Insight, News, and Strategy on Immigration Matters Around the World
Marijuana still is considered a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act. A conviction under the Controlled Substances Act can lead to severe consequences for a non-U.S. citizen.
Under U.S. immigration law, any non-U.S. citizen who is convicted under the Controlled Substances Act, even green card holders, who participate or make investments…
Some Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders will once again be able to overcome inadmissibility for adjustment of status purposes by traveling internationally because USCIS is updating its interpretation of MTINA, the Miscellaneous and Technical Immigration and Naturalization Amendment of 1991.
As of July 1, 2022:
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Temporary protected status (TPS) for Venezuelans already in the United States has been extended until March 10, 2024.
Venezuelan TPS was first announced by Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas in March 2021 due to the country’s severe political and economic crisis. That status was set to expire on September 9, 2022,…
In response to high skilled labor shortages, the UK has announced a program aimed at attracting the “best and brightest” from around the world.
Under the new scheme, alumni of top non-UK universities who have graduated within the past five years can apply for the streamlined High Potential Individual (HPI) visa and have their cases…
The Jumpstart Our Legal Immigration System Act (Jumpstart), introduced by Zoe Lofgren (D-Calf.) in the House of Representatives, if passed, could revolutionize the green card process. The legislation would recapture thousands of unused family- and employment-based visas and allow beneficiaries to expedite their processes by paying additional fees.
The Jumpstart Act would help to…
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act passed the House of Representatives on April 1, 2022. If passed by the Senate and signed by the President, the bill would clear marijuana-related convictions from people’s records and remove marijuana from the federal controlled substances list. The bill specifically prohibits the denial of benefits and protections…
Just as the Biden Administration is proposing increased funding for USCIS to help reduce the agency’s backlog, USCIS is announcing future new actions to improve processing times.
USCIS:
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A series of significant developments in U.S. immigration law has already marked the beginning of 2022 and more can be expected. Please see our Legal Update for what to anticipate as the year progresses.
Congress is set to pass Omnibus spending legislation that includes reauthorization of the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program, which has been suspended since June 2021.
The Regional Center Program allows eligible investors to apply for green cards if they make the necessary monetary investment and create or preserve at least 10 permanent full-time jobs…
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has ruled for a third time that specific immigration provisions in the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) granting parole and work authorization to unauthorized aliens who entered the United States before January 1, 2011, cannot be included in the reconciliation bill because the policy changes outweigh the budgetary impact.
Unless Senate…
