Effective September 2, 2025, the U.S. State Department is eliminating visa waiver of appointments (otherwise called dropbox appointments) for many visa applicants. Many visa applicants and their dependents previously...more
U.S. immigration law has always been challenging with ever-changing rules and policies and their far-reaching effects. However, the constant complication post-pandemic has been the unpredictability of processing times and...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Starting January 25, 2023, USCIS will adjudicate I-539 and I-765 applications for H-4 and L-2 dependents when those applications are filed concurrently with the I-129 petition. The bundling of those...more
On January 4, 2023, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a proposed rule to increase fees for most immigration benefit requests. If implemented, employers will pay significantly more for...more
On February 24, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that E-3 visa petitions will now be eligible for premium processing. Beginning on February 24, 2021, petitioners filing Form I-129, Petition...more
This alert summarizes a number of important developments affecting business immigration that occurred last week, including a number of federal court decisions enjoining certain presidential and regulatory actions, as well as...more
On August 3, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) issued a Final Rule that alters the USCIS filing Fee Schedule. On average, the filing fees were increased overall by approximately 20%....more
USCIS Resumes Premium Processing - USCIS has announced here that beginning the month of June 2020, it will again start accepting certain petitions for premium processing. Premium processing was indefinitely suspended as...more
Premium processing, the vehicle utilized by many U.S. petitioners filing for nonimmigrant and immigrant-based benefits, is being resumed by U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) with a phased-in approach commencing...more
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced Friday that it will resume premium processing for certain petitions in phases over the next month....more
On May 29, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will resume offering premium processing services for cases involving Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, and Form I-140,...more
Department of State Suspends Routine Visa Services - On March 20, 2020, in response to significant worldwide challenges related to the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic, the Department of State announced that routine...more
USCIS Immediately Suspends Premium Processing for All I-129 and I-140 Petitions - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the immediate and temporary suspension of premium processing service for all...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed a new fee schedule designed to mitigate an approximate $1.3 billion shortfall in the annual budget of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). According to DHS,...more
Employers who file I-129 petitions to sponsor foreign nationals for work visas make a number of representations to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) about the terms of the foreign national’s employment,...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it will increase the premium processing fee for certain employment-based petitions, beginning on December 2, 2019....more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds rule on August 14, 2019, which dramatically revised the regulations governing the application of the public charge...more
USCIS’ previous practice of adjudicating the I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, filed with a qualifying I-129 petition under Premium Processing has ended. USCIS now requires every I-539 applicant pay a...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
All I-129 petitions, whether initial requests or requests for extension of visa status, will be subject to the same level of scrutiny, USCIS has confirmed. The agency will no longer defer to the findings of a previously...more
On October 23, 2017, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) rescinded policy guidelines in effect since April 2004 regarding requests for the extension of certain nonimmigrant visas (i.e., visa petitions...more
USCIS announced that it has resumed premium processing for all H-1B visa petitions after a six month suspension of the program for these petitions. Over the past few months, USCIS has progressively re-opened premium...more
Beginning on December 23, 2016, filing fees for many United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) visa petitions and applications will increase. This is the first time since 2010 that USCIS has increased its filing...more
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on October 24, 2016 that effective December 23, 2016 fees for most nonimmigrant and immigrant petitions will increase by an average of 21 percent. This...more