Immigration
USCIS issued its final rule to up fees starting October 2, 2020. According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association: On August 3, 2020, USCIS published a final rule that significantly increases certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees. The rule, which will be effective October 2, 2020, also removes certain
Covid-19
The Department of State announced yesterday that it would begin a phased reopening of Consulates across the world. Please note, they will NOT be reopening all consulates at once, and cannot give specific dates as to when certain consulates will open or not. Each Consulate will announce their plans and
Immigration
For those from Canada, an important update on the Executive Order halting the issuance of H-1Bs. If you are from Canada and do not require an actual H-1B visa in your passport, you are in luck. CBP has confirmed that you are still able to enter via the Border to
Adjustment of Status
The US President issued a new executive order on Monday evening. The order did several things. First, it extended the April 22, 2020 order limiting the ability for those overseas to get immigrant visas. Second, it expanded that order to include certain non-immigrant visas as well. Lastly, it required USCIS
H-1B
USCIS announced last week that it was resuming premium processing as of June 1, 2020. However, USCIS stated that it would phase in the ability to file premium processing on cases in order to ensure that the office was not inundated with new premium processing cases before it was fully
Covid-19
USCIS has issued an update regarding office closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic. USCIS is preparing to reopen CERTAIN offices starting June 4, 2020. To see if your local office is opening you can go to this page. As USCIS re-opens they have put out a list of precautions they
Covid-19
The Department of Health and Human Services has a program to grant J-1 2 year home residency waivers for clinical care physicians. Under this program, the physician must be working in a Federally Qualified Community Health Centers (CHC), as designated by the government. Because of the current pandemic, however, and
Employment Visas
The biggest news this month is that the EB-1 category came current for Most Countries (but not all). Additionally, the EB-2 category remained current. Otherwise, there was movement but not much in terms of surprises. Mr. Oppenheim did ensure us that the Visa Bulletin is being processed based upon the
Immigration
USCIS has indicated that they are hoping to reopen their office on June 4, 2020 for biometrics and appointments. At this point, we cannot say if this will actually happen, but we will be sure to monitor reports and let you know if this target date changes.
Covid-19
On April 22, 2020. President Trump issued a proclamation "Suspending Entry of Immigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the COVID-19 Outbreak." This proclamation is effective at 11:59 pm (ET) on April 23, 2020. The proclamation will expire 60
Covid-19
As most, if not all, of you, have heard, our President is preparing an executive order to limit immigration into the United States. At this time, as the order has not been finalized, we cannot say what the impact will be on individual cases. Below is a list of what
Covid-19
This is just an update on what is and is not happening with USCIS, DOS and SEVP during the Covid-19 pandemic. First, it is important to remember that things are changing so current USCIS policy may change very soon. To keep updated with current policies, you can go to the