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USCIS has announced that beginning with the November 2015 Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletin it will issue a determination within approximately one week following the publication of the Visa Bulletin whether individuals may use the Dates for Filing Visa Applications chart. If USCIS does not post such a determination, individuals should continue to refer…

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued new memoranda of understanding (MOUs) for E-Verify browser users and Web Services users and developers. The MOUs set out responsibilities for the user and the government regarding the online employment eligibility database. The MOUs became effective for new users on December 8, 2013, and will become…

Author:  Helen Pihlstrom.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service has provided additional guidance on the implementation of the Supreme Court’s United States v. Windsor ruling, which invalidated part of the Defense of Marriage Act. In a Frequently Asked Questions, last updated on August 2, 2013, USCIS addresses in more detail how it will handle

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AUTHOR:  Robert Neale.

CNET, a leading tech media website, has reported that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had approved a P-1 petition submitted by a professional electronic sports (or “eSports”) gaming team from the United Kingdom. This is the first report that USCIS has approved P-1 status to a professional eSports team.

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The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) is a bipartisan bill that has failed in Congress time and again since its initial proposal in 2001. The basic tenets of the Act would provide conditional temporary residency to certain illegal immigrants if the individuals are of good moral character, have graduated from U.S.

USCIS is seeking public comments on its proposed revised Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification form). As all employers in the United States are aware, employers must complete the Form I-9 for all newly-hired employees to verify their identity and authorization to work in the United States.

Highlights of the proposed changes include:
• The 5-page…

At a time of increasingly aggressive enforcement of immigration laws, the California Service Center of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service has notified certain stakeholders that the USCIS will be ramping up “administrative site visits” in connection with H-1B petitions filed by U.S. employers. This is an effort at enhanced enforcement in response to the…

Apologizing for inadequate outreach on its new protocol, the Citizenship & Immigration Service (CIS) has requested feedback on its “surprise” policy – implemented September 12 – to send original approval notices to Petitioners and Applicants directly, rather than the attorneys of record. Attorneys of record with properly filed Forms G-28 now receive unofficial “Courtesy Copy”…