On October 1, 2020, President Donald Trump signed into law a stopgap spending measure to fund the U.S. government through December 11, 2020. The spending measure includes a provision titled “Emergency Stopgap USCIS...more
On April 24, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it intends to reopen field offices, asylum offices, and application support centers (ASCs) beginning on or after June 4, 2020. USCIS...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that it will consider granting a second 30-day period of Satisfactory Departure to Visa Waiver Program (VWP) travelers who were already granted Satisfactory...more
On April 13, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, data entry and the generation of receipt notices would be delayed until at least May 1, 2020, for fiscal year...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that its field offices will remain closed to the public through May 3, 2020. All routine in-person services are suspended including biometrics appointments,...more
On March 30, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the following policy updates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic:
60-Day Extension: USCIS is extending the deadline to submit the documents...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field offices will remain closed to the public until at least April 7, 2020. The closure applies to routine in-person services at USCIS field offices, asylum offices, and...more
On March 27, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has completed the initial H-1B selection process for fiscal year (FY) 2021. This was the first time USCIS used an electronic registration...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on March 20, 2020, that it will relax the in-person verification requirements of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification for employers operating remotely due to...more
On March 20, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the immediate and temporary suspension of premium processing services for all Forms I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker and Forms I-140,...more
As of March 21, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will accept electronically reproduced original signatures in lieu of “wet” signatures on all benefit forms and documents. USCIS implemented the temporary...more
Effective March 18, 2020, all U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field offices are temporarily closed to the public. USCIS has suspended all routine in-person services at its field offices, asylum offices, and...more
For the second straight year, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will implement a staggered approach to premium processing for the H-1B cap season. For fiscal year (FY) 2021, USCIS will make premium processing...more
Beginning March 16, 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began allowing certain travelers the opportunity to make a Satisfactory Departure request directly at a port of entry if, due to COVID-19–related travel...more
In a 5–4 decision on February 21, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Wolf v. Cook County, Illinois (No. 19A905) in favor of staying an Illinois district court’s injunction blocking the Trump...more
3/4/2020
/ Concurrent Litigation ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Irreparable Harm ,
Order to Stay ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Public Charge ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Wolf v Cook County
On January 30, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will begin implementing the new public charge regulations on February 24, 2020. The regulations broadly expand the list of public...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that it would begin accepting electronic registrations for H-1B candidates subject to the annual quota for fiscal year (FY) 2021 on March 1, 2020. The...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently adopted new policy guidance altering the way immigration officers evaluate criminal sentences and make good moral character determinations. These changes may impact a...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed that it will implement the new electronic H-1B registration system for the upcoming cap season. Employers seeking to file cap-subject H-1B petitions will be...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
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it will once again use the Dates for Filing chart from the November 2019 Visa Bulletin to determine which applicants may file their adjustment of status...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that on December 2, 2019, its premium processing fee will increase from $1,410 to $1,440 for certain employment-based petitions. The $30 increase will apply to...more
The Trump administration’s public charge rule is on hold, at least temporarily. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State each introduced a version of the rule. ...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has instructed employers to continue using the current version of the Form I-9 beyond the form’s August 31, 2019, expiration date. The current I-9 employment eligibility...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has had a change of heart. Instead of closing all 23 of its international field offices, as originally planned, the agency recently announced that it would keep seven offices...more