Demystifying Immigration Law
The Latest on E-2 Visa with Citizenship-by-Investment
Law Brief: H-1B Visas – New Process and New (Upcoming) Deadlines
Employment Visa Restrictions: Past, Present, and Future by Sang Shin
Update from Washington: Employer's Preview of Immigration Restrictions from the Administration
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the master’s cap,...more
GENERAL - What are the current Executive Orders on immigration? On its first day in office, the Trump administration published 46 executive orders dealing with a broad range of issues, several of which were aimed...more
Announced in a Federal Register notice published Feb. 5, 2025, Secretary Kristi Noem decided not to extend the 2023 Venezuela TPS designation. That designation will expire April 7, 2025. DHS Secretary Noem announced on Jan....more
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump issued more than 45 Executive Orders, many of which contain directives related to immigration. The immigration team at Nilan Johnson Lewis will be monitoring updates related...more
The Department of State (DOS) revised the J-1 Skills List, which lists home countries to which foreign nationals are subject to a two-year foreign home residency requirement. •The 37 countries that have been removed from...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published a final rule with key updates to the H-1B specialty occupation nonimmigrant visa program. The final rule is aimed at modernizing the H-1B program by improving efficiency...more
As President-elect Trump’s administration prepares for a second term, employers should anticipate intensified changes to U.S. immigration policies and procedures. These changes are expected to significantly impact various...more
On May 13, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will temporarily suspend the biometrics requirements for certain I-539 applicants for a two-year period beginning on May 17, 2021. ...more
On May 3, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) acting associate director of the Service Center Operations Directorate, Connie L. Nolan, indicated in a court filing that USCIS is finalizing a policy that...more
The US Supreme Court ruled on January 27 that the administration can begin to implement the public charge rule while the issue is still being litigated in the federal court system. ...more
This November, the United States Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on the case that will decide the fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. This program, established through executive...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: U.S. District Court in New York issued a nationwide injunction blocking the implementation of USCIS’ final rule on inadmissibility on public charge grounds, which rule resulted in significant changes to...more
On April 25, 2019, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) issued a practice alert announcing that the nationwide immigration association had “been in discussions with CBP [Customs and Border Protection] related...more
Last Friday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a significantly revised Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status. This application is used to change or extend the status of dependents...more
USCIS announced on March 5th that it will be publishing a newly-revised Form I-539 on its website on March 8, 2019. USICS will removing the prior Form I-589 version but will accept the older I-589 version (12/23/16) over the...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On February 11, 2019, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it revised Form I-539 and that the new version will be released on March 11, 2019. ...more
Nonimmigrants in F, J, and M visa status should ensure that they take no actions to violate their status, as they could inadvertently trigger unlawful presence and jeopardize future status in the United States....more
On Friday, May 11, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memorandum abruptly changing the long-standing policy on how and when USCIS will start calculating the accrual of unlawful presence for...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
The Revised Version of Travel Ban to Take Effect Next Month - On Sept. 24, President Trump issued a proclamation that indefinitely bans certain citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea from...more
On March 6, 2017, President Trump signed the highly anticipated and revised Executive Order (EO), "Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States." The new order rescinds the previous EO issued at...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On March 6, 2017, President Trump signed a new Executive Order temporarily restricting certain foreign nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from entry into the United States for 90...more
Effective yesterday, January 17, 2017, a new USCIS rule seeks to improve multiple employment-based temporary nonimmigrant and immigrant visa (“green card”) programs. The new regulations are designed to help U.S. employers...more
US immigration laws have not been created with the growing global economy’s need for foreign talent in mind, and should be reformed to promote hiring the best minds for the US economy. With globalization of the modern...more
In 2014, Massachusetts created the Global Entrepreneur in Residence Program (GEIR), a program meant to capitalize on the opportunities provided by concurrent H-1B employment. Under this program, universities partnered with...more