The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in numerous presidential proclamations restricting travel and entry into the United States. Likewise, since the pandemic began, the criteria for “national interest exceptions” (NIEs)...more
4/8/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
International Travel ,
Ireland ,
National Interest Waiver ,
Presidential Proclamations ,
Travel Restrictions ,
UK ,
US Department of State ,
Visas
On July 24, 2020, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) issued updated guidance for international students pursing education programs in the United States. The follow-up...more
On July 14, 2020, by means of executive order, the Trump administration announced that it will no longer recognize Hong Kong as a distinct autonomous region as compared to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The executive...more
On July 14, 2020, the U.S. Department of State announced that U.S. consulates and embassies around the world have begun a phased resumption of routine visa services. The Department of State did not provide a specific timeline...more
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has agreed to rescind a proposed rule that would have required international students on F-1 and M-1 visas to either attend in-person classes at U.S. colleges and universities or...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 2, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it is holding off on plans to issue additional H-2B visas. DHS had previously agreed to make an additional 35,000 visas available to seasonal...more
On March 23, 2020, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) published answers to frequently asked questions by Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) stakeholders about the impact of COVID-19 on SEVP-certified...more
The U.S. Department of State announced on March 18, 2020, that it has suspended all routine visa services, including immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments, in most countries worldwide. It is not yet known how long the...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
The global COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact international travel to the United States as well as the availability of U.S. consular services around the world. The following is a summary of the latest updates...more
The continuing spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) throughout the United States has caused employers to consider implementing contingency plans to help curb the spread of the disease and protect their workforces. Many...more
3/17/2020
/ Business Travel ,
Consulate ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
H-1B ,
State of Emergency ,
Traveling Employee ,
U.S. Embassies ,
US Department of State ,
Visas
On January 31, 2020, the Trump administration expanded the list of countries affected by Presidential Proclamation 9645, more commonly referred to as “Travel Ban 3.0.” Nigeria, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Sudan, and...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) 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
On November 26, 2019, a federal court in Oregon issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from implementing a presidential proclamation that would have required immigrant visa applicants to...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
On November 2, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon issued a temporary restraining order, blocking the Trump administration from enforcing a recent presidential proclamation requiring health insurance for...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
According to a proclamation issued by President Donald Trump on October 4, 2019, the U.S. Department of State will begin issuing immigrant visas only to those foreign nationals who will have health insurance once admitted to...more
The U.S. Department of State has released the October 2019 Visa Bulletin, the first for fiscal year 2020. As anticipated, many of the final action dates have rebounded after retrogressing in August and have returned to dates...more
Implementation of the rule rescinding H-4 work authorization has been delayed yet again. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the proposed rule is not expected to be published in the Federal Register until...more
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to charge employers a $10 registration fee - per H-1B candidate - to participate in its mandatory electronic H-1B registration system. The new fee will apply to all H-1B...more
On August 14, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the final version of its public charge rule in the Federal Register. According to a statement by DHS, the rule is intended to formalize the way in which...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued updated data confirming that requests for evidence (RFE) and denials continue to climb for most commonly used nonimmigrant visas. The rate of RFEs and denials for...more