The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 has been added to the FY 2022 Consolidated Expenditure Report. The resumption of the Program is a restoration of justice for all those who have already applied and were waiting in line. The I-526 and I-485 petition exception, which was suspended by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for almost nine months, is now being reinstated. This law is also great news for those who have been patiently waiting for the extension…

On January 21, 2022, USCIS announced updated guidance on adjudicating requests for “National Interest Waivers”, which includes discussing the unique considerations for persons with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. USCIS recognizes the importance of progress in STEM fields and the essential role of persons with advanced STEM degrees in fostering this progress, especially in focused critical and emerging technologies or other STEM areas important to U.S. competitiveness or national security. The authoritative lists of critical and emerging technology fields are published by the Executive Office of the…

On October 25, 2021, President Biden issued a proclamation ending travel bans that restricted the entry of nonimmigrants present in China, Brazil, India, Iran, South Africa, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the Schengen Area. The Proclamation also created a new rule, effective November 8, 2021, that requires all adult nonimmigrant travelers entering the United States via air travel to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with limited exceptions. Similarly, non-essential travel for fully vaccinated individuals across land and ferry borders will be…

Last night, in an almost unprecedented move, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the State Department to reserve 9,095 additional diversity visas on top of the 3,208 issued since the court's initial September 4, 2020, order and the 15,401 issued so far for DV-2020 selectees. Therefore, if you were selected in the DV-2020 lottery you might want to contact our office regarding the new process of applying for adjustment of status or consular processing based on that.

Not surprisingly, the initiative to change the terms of stay of international students and journalists is coming from Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary, Ken Cuccinelli, who has always opposed the flow of immigrants to the United States. The proposed rule would change the existing regulations in 30 days after publication, which means in a matter of days from now. All individuals currently holding status F, J, or I would be affected, as would be future applicants. Ø The new…

On August 12, 2020, U.S. Department of State has issued a new advisory with new details and substantially broadened exceptions to the general ban on issuance of new H/L/J visas.   For example, the following qualifications are applicable to L-1 Visa applicants:   Travel by a senior-level executive or manager filling a critical business need of an employer meeting a critical infrastructure need. Critical infrastructure sectors include chemical, communications, dams, defense industrial base, emergency services, energy, financial services, food and…

Effective February 24, 2020, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has temporarily suspended the requirements of the Public Pay Rule, which has drastically affected most family-based green card applications, employment, and status change and renewal applications. The Service enforced the requirements of the stamp duty rule to ensure that applicants did not become US stamp duty. We advise our clients to take advantage of this temporary reprieve to submit their green card applications before the rule is reinstated later, if…

Effective October 2, 2020, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is increasing its processing fees for a wide range of immigration petitions and applications. For example, the application fees for filing Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative will go up from $535 to $560; the Application to Adjust Status or the Green Card Application fees have gone up from $1,140 to $2,270, and applications for Naturalization/Citizenship will be $ $1,170, instead of the current $640. Additionally, the new regulations…

WASHINGTON – The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) announced modifications Monday to temporary exemptions for nonimmigrant students taking online classes due to the pandemic for the fall 2020 semester. Temporary exemptions for the fall 2020 semester include: Nonimmigrant F-1 and M-1 students attending schools operating entirely online may not take a full online course load and remain in the United States. The U.S. Department of State will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for…

We would like to alert our clients that USCIS is taking a new approach to the definition of what constitutes ‘unauthorized employment’ in the United States. Unauthorized employment is any service or labor performed for an employer within or outside the United States by an alien who is not authorized by the INA or USCIS to accept employment or who exceeds the scope or period of the alien’s employment authorization. The term applies to different scenarios including the following: A nonimmigrant…