President Trump Orders Brazil Travel Ban Effective May 28 at 11:59 PM EDT
President Donald Trump has issued a proclamation that prohibits foreign nationals from entering the United States if they have been physically present in the Brazil within 14 days before their attempted entry, with exceptions. The proclamation takes effect at 11:59 pm EDT…
June Visa Bulletin Update: USCIS to Honor Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Categories Next Month
Employment-Based Priority Date Cut-offs for June 2020 To be eligible to file an employment-based adjustment application in June, employer-sponsored foreign nationals must have a priority date that is earlier than the date listed below for their preference category and country. For…
June 2020 Visa Bulletin: Employment-based Categories Continue to Advance, Significant EB-3 Movement for Most Countries
According to the State Department’s June 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 June. China will advance by one month to August 15,…
U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico Land Border Restrictions Further Extended Through June 22
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 June 22, according to a set of notices to be published in the…
ICE Extends Interim COVID-19 Procedures for Form I-9 Compliance
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today that it is extending for 30 days, or until June 18, 2020, its relaxed enforcement of the normal requirement to physically inspect the original documents presented by new hires during the I-9 process and…
Latest USCIS Data Show RFE Rates Remained High for Key Employer-Sponsored Nonimmigrant Categories in Q2 of FY 2020
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data for the second quarter of FY 2020 show continued high rates of requests for evidence (RFEs) in key employer-sponsored nonimmigrant categories, though there was some improvement in H-1B, L-1 and TN outcomes. The…
Ninth Circuit Upholds Injunction Against Health Insurance Requirement for Immigrant Visa Applicants
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has upheld a preliminary injunction against a presidential proclamation that seeks to require immigrant visa applicants to demonstrate that that they would have unsubsidized health insurance within 30 days after entry to the…
USCIS Extends Existing COVID-19 Accommodations on RFEs, NOIDs, Appeals and Other Responses
In its ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, USCIS has agreed to extend its 60-day deadline extension policy for responses to various agency actions to July 1, 2020. The accommodation will continue to be available to stakeholders responding to or filing the…
Local USCIS Offices Extend Suspension of In-Person Services Until At Least June 3
In a continued response to COVID-19, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will extend its public closure of local field offices and Application Support Centers (ASCs), suspending in-person services now until at least June 3. The original suspension took effect on March…
Presidential Proclamation Suspends Some Immigrant Entry for 60 Days
President Trump today signed a presidential proclamation to temporarily suspend the entry of certain employment-based, family-based and other immigrants for 60 days, with a number of exceptions. The President characterized the measure as a means to protect U.S. workers and conserve medical…
VWP Entrants May Apply for Additional 30-Day Satisfactory Departure; All CBP Ports to Accept Satisfactory Departure Requests
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have each announced that Visa Waiver Program (VWP) travelers who have been granted an initial 30-day period of satisfactory departure may apply for an additional 30 days if they remain unable…
U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico Land Border Restrictions Extended Through May 20
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 May 20, according to a set of notices to be published in the Federal Register. The Centers for Disease…
USCIS Announces Delays in Processing FY 2021 H-1B Cap Petitions Due to COVID-19
Due to the COVID-19 emergency, employers should expect a delay in data entry and receipt notice issuance for FY 2021 H-1B cap cases. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced that it will not begin to perform intake processing on these…
USCIS Offers No Special COVID Relief for Nonimmigrants Seeking a Change or Extension of Stay
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is not currently offering special flexibility to nonimmigrants who are unable to depart the United States because of the COVID emergency, the agency has announced. Foreign nationals affected by the emergency may seek a change of…
USCIS Receives 275,000 FY 2021 H-1B Cap Registrations, Petition Filing Period Begins
During its first H-1B cap registration season, USCIS received nearly 275,000 FY 2021 registrations between March 1, and March 20, 2020. Of these, approximately 46%, or 126,500, hold advanced degrees from U.S. institutions of higher education. Last year, the agency received 201,011…
USCIS Offices Extend Suspension of In-Person Services Until At Least May 3
In a continued response to COVID-19, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will extend its public closure of local field offices and Application Support Centers (ASCs), suspending in-person services now until at least May 3. The original suspension took effect on March 18…
DHS Postpones REAL ID Deadline until October 2021
In light of the COVID-19 emergency, the Department of Homeland Security is giving individuals additional time to obtain state driver’s licenses and non-driver identification cards that comply with the requirements of the REAL ID Act. The deadline for REAL ID Act compliance…
USCIS Announces Additional COVID-19 Accommodations: Expanding List of Response Types Eligible for Extensions, and Using Previously Submitted Biometrics for EAD Extensions
In a continued effort to avoid negative immigration consequences stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, USCIS is expanding its extension of response deadlines to also include notices of intent to revoke, notices of intent to terminate EB-5 regional investment centers, and motions to appeal or…
USCIS Gives Petitioners and Applicants More Time to Respond to Requests for Evidence and Notices of Intent to Deny During COVID-19 Emergency
In an effort to avoid negative immigration consequences stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, USCIS has agreed to extend response deadlines by 60 days for certain requests for evidence (RFEs) and notices of intent to deny (NOIDs). Where USCIS has issued an RFE…
USCIS Completes FY 2021 H-1B Cap Selection Process
USCIS has announced that the annual limit for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 H-1B cap employment has been met and the lottery selection process has been completed. USCIS intends to notify employers of the selection results by March 31, but some registrants are…
USCIS Temporarily Closes Rome and Nairobi Offices to the Public
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced it has temporarily closed its offices in Rome, Italy, and Nairobi, Kenya, to the public, due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In February, USCIS announced the temporarily suspension of services at…
USCIS Offices Extend Suspension of In-Person Services Until At Least April 7
In a continued response to COVID-19, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will extend its public closure of local field offices and Application Support Centers (ASCs), suspending in-person services now until at least April 7. The original suspension took effect on March…
E-Verify Issues COVID-19 Guidance for Employers
E-Verify has provided guidelines for employers and employees whose fulfillment of E-Verify obligations may be delayed due to the COVID-19 emergency. E-Verify Case Creation Deadlines Remain in Place for Most E-Verify employers are still obligated to create E-Verify cases for…
Mexico-U.S. Border Closed to Non-Essential Travel
The Department of Homeland Security announced today that the United States and Mexico are temporarily restricting all non-essential travel across its borders. “Non-essential” travel includes travel that is considered tourism or recreational in nature. Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security…
USCIS Immediately Suspends Premium Processing for All I-129 and I-140 Petitions Due to COVID-19
USCIS announced today that due to the COVID-19 crisis, the agency is immediately suspending premium processing services for all I-129 and I-140 petitions. Requests for premium processing that were mailed before March 20, but have not yet been accepted by USCIS, will be rejected.…