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In January 2025, the settlement agreement that returned USCIS to its practice of “bundling” adjudication of extensions of stay and applications for employment authorization documents (EADs) for dependent spouses of H-1B and L-1 visa holders will expire. Without that bundling policy, some dependents and their employers could experience lengthy processing times and possible gaps in…

Good news for those applying for or with pending Employment Authorization Document (EAD) renewals. DHS is temporarily reinstituting its 540-day automatic extension of work authorization for eligible individuals.

Although DHS has streamlined its EAD process and extended EAD validity periods for certain applicants from two years to five years, the government still struggles to timely…

Many USCIS filing fees are being adjusted upward beginning on April 1, 2024. That date, of course, is particularly significant. It is the earliest date that Cap H-1Bs can be filed.

The H-1B filing fee, for example, will rise from $460 to $780. The ACWIA Fee (to fund the training of U.S. workers) and the…

On October 17, 2023, the Department of State (DOS) took the first steps to implement stateside processing of nonimmigrant visas. The DOS notified the federal Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs that it will introduce a pilot stateside processing program on a limited basis in the first quarter of 2024. Those able to utilize stateside…

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…

For the first time in almost 20 years, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) may resume issuing nonimmigrant visas within the United States later this year. Reports indicate that a pilot program will allow stateside renewal of H-1B and L-1 visas.

The Department of Homeland Security has exclusive jurisdiction within the United States over the…

In a settlement agreement signed on January 19, 2023, USCIS agreed to “bundle” the adjudication of dependent applicants’ Form I-539 (Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status) and Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization) with the primary applicant’s Form I-129 (Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker) if the forms are filed together as one package.

Stemming from a settlement…

Prior to 2021, collegiate student-athletes were not able to make sponsorship deals and profit from their names, images, and likenesses (NILs). However, in 2021, that changed when the NCAA adopted a new policy allowing student-athletes (those headed for professional teams, as well as less prominent players) to profit from, and build their brands, while in…

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will no longer issue a paper Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, to individuals arriving to the United States at a land border. Now, the information that was on the I-94 is on the CBP’s I-94 website and available on the CBP One Mobile application.

It has taken some time…

As of May 4, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is increasing the automatic extension of work authorization from 180 days to 540 days for certain individuals.

Currently, certain individuals with expiring employment authorization documents (EADs) can continue working for an additional 180 days as long as they have timely submitted for a…