On April 1, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it had selected sufficient H-1B visa preregistrations to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 regular H-1B cap (bachelor’s degree cap)...more
6/13/2024
/ E-1 ,
E-2 ,
E-Verify ,
F-1 Visa ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Form I-9 ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Procedures ,
L-1 Visas ,
Lottery ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
O-1 Aliens of Extraordinary Ability ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Visas
The H-1B visa, highly sought after and a valuable route for foreign nationals to ultimately pursue U.S. residence status, will become available for pre-registrations in the lottery submission process in March 2024. We await...more
On October 30, 2023, President Biden issued an Executive Order (EO) on Artificial Intelligence (AI), which may promote immigration policy changes to attract and retain AI talent in the U.S. The EO recognizes the importance...more
12/6/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
EB-1 ,
EB-2 ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Executive Orders ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigration Procedures ,
International Entrepreneur Rule ,
J-1 Visas ,
PERM ,
STEM ,
US Department of State ,
Visas
Effective October 19, 2023, Israeli citizens traveling to the U.S. for business or pleasure are now able to apply to enter the U.S. through the Visa Waiver Program by obtaining ESTA Travel Authorization instead of a visitor...more
The U.S. State Department and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have announced several significant updates relating to the 2025 Diversity Lottery Program and the Temporary Protected Status extension...more
The Biden administration has formally admitted Israel into the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), known as Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) after years of effort. The VWP, which currently encompasses 40 countries,...more
Over the past week, the State Department and USCIS have issued several significant updates, including the return of U.S. stateside visa processing and the expansion of premium processing for F-1 students....more
Happy New Year! As we begin 2023, we would like to share the following recent U.S. immigration-related updates:
Nonimmigrant Visa Interview Waivers Extended Until December 31, 2023 On December 23, 2022, the U.S....more
This week, the U.S. State Department has announced that the dates for this year’s Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery filings will officially open on Wednesday, October 5, 2022 at 12:00 p.m. EDT, with the entry period closing on...more
At the beginning of each fiscal year, U.S. government agencies announce their regulatory agendas, which guide the agencies’ future actions. Here are the most relevant short and long-term regulatory changes that have been...more
7/8/2022
/ Adjustment of Status ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Filing Fees ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Procedures ,
L-1 Visas ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced on May 7, 2022, that it had selected this year’s Diversity Lottery (DV 2023) applicants. Since the DOS does not notify winners, entrants who submitted within the mandatory time...more
On December 23, 2021, the U.S. Department of State announced that it will temporarily suspend in-person interviews for some nonimmigrant visa classifications in order to expedite visa issuance as the pandemic heads into its...more
On Friday, October 1, the State Department announced that the dates for this year’s Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery filings will officially open on Wednesday, October 6 at noon, eastern daylight time (EDT). The entry period will...more
On July 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of State announced that it was extending the validity of National Interest Exceptions (NIE) for 12 months from the date of approval, and for multiple entries, as long as they are used for...more
On May 24, 2021, the U.S. Department of State announced that it was working together with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to facilitate the return from abroad of those U.S. citizens holding expired passports...more
On March 2, 2021, the U.S. Department of State announced further tightening of its COVID-19 restrictions for foreign nationals present in the Schengen areas of Europe, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Anthony Blinken, the...more
On October 7, 2020, this year's Diversity Lottery Registration Program (DV lottery) becomes available to applicants from eligible countries. You can enter the DV lottery here. Entries can only be submitted electronically. All...more
On July 16, 2020, the U.S. Department of State (State Department) issued an update on its website which clarified the exceptions available to bans on entry to the United States for foreign nationals imposed by Presidential...more
In our recent Immigration Alerts, we discussed United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) closures and updates regarding labor condition posting notices in the context of nonimmigrant visa applications in...more
On October 2, this year's Diversity Lottery Registration Program (DV lottery) becomes available to applicants from eligible countries. You can enter the DV lottery here. Entries can only be submitted electronically. All...more
Recent figures disclosed by the U.S. State Department show that the number of F-1 and J-1 foreign student and exchange visitor visas issued annually fell by 42.5 percent between 2015 and 2018, prompting the American...more
Recent developments regarding the U.S. Department of State’s policy relating to children born abroad to same-sex couples are slowing making their way through the U.S. federal courts for final determinations regarding the...more
The U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act reserves a first preference employment-based immigrant visa category for foreign nationals who qualify as aliens of extraordinary ability, outstanding professors, researchers,...more
This year's Diversity Lottery Registration Program (DV lottery) becomes available to applicants from eligible countries on October 3, 2018. Entries can only be submitted electronically. ...more
The Trump administration proposes to make sweeping changes to U.S. immigration policies.
On October 8, 2017, the White House issued an Immigration Principles and Policies Statement, which was followed by separate...more