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News & EventsNotices to Appear and Harsh Consequences Possible for H and L Holders
According to a recent new guidance regarding issuances of Notices to Appear (NTA), USCIS will greatly expand its mandate for issuing NTAs without first consulting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). USCIS officers will now issue NTAs and thereby place...
USCIS Issues New Guidance on Notices to Appear
On June 28, 2018, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provided new guidance regarding issuances of Notices to Appear (NTA). This new guidance states that USCIS officers will now issues NTAs for a wider range of cases where the individual is...
Department of Homeland Security Proposes Removing Obama-era International Entrepreneur Rule
The Department of Homeland Security holds the discretionary power to permit entry into the United States in humanitarian or public benefit cases. In the final months of the Obama administration in 2016, the Department of Homeland Security amended its regulations...
USCIS Implements Targeted Anti-Fraud Initiatives
On June 28, 2018, Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman Julie Kirchner published her most recent annual report to Congress, revealing USCIS’ intensified anti-fraud initiatives as well as confirming processing delays for multiple applications. The Ombudsman’s...
USCIS Confirms Processing Delays for Many Application Types
On June 28, 2018, Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman Julie Kirchner published her most recent annual report to Congress, revealing USCIS’ intensified anti-fraud initiatives as well as confirming processing delays for multiple applications. The Ombudsman’s...
July 2018 Visa Bulletin Issued
The Department of State (DOS) has issued its July 2018 Visa Bulletin. Most notably, there continues to be no advancement for the priority dates for EB-1 for China and India and a significant retrogression for EB-3 China. EB-1-Worldwide: Priority dates are...
June 2018 Visa Bulletin Issued
The Department of State (DOS) has issued its June 2018 Visa Bulletin. Most notably, there was no advancement for the priority dates for EB-1 for China and India, EB-2 for China, and EB-3 for China, India, and the Philippines. EB-1-Worldwide: Priority dates are...
USCIS New Policy on Accrual of Unlawful Presence by Students and Exchange Visitors
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is changing how it calculates unlawful presence for F-1, J-1, and M-1 nonimmigrants and their dependents. These changes are designed to clarify how USCIS implements the unlawful presence grounds of inadmissibility. In...
MAY 2018 VISA BULLETIN ISSUED
The Department of State (DOS) has issued its May 2018 Visa Bulletin. Most notably, there was no advancement for the priority dates for EB-1 for China and India since a retrogression from the April 2018 Visa Bulletin. EB-1-Worldwide: Priority dates are...
H-1B Specialty Occupation Trend for FY 2019 and Suggestions for Employees and Recent Graduates
Ever since the new administration came to office, a higher level of scrutiny has been applied to H-1B visas by USCIS through increasingly frequent Request For Evidence (RFE) and close scrutiny over wage level 1 positions. On April 11, USCIS conducted two lotteries for...