working together with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to facilitate the return from abroad of those U.S. citizens holding expired passports...more
On January 20, 2021, President Biden sent The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 (the Bill) to Congress for consideration. This legislation is considered groundbreaking and takes into consideration the last 25 years of efforts by...more
1/28/2021
/ Asylum ,
Biden Administration ,
Citizenship ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Diversity Lottery ,
FBI ,
Green Cards ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Reform ,
LGBTQ ,
Path To Citizenship ,
Popular ,
Temporary Protected Status
On Friday, December 4, 2020, a federal judge ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reopen the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to new applicants for the first time since 2017. This...more
12/10/2020
/ Chamber of Commerce ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
DACA ,
Deferred Action ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
H-1B ,
Specialty Occupations ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS
Recent developments which are likely to have a dramatic effect on certain foreign workers seeking entrance to the United States occurred earlier this week with the introduction of dual regulatory changes by the U.S....more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Ombudsman's office disclosed in an alert on July 21, 2020, that the agency was experiencing card production delays. The alert revealed that in June 2020, USCIS terminated a...more
An executive order further limiting entry for nonimmigrant workers in H-1B, H-2B, L-1 and J-1 status (and their dependents) will take effect on June 24, 2020, at 12:01 am and will remain in effect through December 31,...more
Last week, Acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Chad F. Wolf announced that New York state residents will no longer be eligible to apply for or to renew their enrollment in Trusted Traveler programs,...more
The Public Charge Rule, denying permanent residence status to immigrants who may use public benefits, will be implemented by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on February 24.
The Supreme Court has now...more
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) ability to lawfully terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy (DACA).
Since 2012, as a result...more
New regulations proposed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are slated to take effect for the 2021 H-1B cap filing period, which starts on April 1, 2020.
Proposed in January 2019, the new regulations mandate that...more
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released its final rules for public inspection, vastly constricting the number of immigrants who might be deemed eligible for lawful permanent residence.
As previously...more
As is the case with most countries, foreign nationals are generally required to have a passport valid for six months beyond the period of their intended stay to be admitted to the United States.
Foreign nationals planning...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released its Spring 2019 Regulatory Agenda, announcing the agency's priorities and how it plans to continue furthering the current administration's immigration-related goals....more
6/27/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
F-1 Visa ,
H-1B ,
H-4 Spouses ,
I-485 Applications ,
Immigration and Nationality Act ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Registration Fees ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Visa Waiver Program ,
Visas
On May 3, 2019, a Federal District Court in North Carolina granted a preliminary injunction preventing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from enforcing its August 9, 2018 policy memorandum, which expanded...more
Changes in the business immigration arena continue to affect non-immigrants in significant ways.
Rescission of H-4 Dependent Visa Holder Employment Authorization-
By March 18, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security...more
On October 10, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a proposed rule in the Federal Register suggesting changes to the "public charge" rules and how these rules would affect nonimmigrants and immigrants...more
The International Entrepreneur Rule (IE Final Rule) was created to allow international entrepreneurs to temporarily stay in the United States for up to 30 months (potentially renewable for another 30 months) to enable them to...more
A new policy memo governing accrual of unlawful status is poised to impact students staying in the United States with significant immigration consequences if they fail to comply with new, punitive rules.
On May 10, 2018,...more
On May 4, 2018, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that it will terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from Honduras. The effective date will be January 20, 2020....more