Insight, News, and Strategy on Immigration Matters Around the World
USCIS is adopting a new approach for international travel and Form I-131 Advance Parole (AP) applications.
Until recently, USCIS has approved AP applications even where the beneficiary travelled internationally during the pendency of the application. This was the case even though the I-131 application states, “If you depart the United States before the Advance Parole …
While unusual, the government has suspended expedited or premium processing for H-1B cases from time to time. In years past, in response to the filing of Cap cases, the start of the 15-day adjudication clock was delayed. There also have been suspensions in other situations when the USCIS anticipated increased caseloads, such as when EADs…
An additional 15,000 H-2B visas will be released in response to industry demand. The USCIS will begin accepting petitions on July 19, 2017, for the fiscal year which ends on September 30, 2017. Petitions will be accepted until the 15,000 visas run out or until September 15, 2017, whichever comes first. This is only…
On July 17, 2017, the USCIS announced the release of a revised version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.
…
The USCIS is requesting some applicants for Adjustment of Status to submit copies of the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification forms that they (and their employers) completed for current or former employment. These requests are coming as RFEs or from local USCIS field officers.
The stated purpose is to help determine benefit eligibility, particularly to determine …
With his “Buy American, Hire American” Executive Order, President Donald Trump officially announced his intention to reform the H-1B visa program and the DOL and the USCIS are taking steps accordingly.
In April, the DOL announced it would be investigating violations of the H-1B visa program, “cautioning employers who petition for H-1B visas not…
After May 1, 2017, be on the lookout for redesigned Green Cards and Employment Authorization Documents (EADs). The USCIS will start issuing newly styled cards on May 1 as part of the “Next Generation Secure Identification Document Project” to make cards highly secure and more tamper-resistant.
New Green Cards and EADs will:
…
State Department Secretary Rex Tillerson has directed all consular chiefs to determine which populations of visa applicants should be subject to additional “extreme” vetting. The March 15 direction is in response to President Donald Trump’s March 6 “Travel Ban” Executive Order and Presidential Memorandum on “extreme vetting.” The Memo directed the U.S. Attorney General…
In 2015, the Obama Administration DHS issued the H-4 EAD Rule allowing certain spouses of H-1B holders to obtain EADs and work while waiting to become permanent residents. Soon thereafter, a group of high-tech workers, Save Jobs USA, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia arguing that the DHS lacked…
