U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a new rule in August 2019 to require a review of the financial situation of each person applying for lawful permanent resident status, i.e. a “green card.” After several court challenges, the rule finally went into effect on February 24, 2020. While there likely will be more litigation […]
It has become increasingly difficult to sort through the fog of coronavirus updates. I’d like to offer just a few tips based upon what I’ve seen in my practice. I’ve also included some links to resources that may be of help. Travel to the United States Until at least mid-April, persons who have been in […]
If you’re expecting, the Trump administration says, “not here.” A new regulation directs visa officers at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad to deny visitor visas to women whose sole purpose for traveling to the United States appears to be to give birth. Apparently, the administration believes that “birth tourism” has become the latest national security […]
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a notice today announcing that it no longer will grant changes or extensions of status to citizens of Iran seeking E-1 Treaty Trader or E-2 Treaty Investor status. In most cases, persons coming to the U.S. to engage in trade with their country of citizenship or to invest […]
In what has become the norm for the Trump administration to release important announcements at the end of the week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services sent out its latest update last Friday at 5:25 p.m. Eastern. The press release confirmed that USCIS will implement the electronic pre-filing registration system for H-1B employers for the next […]
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced this week that it has approved Poland for participation in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) as of November 11, 2019. It joins 38 other countries, which include: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, […]
The annual Diversity Lottery (i.e. green card lottery) opened this week. The registration period is from October 2, 2019 until noon Eastern Standard Time on November 5, 2019. Each year the U.S. State Department runs the program to encourage individuals from countries with historically low numbers of immigrants to the United States to apply for […]
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services this week announced an “enhancement” to the E-Verify system that employers use to confirm that new employees have authorization to work in the United States. It has created more frustration than anything. The update to the system is to accept only an “Unrestricted Social Security Number” when entering the new […]
As a follow up to my November 30, 2018 post on the H-1B pre-registration system, there remains uncertainty whether the system will launch for next year’s cap season. USCIS still does not appear ready to go live with pre-registration early next year. Several stakeholder organizations also have written to USCIS urging the agency to publish […]
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its report on E-2 visas this month following a review of E-2 visa applications for fiscal years 2014-18. The two key takeaways are: (1) Inconsistency among U.S. consulates continues, and (2) It’s still better to apply for an E-2 visa abroad, rather than through USCIS in the United […]
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