The State Department has defined the scope of the jurisdiction of LegalNet (LegalNet@State.gov). LegalNet is an email service provided by the Department of State to attorneys for submitting a request for review for visa denials at US Consulates and Embassies by the Department. Apparently, only visas that are denied based on a misapplication of the law by the officer, and the facts in the case are not in dispute, can be submitted through the email address (LegalNet@State.gov), for a review.…

The Trump Administration is proposing a change in the guidelines for issuing visas at US Consulates and Embassies to women potentially pregnant to end them entering to give birth in the US.  The details of the new law will become public shortly but its practical implementation is yet unknown.  The new law is likely to severely undercut the foreign income received by hospitals assisting in birth.  Attorney Krukova has recently been quoted in news agency RIA Novosti interview which can…

President Trump is considering the expansion of his travel ban to citizens of Syria, Yemen, Iran, Libya, Somalia, North Korea, and Venezuela. Countries the President intends to extend the restrictions to are, Belarus, Myanmar (also known as Burma), Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania. The travel ban prevents them from securing US visas abroad. https://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips/daily-immigration-news-clips-january-22-2020?utm_source=AILA+Mailing&utm_campaign=f21eeee796-AILA8_01_22_2020&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3c0e619096-f21eeee796-291895141

USCIS has announced that it will permanently close its field offices in Lima Peru, and Frankfurt, Germany, on January 31, 2020. For more information on all USCIS Field Office closures abroad, please visit the link below: https://www.aila.org/infonet/uscis-to-close-all-international-offices-by-2020?utm_source=AILA+Mailing&utm_campaign=f21eeee796-AILA8_01_22_2020&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3c0e619096-f21eeee796-291895141

USCIS announced that the 1955 Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations, and Consular Rights with Iran was terminated. Consequently, Iranian nationals do not qualify any more to apply for E-1 and E-2 treaty investor’s visa or extend their current visas. The USCIS intends to send Notices of Intent to Deny (NOID) to all Iranian applicants who filed applications for E-1 or E-2 visas. https://www.aila.org/infonet/uscis-announces-end-of-e-1-and-e-2-visa-iranian?utm_source=AILA+Mailing&utm_campaign=f21eeee796-AILA8_01_22_2020&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3c0e619096-f21eeee796-291895141

On Monday February 24, 2020, the USCIS began implementing the PUBLIC CHARGE Rule, which affects all immigrants applying for green cards or adjustment of status, change of status, and those seeking to extend their visas within the US. There are a few categories of immigrants exempted from the new rule, namely; refugees, asylees, some T and U visa applicants, and some Violence Against Women’s Act non-immigrant visa applicants. The rule applies to benefits received on or after February 24, 2020. To be a…

Greyhound, the nation's largest intercity bus company has decided not to allow US Border Patrol Agents to conduct searches of its patrons on its buses, unless an agent(s) has a court issued warrant for the search.  The practice has been for the Border Patrol agents to arbitrarily board greyhound buses wherever to conduct checks on passengers to verify their citizenship or immigration status in the US. We will like to remind all our readers that, the Border Patrol agents can still…

President Trump’s new travel ban that went into effect on January 31, 2020, has hit immigrant communities and the nations affected with panic, uncertainty, outrage, fear and hopelessness. Families are not sure of how long they will have to wait to be reunited with their families in the US. The direct effect of the law is it disqualifies citizens of Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar (Burma) and Nigeria from legally immigrating permanently to the US. That means relatives including spouses, children and…

The State Department has provided new guidelines for exchange visitors (J-1), currently in the US legally because of the outbreak of the Coronavirus.  Under the guidelines, the USCIS may under extreme circumstances, extend or change the status of student in this category, and sometimes approve student work authorization for the student who cannot leave the US at the end of their visas because of the fear of the disease in their native country. Also, those exchange students subject to the two-year…

Beginning Wednesday March 18, 2020, USCIS is suspending all regular in-person services, including application/petition interviews until at least April 1, 2020, in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus. There is an allowance for limited emergency in-person services, however.  USCIS offices and the staff will continue to provide none person-to-person contact services to the public during the period. USCIS will shortly send re-scheduled interview notices to applicants (including asylum applicants) and petitioners whose appointments have been affected by…