The U.S. Department of State has added a new social media question to its immigrant and nonimmigrant visa application forms.
Effective June 1, applicants filling out Forms DS-160 and DS-260 must provide the government with...more
Recent developments regarding the U.S. Department of State’s policy relating to children born abroad to same-sex couples are slowing making their way through the U.S. federal courts for final determinations regarding the...more
Unannounced changes at the Canadian border have disrupted Canadian L-1 intra-company transferee visa applicants' admission to the United States.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) appears to have shifted its...more
On April 5, USCIS announced that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to meet the Congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B regular "bachelor's degree" cap cases for this fiscal year.
USCIS will next determine...more
On March 19, USCIS made a surprise announcement - it will be phasing in a new two-tiered premium processing procedure and establishing a new H-1B data hub on its website.
On April 1, USCIS will commence accepting cap-subject...more
On March 11, USCIS announced that it would resume premium processing for all H-1B petition filings. Premium processing facilitates an expedited process for adjudication of nonimmigrant petitions including H1-B, L1, O1 and O2,...more
USCIS recently provided updated data showing there has been a decline in approvals and higher rates of requests for evidence (RFE) for several key employer-sponsored non-immigrant visa categories.
The newly released data,...more
USCIS announced that, as of Tuesday, February 19, it has resumed premium processing for all H-1B petitions filed on or before December 21, 2018.
An expedited process for facilitating swift adjudication of non-immigrant...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
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its H-1B pre-registration policy for the upcoming cap season and clarifies new developments related to H-1B processing. In this alert, we explore how each of these...more
We welcome 2019 with the anticipation of yet another H-1B lottery filing season, this one filled with some major changes. Traditionally, the H-1B visa category has been utilized by U.S. companies to hire international talent...more
On October 30, USCIS announced that it will expand its Information Services Modernization Program to more field offices because it believes that most inquiries at local district offices can be accomplished through online...more
In November 2018, USCIS issued an updated policy memorandum clarifying the terms of visa eligibility for L-1 visa designates who may have worked abroad for a qualifying entity overseas and, in the interim, held a different...more
On December 3, 2018, USCIS proposed a rule removing the current requirement for U.S. employers to file cap-subject H-1B petitions commencing April 1 each year.
What is changing?...more
On November 8, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals blocked the Trump administration's attempt at ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. In response, the Department of Justice asked the U.S....more
A group of U.S. colleges and universities, including The New School in New York City and Haverford College in Pennsylvania, have sued the Trump administration this week regarding the issuance of a new regulation affecting the...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 United States, Mexico and Canada recently reached a trilateral agreement on September 30, 2018 as part of the renegotiation of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Known going forward as the United...more
U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that effective October 1, it will increase the premium processing fee charge for I-129 nonimmigrant worker petitions and I-140 immigrant petitions. Premium...more
On August 28, USCIS announced the temporary suspension of premium processing (expedited processing) for H-1B cap petitions.
This process has permitted a U.S. petitioner to secure fast track processing of H-1B filings for a...more
While the Trump administration continually vocalizes its intolerance of illegal immigration, it has been quietly and effectively working to build an "invisible wall" to block legal immigration. One major avenue of legal...more
On July 13, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a new guidance memo for its adjudicators indicating that commencing on September 11, 2018, adjudicators may deny any and all applications or petitions...more
On June 11, 2018, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions overturned an immigration appeals court decision granting asylum to a Salvadoran woman, Ms. A.B., fleeing domestic abuse. This decision rejects nearly two decades of...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
The H-1B visa category has been modified many times over the past 65 years. H-1B visas facilitate the entry of foreign national professionals, while also providing safeguards that maintain the integrity of the U.S. labor...more
5/14/2018
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
OPT ,
STEM ,
USCIS ,
Visas