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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,…

While Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) beneficiaries await the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion and most Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries also are in limbo, Liberians have been given what appears to be a pathway to citizenship due to passage of the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness (LRIF) Act as part of the National Defense…

  • Is it a significant achievement to make it onto a national sports team?
  • Would winning a top-ten spot in a European championship constitute an award for excellence?
  • Would being one of a duo who were U.S. junior ice dance champions constitute an internationally recognized prize?

These are questions USCIS has answered in the negative in…

According to the DHS Fall Regulatory Agenda, the Administration is planning further restrictions to immigration regulations that, if enacted, will affect employers.

Over the past few years, DHS has changed the way it reviews H and L visa petitions from employers, which has resulted in significant increases in Requests for Evidence (RFEs) and denials.…

On November 21, 2019, the new EB-5 Investor Visa Program rules went into effect.  That was also the day that the government could have shut down if a spending bill or another continuing resolution had not been approved.  It could also have been the day that the EB-5 Regional Center Program would end.  But, Congress…

The Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019, introduced early in 2019 in both the House and the Senate (H.R. 1044 and S. 386), aims to eliminate the Green Card backlog for Indian and Chinese nationals. In July, the bill passed the House.

The Fairness bill would eliminate the per-country cap for employment-based immigrants…

Four thousand Liberian holders of Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) status and their roughly 4,000 U.S. citizen children may have to leave the United States because of the decision in African Communities Together v. Trump. Judge Timothy S. Hillman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts decided that the Court lacked the…

The Visa Bulletin, published every month by the Department of State (DOS), is the key to the Green Card process. The Department of State is charged with allocating the statutory 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas each year. The Bulletin announces when an applicant can file for the coveted Green Card. A foreign national cannot file an…

The Trump Administration would like to institute a “points-based” or “merit-based” immigration system, cut down on family-based immigration and eliminate the Diversity Lottery.  To date, Congress has not passed any such changes to immigration laws and the Diversity Lottery remains in effect.  This year, 55,000 visas will be available.  Diversity visas are available to people…