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In the latest decision in the Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) saga, Judge Andrew Hanen in the Southern District of Texas has found that the new DACA Final Rule issued by the Biden Administration was unlawful. In addition, he expanded the original July 16, 2021, injunction and order of vacatur to cover the…

By September 30, 2023, Congress will again have to fund the government. Despite ongoing efforts by the administration and Congress, indications are that a shutdown may occur at the beginning of the fiscal year, on October 1. Should a shutdown occur, it will affect a number of immigration- and visa-related agencies and processes.

USCIS

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As the United States carries out projects funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act, the manufacturing industry must prepare to face staffing challenges in meeting future demand. Immigration can help address the demand. Please see our full article here.

The Immigration and Nationality Act delegates authority to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to decide whether to parole a foreign person into the United States. Parole is a discretionary remedy decided on a case-by-case basis, evaluating the totality of evidence to determine if the foreign person’s presence in the United States will provide a…

Certain foreign entrepreneurs have a new pathway available to enter the United States to develop a business concept through a start-up company. Entrepreneurs who will have a central and active role in a start-up company that has attracted private investment or government funding may benefit from the International Entrepreneur Parole (IEP) program. While complex and…

A new federal law restricts foreign investors’ access to E visas by adding a three-year domicile requirement for investors who obtained their citizenship through Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programs.

Buried in the nearly 2,000-page National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), P.L. 117-263, signed into law by President Joe Biden on December 23, 2022, is a provision…

On Equal Pay Day, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced three bills, including a national pay transparency bill, that she believes would help to close the pay gap between men and women.

She chose Equal Pay Day for the introduction of these bills because it marks the additional days women must work to earn what…

New travel authorization systems are being postponed again in the United States and in Europe: REAL ID until May 7, 2025, and ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) until 2024.

During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) extended the deadline for REAL ID until May 3, 2023. As…

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy continues to be under attack. In Judge Andrew Hanen’s court in the Southern District of Texas, a coalition of Republican states filed a motion for summary judgment in a long-pending case alleging that the Biden Administration’s new DACA rule is no more valid than the original DACA…

Portugal is designated an E-1/E-2 treaty country in the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (H.R. 7776/NDAA) passed by Congress on December 15, 2022. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill, providing Portuguese nationals E-1 and E-2 visa eligibility.  

E-1 and E-2 visas are for treaty traders…