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As of January 31, 2022, spouses entering the United States in L-2 or E status may be able to obtain work authorization at the border by asking Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to give them a “spousal” designation in their I-94 record. Because USCIS has not issued “official” guidance on this yet, requesting the designation…

Individuals hoping to complete their naturalization processes are being kept in limbo while their files sit in limestone caves.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has been the depository for “old” Alien Files (“A-Files”) for the entire United States and its territories for some time. A-Files contain all records of any active case of…

The onset and persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the shortage of healthcare workers in the United States, especially in rural areas. Periodic spikes in infection levels has sped burn-out among healthcare workers. There are many foreign nationals who can and do fill these healthcare roles including those in Temporary Protected Status (TPS)…

USCIS has announced that H-1B Cap registration will start on March 1, 2022, at noon (Eastern) and will continue through noon (Eastern) on March 18, 2022.

If enough registrations to fill the cap are received by March 18 (which is likely), USCIS will randomly select registrations and send selection notifications through users’ myUSCIS online accounts.…

USCIS’s new guidance for O-1 petitions provides a detailed overview of the different O-1 classifications: O-1A, O-1B Arts, and O-1B Motion Picture and Television (“MPTV”). The guidance also provides detailed standards for adjudicating O-1 petitions under each O-1 classification and the use of comparable evidence to satisfy one or more O-1 criterion.

For example, the…

For the first time, USCIS has advised people with a pending green card application of its documentary requirements for transfers between employment-based classifications and issued an alert regarding the process.

The “exceptionally high number of employment-based [immigrant] visas available this fiscal year” has prompted USCIS to encourage U.S. employers petitioning for employees to utilize either…

As 2021 comes to an end, the White House and the Department of State have announced:

  1. South African Travel Restrictions Lifted.

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…

The City Council of New York City unanimously passed legislation giving non-U.S. citizens the right to vote in local elections starting on January 9, 2023.

The bill grants this local franchise to 800,000 non-citizens if they are Permanent Residents or have work authorization and have been in residence in the City for at least 30…

Applicants for Adjustment of Status to Permanent Residence will have more than 60 days after completing their medical examinations to file their Forms I-485 Adjustment of Status applications, USCIS has announced.

Due to COVID-19-related delays, USCIS has temporarily waived the requirement that a civil surgeon sign the Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination…

USCIS entered into a settlement agreement in Madkudu v. USCIS that may signal changes in how USCIS will determine which positions qualify as a “specialty occupation” for H-1B purposes. During the Trump Administration, USCIS often denied cases because more than one degree would meet the requirements for the position. The Madkudu case specifically puts that…