Immigrant Visas

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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…

The Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Proposed Rule to add new occupations to the Schedule A list is “dead,” at least for now. Stakeholders see this as a disappointment and a missed opportunity.

  • The failure to move forward with this rule is a significant disappointment for many high-skilled immigrants and the employers who need them, all
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The U.S. Supreme Court held in Bouarfa v. Mayorkas, No. 23-583 (Dec. 10, 2024), that one cannot appeal a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) revocation of an approved visa petition in federal court because such revocation is a discretionary agency decision, thus not subject to judicial review.

This decision applies to petition…

The Online 2026 Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery for green cards is open until noon ET on Nov. 5, 2024.

Eligibility requirements, application instructions, and frequently asked questions are on the DV Lottery website.

Individuals from countries where more than 50,000 nationals have migrated to the United States in the past five years are ineligible…

In recent years, the landscape for high-skilled immigration to the United States has seen significant changes, particularly with the rise in approvals for O-1A visas and National Interest Waivers (NIW). This rise follows the Biden Administration’s 2022 favorable guidance aimed at welcoming high-skilled science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) talent and reversing the previous administration’s…

The U.S. Embassy in Havana has expanded visa services to include some temporary non-immigrant visas. Cuban nationals with the following approved petitions will be able to schedule visa interviews at the Embassy:

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    As immigration advocates make the case for more immigration to the United States, they tend to focus on the ways immigrants participate in our consumer economy. When highly skilled immigrants come to the United States on employment-based work visas, they contribute to the economy by buying goods, taking out mortgages, and paying taxes. They also…

    The mixed results of their visa programs aimed at attracting foreign investors have some European countries reconsidering, even as the U.S. program continues.

    In 2022, the United States reauthorized its EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program for five years, until September 2027. The program allows foreign nationals to make investments of between $800,000 and $1,050,000 in projects…

    President Joe Biden announced protections for undocumented foreign national spouses of U.S. citizens who have lived in the United States for 10 years without a legal immigration status. This will protect approximately 500,000 such spouses from deportation and fear of deportation. The program is expected to launch by summer’s end.

    This comes on the 12…

    Students studying in the United States in F or M visa status must have a foreign residence that they have no intention of abandoning. A new USCIS policy manual update has clarified that being the beneficiary of a PERM application or an immigrant visa petition does not mean the student cannot demonstrate their intention to…