The Departments of Homeland Security and State have announced their Fall 2019 regulatory agendas, which disclose each agency’s immigration rulemaking priorities for the coming months. When and if finalized, these rules could significantly impact the H-1B, L-1 and EB-5 programs,…
Congress has voted to temporarily extend federal government funding through December 20, 2019. The spending measure means that federal functions – including immigration operations – should continue uninterrupted through December 20, 2019, while FY 2020 budget negotiations continue. The bill…
The Department of State posted the visa bulletin for December today. USCIS advised that it will accept family and employment-based adjustment of status petitions for December based upon the filing date. See https://www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo for the updated information. Immigrant Visa Availability…
The State Department has withdrawn blanket L visa guidelines that would have required applicants to show their eligibility by “clear and convincing evidence” and directed officers to deny applications where questions about the applicant’s eligibility could not be resolved quickly. Under longstanding…
A proposed DHS fee schedule would increase costs for most petitioners and applicants, and would impose new filing and fee requirements for many case types, according to a notice of proposed rulemaking set to be published in the Federal Register on November…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has determined that an advocacy group representing U.S. technology workers has standing to challenge the Department of Homeland Security’s H-4 employment authorization document (EAD) program, overturning a lower court…
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is moving forward with plans to impose a $10 non-refundable fee for each H-1B registration submitted by petitioning employers in the forthcoming H-1B cap registration portal, according to a rule that will be published in the…
Nationals of Poland will be soon be eligible to apply for visa-free business or tourist visitor travel to the United States, the Department of Homeland Security announced today in coordination with the State Department. Starting November 11, Poland will be added…
Speaking at the SHRM Global Mobility and Immigration Symposium today, Acting USCIS Director Kenneth T. Cuccinelli said that his agency continues to test an online H-1B cap registration tool and plans to notify stakeholders before the end of this year…
An Oregon federal court has issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking the Trump Administration from requiring immigrant visa applicants to show that they will have unsubsidized health insurance within 30 days after entry to the United States or the…