Insight, News, and Strategy on Immigration Matters Around the World
As 2021 comes to an end, the White House and the Department of State have announced:
The 14-day travel restrictions on southern African countries will be lifted as of midnight on December 31, 2021. Adopted on November 29th, the restrictions based on spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant…
Nonimmigrant spouses of H-1B and L-1 visa holders with long-pending EAD applications have finally received some relief. Based upon a settlement in Shergill v. Mayokas, USCIS is making major policy changes. Going forward, certain H-4 spouses with pending EAD applications will be entitled to 180-day automatic extensions of their EAD cards and L-2…
The average American may not know that some of the largest real estate developments in recent history were completed by foreign real estate companies. The L-1 nonimmigrant visa classification can provide a useful pathway for such multinational companies. See more in our publication here.
In June 2021, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released the America Works Report, which is based on an analysis of more than 20 years of federal jobs and employment data. Among the findings is that there are approximately half as many available workers for every open job and the ratio continues to fall. While…
The restrictions on the issuance of H-1B, L-1, and J-1 nonimmigrant “guest-worker” visas, which have been in place since June 24, 2020, expired without fanfare on March 31, 2021. As a result, U.S. consulates around the world will resume issuing H-1B, L-1, and J-1 visas without the need for an additional national interest exception…
When President Joe Biden revoked the immigrant visa ban, but not the nonimmigrant visa ban or 14-day travel restrictions, it seemed there might be problems ahead. New restrictions on National Interest Exceptions (NIEs) to the 14-day travel restrictions for the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Schengen Area have been issued, and many individuals currently in…
President Joe Biden has revoked the immigrant visa ban because he believes it did not advance the interests of the United States, but instead harmed United States industries, families, and diversity immigrant visa lottery winners.
The ban was put in place by former President Donald Trump in April 2020 on the stated ground that…
The United States Citizenship Act was introduced on February 18, 2021. Sponsored in the House by Representative Linda Sanchez (D-Calif) and in the Senate by Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the bill calls for broad immigration reform, including creating paths to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, expanding the number of available visas, and creating more access for…
On December 31, 2020, just as it was about to expire, President Donald Trump extended the ban on immigrant and nonimmigrant visas until March 31, 2021. Initiated in April and June 2020, the bans were intended to block immigrants and nonimmigrants (with H, L and J visas) from coming to the United States due…
The USCIS filing fee increases that were proposed last summer will not be implemented.
In August 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a new filing fee rule in the Federal Register that raised USCIS filing fees by a weighted average of 20%. Some popular business-related petitions were slated for larger increases, from…
