The USCIS will resume premium processing on Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, for all fiscal year (FY) 2019 H-1B cap petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption (the “master’s cap”). Petitioners who have received requests for evidence (RFEs) for pending FY 2019 cap petitions should include their RFE response with any request for premium…
Continue reading ›The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today a notice of proposed rulemaking that would require petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions to first electronically register with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) during a designated registration period. Under the proposed rule, USCIS would also reverse the order by which USCIS selects H-1B petitions…
Continue reading ›The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday upheld a preliminary injunction keeping in place the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program pending judgment in a challenge to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s decision to cancel it. Judge Kim M. Wardlaw wrote the 90-page majority opinion, joined in by Judge Jacqueline H. Nguyen. Judge…
Continue reading ›Gone are the days when a foreign student in F-1 status who fails to maintain their status, such as by failing to attend school or working without authorization, could nevertheless enjoy “duration of status” for several years or more and not accrue unlawful presence in the U.S. until either an immigration judge or the USCIS…
Continue reading ›The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently updated its guidance, taking a much stricter approach to approving applications that are largely filed by those seeking work in the tech industry. Under the new policy, which goes into effect Sept. 11, 2018, agents will be able to deny applications deemed incomplete or containing errors, without…
Continue reading ›Immigrants on the H-1B highly-skilled visas, as well as their partners, are the targets of an under-the-radar effort to weed out foreign workers. Activists say the move is inhumane and business leaders argue it will hurt the economy. A report released Tuesday by the Silicon Valley-backed immigration lobbying group FWD.us lays out the White House’s…
Continue reading ›USCIS Filing Fees Set To Increase On 12/23/2016 Just in time for the holidays, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has recently announced an increase in the filing fees for almost all of its applications. In particular, applications concerning the “million dollar investment greencard” face filing fee increases in the thousands of dollars. Further,…
Continue reading ›President-elect Trump Will Likely Retroactively Cancel DACA! On June 15, 2012, the Secretary of Homeland Security announced that certain people who came to the United States as children and meet several guidelines may request consideration of deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal. They are also eligible for work authorization. Deferred…
Continue reading ›Congress may move quickly to overhaul a program that allows travel to the U.S. with no visa, something that has come under criticism following the Paris terror attacks. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters Monday that he was looking at action before the end of the year. Without legislation “I think the country will…
Continue reading ›LOS ANGELES — Three Los Angeles-area residents responsible for operating a network of four schools were arrested Wednesday on federal charges for allegedly helping hundreds of foreign nationals remain in the U.S. as foreign students, even though they never attended classes. The three defendants allegedly ran a “pay-to-stay” scheme through three schools in Koreatown –…
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