News & Analysis as of September 18, 2024

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services › Passports

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The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is a federal agency under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that oversees lawful immigration to the United States. The USCIS performs a broad variety of administrative functions, including processing visa and naturalization petitions, as well as applications for asylum and refugee status. less -

H-1B Update: New Rule Focuses on Beneficiary-Centric Improvements

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 2/5/2024

USCIS published its Improving the H-1B Registration Selection Process and Program Integrity final rule on Feb. 2, 2024. The new final rule has three basic categories: creating a beneficiary-centric selection process,...more

Trade Nafta (TN) Visa Holders Are NOT Free Agents – Spotting the Unauthorized Nonimmigrant for Form I-9 Compliance

Dickinson Wright on 12/14/2023

Employers continue to face compliance challenges in determining whether a new hire is work authorized for Form I-9 purposes, given the dynamic changes in immigration policy and regulation. For instance, this year alone, U.S....more

Elimination of passport stamps could make things tough for foreign nationals

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP on 4/21/2023

International travelers have long relied on receiving passport stamps when entering a country to document their entry. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is seeking to streamline its entry process and do away with...more

The Department of Homeland Security Postpones Enactment of Real ID to May 2025

Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP on 12/8/2022

The Real ID Act requires U.S. states to issue driver’s licenses and non-driver identification cards that meet enhanced security standards for purposes of travel and admission to federal facilities....more

Registration for FY 2023 Diversity Visa Lottery Opening October 6

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 10/6/2021

Diversity Visa (DV) Electronic Registration for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 opens October 6, 2021, at noon ET and closes on November 9, 2021, at noon ET. There is no cost to register, but, if selected, applicants must pay the...more

DHS Eases Immigration Rules Due to COVID-19 Pandemic

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP on 4/21/2020

- Foreign visitors and employees can extend or change their immigration status. - DHS relaxes requirements for original documents and original signatures. - DHS offices are closed to the public but continue to...more

How Does the Government Shutdown Affect Immigration?

UB Greensfelder LLP on 1/8/2019

The federal government entered a partial shutdown on December 22, 2018. With no end in sight as the shutdown enters its third week, many are wondering how the shutdown will affect immigration matters. To provide some insight...more

Massachusetts’ New REAL ID-Compliant Driver’s License Requirements

Mintz on 4/6/2018

On March 26, 2018, Massachusetts adopted a new system for driver’s licenses and identification (Mass ID) cards to comply with the REAL ID federal standards. Massachusetts residents now have two options for their driver’s...more

Impact of Government Shutdown on Immigration Matters

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP on 1/22/2018

Here is what we know so far about how this past weekend’s federal government “shutdown” will affect immigration adjudications and other related matters. As U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) operations are...more

Are you ready for summer travel?

Moore & Van Allen PLLC on 5/31/2017

Vacation season is just around the corner. Whether you are a visa holder, tourist or U.S. permanent resident, organizing your travel documents is a critical part of international travel. Discovering an expired document too...more

Executive Order Bans Entry of Foreign Nationals From Seven Countries

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP on 1/31/2017

Last Friday, President Trump signed an executive order banning the entry of foreign nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen to the United States for a period of at least 90 days. The executive order,...more

Holiday Travel Tips for Foreign Nationals

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 11/11/2016

As the holiday season is approaching, foreign national employees with international travel plans should ensure that they have all necessary immigration documents for reentry to the United States. As this may require attending...more

International Travel Tips for Foreign Nationals

WilmerHale on 12/14/2015

Foreign nationals who plan to travel abroad during the upcoming holiday season should make sure that they have the requisite immigration documents and instructions before they depart and reenter the United States. Before...more

Another Potential Federal Government Shutdown: Consequences for Immigration Application Processing

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 9/23/2015

Congress is currently at a budget standoff that threatens to shut down the federal government for the second time in two years, effective September 30, 2015 at midnight, the start of the new fiscal year. As with the last...more

West Virginia Amends State Rule Verifying Legal Employment Status of Workers

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 8/5/2015

On July 1, 2015, a new legislative rule amending the procedures required for West Virginia employers to verify the legal employment status of their workers went into effect in West Virginia. Pursuant to section 21-1B-4 of the...more

Visa Processing Nearly Back Online After Critical Hardware Failure, but Bottleneck May Take Weeks to Clear

Polsinelli on 6/25/2015

After a major hardware failure on June 9th that created significant delays in processing and issuing visas, the Consular Consolidated Database (CCD) for U.S. Embassies and Consulates worldwide is nearly back online. As of...more

Differences In Dates in USCIS L Visa Approval & Consulate Passport Visa Stamp

Cozen O'Connor on 4/25/2014

Your passport L-1A visa stamp is good until 2015, but the USCIS approval expires in 2014, which one is correct? The dichotomy in the passport visa stamp and the USCIS approval can be confusing. There is a difference in the...more

U.S. Government Shutdown: Immigration and Visa Consequences for the Business Community

Proskauer Rose LLP on 10/1/2013

The unthinkable is happening, a U.S. government shutdown. What is the impact of this on immigration matters? Passports - The United States Passport Office will stop processing U.S. passport and passport card...more

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United States Citizenship and Immigration Services › Passports

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