- A federal district court has vacated USCIS policies that paused adjudication of immigration benefit requests filed by nationals of 39 countries.
- The court ruling could allow affected adjustment of status, employment authorization, naturalization, and certain asylum-related applications to proceed.
- The government is expected to consider appellate options, and employers should continue to monitor developments.
Navigating Change: What Updated USCIS Guidance on EB-2 National Interest Waiver Means for Petitioners
Takeaways
- USCIS issued updated policy guidance on 1/15/25 on how it will evaluate candidates for EB-2 immigrant visas seeking a National Interest Waiver (NIW).
- USCIS will be more closely scrutinizing a candidate’s qualifications, profession, experience, and support letters.
- These changes will make it more difficult to obtain NIWs in the future.
The U.S. Citizenship and…
USCIS Final Rule Increasing Filing Fees Expected Soon
USCIS previously deferred its proposed filing fee increase until early 2024 – and the increase might be coming out very soon! This increase will come on top of the increased premium processing fees that will go into effect on Feb. 26, 2024. The premium processing fee increase is approximately 12%. Some of the proposed general…
What Executive Order on AI Means for Immigration
On October 30, 2023, President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order regarding the “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence.” The Executive Order (EO) directs departments and agencies throughout the government, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State (DOS), to develop plans and policies to establish…
Navigating Changes to a Job Post-PERM Certification: Part 1
This is the first of a two-part series on the three factors to consider when evaluating the possible impact a job change could have on a certified PERM labor certification and a foreign national’s green card process.
Typically, unless the foreign worker qualifies for an exception, employers sponsoring a foreign national for permanent residency (a…
USCIS Premium Processing Expansion for F-1, EB-1, EB-2, Others
USCIS has expanded premium processing for F-1 students to pending Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) applications based on Optional Practice Training (OPT) and STEM OPT. On April 3, 2023, the same will be extended to new EAD applications for OPT and STEM OPT. The cost for this premium processing will be $1,500 and the timeframe will…
USCIS to Implement Premium Processing for Certain Pending EB-1, EB-2 Form I-140 Petitions
By Sheila Minihane on
In March 2022, USCIS published a final rule expanding its premium processing service to include additional immigration petition and application types. This announcement was welcome news to businesses and foreign nationals dealing with extensive delays in the processing of immigration benefits.
On May 24, 2022, USCIS announced that premium processing will begin as of June…
DHS on New Premium Processing
The Department of Homeland Security set out the specifics about the upcoming new premium processing benefits in the Federal Register on March 30, 2022. The details, however, did not include any specific implementation dates, which it said depends on when the revenues exist to cover potential costs.
Five U.S. Immigration Law Trends to Watch in 2022
By Otieno B. Ombok on
Posted in Biden Administration, Compliance and Enforcement, Congress, COVID-19, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), E-1 / E-2, EADs, EB-2, I-9 and E-Verify, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), J-1 Trainees, L-1A / L-1B, L-2, Legislation, O-1, Students / CPT / OPT / STEM, US Immigration, USCIS
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.