On August 9, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that over the course of the coming year it will shutter all but 7 of its 23 international offices. Offices in Beijing, Guangzhou, Nairobi, New...more
In this five-part series, we highlight three important USCIS policy changes and provide eight best practice tips in light of the ever-tightening U.S. immigration environment. This is the fourth installment in the...more
At the end of the 2016 calendar year, the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) published a welcome precedent decision, Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). In this case, the AAO has significantly revised the...more
In a welcome development, on November 18, 2016 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule benefitting many highly skilled nonimmigrant foreign workers and EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 employment-based immigrant...more
11/22/2016
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EB-1 ,
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EB-3 ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Foreign Workers ,
Grace Period ,
Green Cards ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigrants ,
Priority Date Cutoff ,
Visas ,
Whistleblowers ,
Work Visas
In a welcome move, on March 18, 2016 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released policy guidance for its officers to help them decide “green card portability” cases....more
On Thursday, November 20th, coinciding with President Obama’s announcement regarding his forthcoming executive action on immigration, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson issued a memo to the directors...more
11/25/2014
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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
Executive Orders ,
Green Cards ,
H-1B ,
H-4 Spouses ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
L-1 Visas ,
OPT ,
STEM ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps
During last week's primetime television broadcast, President Obama announced steps to fix what he termed the “broken” US immigration system. The president focused his speech on increasing border security and providing a...more
11/24/2014
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Customs and Border Protection ,
DACA ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Deportation ,
Executive Orders ,
Green Cards ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Reform ,
PERM ,
STEM ,
USCIS
On October 1, 2013, the U.S. Department of State will begin accepting requests to register for the 2015 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV-2015), also known as the Green Card Lottery. The Diversity Lottery Program provides...more
On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Windsor that Section 3 of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) is unconstitutional. This Section of DOMA prohibited the U.S. government from conferring any...more
7/5/2013
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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
DOMA ,
Green Cards ,
Lawful Permanent Residents ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
US Department of State ,
US v Windsor ,
USCIS ,
Visas