U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced its intention to begin reopening its nationwide district offices on or after June 4th. District offices generally handle adjustment of status interviews for...more
U.S. Department of Labor changes regulations relating to H-1B, H-1B1 and E3 workers transferred to locations outside the intended metropolitan statistical area ("MSA").
•In an unprecedented move, The U.S. Department of...more
U.S. employers are gearing up for H-1B cap season, which has traditionally commenced on April 1 each year. This year, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has introduced an unprecedented procedure - an electronic...more
A seemingly benign application form known as the DS-160 nonimmigrant visa application form is completed online by all applicants seeking to work in temporary visa status in the United States. The form, available on the...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule requiring employers to pay a $10.00 non-refundable fee for each H-1B cap registration submitted, once the electronic system is implemented. This final...more
For foreign nationals working in the United States on temporary work visas, it is best to plan well in advance for international travel.
Assure that your passport is valid.
Passports must be valid for at least six months...more
The Public Charge Rule, which had been scheduled to be implemented on October 15, 2019, was halted by U.S. District Courts in New York, California and Washington state late last week.
The preliminary injunctions issued in...more
On Friday, October 4, President Trump issued an unexpected proclamation ordering consular officials to bar immigrants seeking to live in the United States unless they "will be covered by approved health insurance" or can...more
On October 2, this year's Diversity Lottery Registration Program (DV lottery) becomes available to applicants from eligible countries. You can enter the DV lottery here. Entries can only be submitted electronically. All...more
Recent figures disclosed by the U.S. State Department show that the number of F-1 and J-1 foreign student and exchange visitor visas issued annually fell by 42.5 percent between 2015 and 2018, prompting the American...more
The EB-5 immigrant investor program, first introduced in the early 1990s, has not had an overhaul since its inception. Major changes will apply to all I-526 petitions filed on or after the Effective Date of November 21,...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
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
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
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
Updated news from USCIS this spring includes final H-1B lottery selection news and a boon for Israeli investors who will be eligible to apply for E-2 treaty investor visas at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv.
On April 11, USCIS...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
The U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act reserves a first preference employment-based immigrant visa category for foreign nationals who qualify as aliens of extraordinary ability, outstanding professors, researchers,...more