Insight, News, and Strategy on Immigration Matters Around the World
The White House has issued an amendment to the June 22, 2020, Presidential “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak” to clarify an issue regarding those who are outside the scope of the Proclamation.
According to the amendment, not all those…
The day before his previous Proclamation on immigrant visas was to expire, President Donald Trump signed the “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak” to extend his previous immigrant visa restrictions and suspend issuance of certain nonimmigrant, temporary work visas until at
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Additional restrictions on entry into the U.S. may be expected soon. Initial indications are that the Administration is considering barring H-1B, H-2B, L-1, and J-1 status among other non-immigrant visa categories.
On April 22, 2020, President Donald Trump issued the “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Immigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. Labor Market During the…
USCIS has announced that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has suffered a steep decrease in revenue and, without assistance, might run out of funding this summer. The agency has asked Congress for $1.2 billion in emergency relief (as a loan) along with a 10% COVID-19 surcharge (to repay the loan) on top of a…
International companies rely on L visas to transfer managers, executives, and specialized knowledge employees to the United States. But the Department of State is changing the standards it uses to adjudicate those visas, making transfers more difficult.
L-1 visas are available to a company with a parent/subsidiary, affiliate, or branch office overseas that wishes to…
DHS and CDC have announced a new travel restriction at the Southern and Northern borders due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. According to the announcement, DHS will do what it can (including repatriation flights) to prevent the introduction of “affected individuals” into “congregate settings” at land ports of entries (POEs) or Border Patrol Stations…
Due to COVID-19, USCIS announced that as of March 20, 2020, it is immediately suspending premium processing service for all Form I-129 and I-140 petitions until further notice. USCIS also said that petitioners that have already filed a form requesting premium processing will receive refunds if their cases are not acted on within the 15…
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), signed into law in 1993, eliminated trade barriers and increased investment opportunities between the three signatory countries, the United States, Mexico, and Canada. After more than 25 years, the agreement was seen to require revisions, particularly as to labor, digital trade, and data flows. A revision to NAFTA,…
U.S. firefighters coming to help extinguish the devastating forest fires were cheered when they arrived at the airport in Sydney, Australia. In the past, in what became a reciprocal arrangement, Australian firefighters have assisted U.S. firefighters.
A different sort of reciprocity has led to the sudden increase in visa fees for Australians coming to the…
USCIS is starting the year with a growing backlog of processing delays.
In May 2019, a bi-partisan group of Senators wrote to USCIS requesting information on why the service-oriented agency adjudicating immigration benefits, such as work authorization, is disrupting American businesses through administrative inefficiencies.
Here are some of the facts:
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