Executive Orders
Many of you know that yesterday President Trump signed a new executive order. The idea of this order was to ensure that Federal grants and procurements go, first and foremost, to American companies and that the government focuses on ensuring that qualified Americans are hired prior to foreigners. In terms
Adjustment of Status
The April Visa Bulletin was released last week as was some additional guidance from Charlie Oppenheim of the Department of State. I will go through the highlights below. Family Based Immigration F1 (Unmarried Sons and Daughters of US Citizens): Most countries moved from June 1, 2010 to October 15, 2010,
Immigration
A couple of weeks ago we informed you that the AAO decided a case in which they changed the standard for adjudicating NIW cases (See this blog post). USCIS has confirmed today that ALL pending NIW cases are on hold pending training for officers on the new standard. USCIS did
Immigration
Generally those with valid visas, permanent residency and citizens should not have problems travelling in and out of the US. However, considering the issues we have seen recently, I think it is worthwhile to keep certain things in mind if you are going to travel (and remember, the below is
Executive Orders
On Friday, January 27, 2017 President Trump signed an executive order on immigration restricting travel to the United States from citizens of seven countries - namely, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia & Libya. The initial interpretation and implementation of this order led to confusion among U.S. border agents and
Executive Orders
While the Executive Order President Trump signed on January 27, 2017 affecting refugees and those from certain countries has come front and center, there were two other Executive Orders that Trump signed earlier last week. Border Security and Enforcement Improvements The first of these, the Border Security and Enforcement Improvements
Adjustment of Status
USCIS has received a new form - I-485 Supplement J - for those filing an I-485 (or to update an already filed I-485). The new form is required for ALL persons filing an I-485 based upon an approved I-140 or a pending I-140 EXCEPT those filing
Adjustment of Status
The February 2017 visa bulletin was released by the Department of State yesterday. Below is a summary of the changes. Family Based Application: F1: Most countries moved forward about 1 month to 1.5 months (except the Philippines, which moved forward about 2 months). This means that most countries are
Immigration
On December 28th, 2016 the Administrative Appeals Office issued a decision in Matter of DHANASAR that has changed the landscape for National Interest Waiver cases. This is of major importance as the National Interest Waiver is one of only two self-sponsored applications and many scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs, and others
Immigration
On December 23, 2016 USCIS issued new versions for many, many of its form, including the I-129, I-140, etc. Unfortunately, USCIS also stated that as of that date it would no longer accept prior versions of ANY of the new forms. This is despite the fact that no
H-1B
For those seeking an H-1B, the most important criteria that must be met, is that the occupation that they are applying for be a "specialty occupation". USCIS has listed four methods of determining if a position is a specialty occupation: * A bachelor’s degree or higher degree
AC21
USCIS has just issued its final rule to amend and add to its regulations regarding highly skilled worker. These are the same changes I discussed about 1 year ago when USCIS issued a draft rule on these issues. They have now been adopted. Below is a summary of the provisions