The Department of Homeland Security’s latest Regulatory Agenda promises some big changes, especially for the H-1B visa program.
Many of these changes have been proposed before, but have not yet made it to the rulemaking...more
USCIS has announced that the 2020 Diversity Lottery will open for registration at noon EST on October 3, 2018 and run until noon EST on November 6, 2018. Fifty thousand green cards will be available....more
On October 1, 2018 the premium processing fee for all Forms I-129 (Non-Immigrant Worker) and Forms I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker) will be raised from $1,225 to $1,410. USCIS announced this almost 15% increase on...more
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) may be an endangered species. Having terminated TPS for Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone during the past year, the Trump Administration has turned its attention elsewhere. There are...more
In 2012, then-President Barack Obama signed legislation allowing nationals of Israel to apply for E-2 treaty investor status, but benefit would not be available until Israel provided similar status to U.S. nationals. In March...more
USCIS has posted a policy memorandum that will radically change current policy for students and exchange visitors. The policy makes it much more likely that those in F, M or J status will find themselves accruing unlawful...more
Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Liberians will terminate on March 31, 2019.
USCIS has now published filing instructions in the Federal Register for those Liberians affected who wish to extend their employment...more
Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Liberians, a humanitarian relief program similar to TPS (Temporary Protected Status), will terminate on March 31, 2019 according to a formal memo released by President Donald Trump....more
Despite its prior announcement, USCIS has just notified the public that the E-Verify enhancements will be postponed. ...more
USCIS has once again announced the temporary suspension of the Premium Processing service for all cap-subject H-1B cases, including “Master’s Cap” cases.
The suspension is expected to last until September 10, 2018, but...more
As we recently noted, the Washington Post reported that USCIS was creating an employee oversight division to monitor staff who might be perceived as too lenient in their adjudications of requested immigration benefits....more
The Washington Post has reported that USCIS is establishing an internal oversight division. The new division’s purpose, in part, would be to monitor more closely officers who are too lenient in assessing applications for...more
If foreign national employees have recently experienced trouble scheduling INFOPASS appointments, it may be because USCIS is preparing for an expected rollout of a new pilot program over the next couple of months. Instead of...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
USCIS is adopting a new approach for international travel and Form I-131 Advance Parole (AP) applications.
Until recently, USCIS has approved AP applications even where the beneficiary travelled internationally during the...more
Although it is not a surprise, the USCIS announced on April 7th that it reached the H-1B cap for fiscal year 2018 – both the regular cap and “Master’s” cap. As usual, the USCIS will reject and return filing fees for all...more
Among the last rules issued during the Obama Administration, Retention of EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 Immigrant Workers and Program Improvements Affecting High-Skilled Nonimmigrant Workers went into effect on January 17, 2017. One...more