The State Department will begin accepting online registrations for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Diversity Visa (DV) lottery starting Wednesday, October 7, 2020 at noon EDT. Foreign nationals who wish to enter the lottery have until Tuesday, November 10, 2020 at…
The Issue The Department of Labor (DOL) has decided to permanently implement the electronic issuance of PERM labor certifications. In March, the agency announced it would temporarily issue labor certifications via e-mail as opposed to U.S. post due to the COVID-19 pandemic.…
Judge Jeffrey S. White of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California has enjoined the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from enforcing its new fee rule, which was set to take on October 2, 2020. Judge White’s ruling…
According to the State Department’s October Visa Bulletin, cutoff dates for issuance of an immigrant visa will be as follows: EB-1: All countries except for China and India will remain current in October. China and India will advance by three months to…
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is proposing a regulation that seeks to replace the current “duration of status” (D/S) policy for international students (F status), exchange visitors (J status), representatives of foreign information media (I status), and their dependents…
In the wake of the Second Circuit's September 11, 2020 decision to stay a limited injunction against the Department of Homeland Security public charge rule, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced it will resume applying the regulation to affected…
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will continue to implement the Trump Administration’s ban on “non-essential” travel across U.S. land borders and ferry travel with Mexico and Canada through October 21, according to a DHS Fact Sheet. The restrictions were due to expire…
The Department of Labor (DOL) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a fast- tracked regulation to restructure wage levels and requirements in the H-1B, H-1B1, E-3 and PERM programs. Though contents of the regulation will remain…
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today that it is extending for another 60 days, or until November 19, 2020, its relaxed enforcement of the normal requirement to physically inspect the original documents presented by new hires during the I-9 process…
In its ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, USCIS is further extending its 60-day deadline extension policy for responses to various agency actions to January 1, 2021. The accommodation will continue to be available to stakeholders responding to or filing the following: …