The State Department has notified the American Immigration Lawyers Association that all EB-3 categories are now immediately unavailable and will remain so through September 30, the end of FY 2019. The annual immigrant visa quotas have been reached on all…
USCIS announced today that it has finished returning H-1B petitions that were not selected in the FY 2020 cap lottery. Employers with cases not chosen for processing should receive their returned petition packages and fee checks by August 29, 2019.
The Department of State posted the visa bulletin for September today. See https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2019/visa-bulletin-for-september-2019.html for the visa bulletin for September 2019. USCIS advised that it will accept adjustment of status petitions for employment-based adjustment of status petitions for September based upon…
On August 14, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule related to public charge in the Federal Register. According to DHS, the rule will not take effect until October 15, 2019. Additionally, many organizations have indicated…
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has determined that conditions in Syria warrant continued Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for the country’s citizens. Acting Secretary Kevin K. McAleenan announced that the ongoing armed conflict and other extraordinary conditions that prompted Syria’s initial TPS designation continue to pose a serious threat to the personal…
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) unit of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has launched on-site inspections of the STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) employment of certain F-1 trainees. The purpose of the inspections is to review employer…
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has released a long-awaited final regulation that will make significant changes to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, including an 80% increase in investment minimums and restrictions that will limit EB-5 projects in urban areas. The new rules will…
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data for the first three quarters of fiscal year (FY) 2019 continue to show high rates of requests for evidence (RFE) and denials in several key employer-sponsored nonimmigrant categories. This trend remains consistent with the Trump…
The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday passed the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act (H.R. 1044), a bill that would change the way employment-based (EB) immigrant visas are allocated by eliminating country-specific quotas. The bill would also raise the per-country quota…
The Department of State posted the visa bulletin for August today. See https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2019/visa-bulletin-for-august-2019.html for the visa bulletin for August 2019. USCIS advised that it will accept adjustment of status petitions for employment-based adjustment of status petitions for August based upon…