USCIS Announces Flexibility in Submitting Required Signatures During COVID-19 National Emergency
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that, due to the ongoing COVID-19 National Emergency announced by President Trump on March 13, 2020, they will accept all benefit forms and documents with reproduced original signatures, including the Form I-129, Petition…
H-1B Registration Period Closes; USCIS Expected to Conduct Selection Lotteries and Notify Employers By March 31
The first H-1B cap registration period has now closed. USCIS will accept no further cap registrations against the FY 2021 quota. What’s Next? The Cap Lotteries In the coming days, the agency will conduct two selection lotteries to choose the…
Canada-U.S. Border Closed to Non-Essential Travel
For the first time since Canadian Confederation in 1867, Canada and the U.S. are closing the joint border to most travelers as they fight the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The Department of Homeland Security announced the border closure today.…
ICE to Stop Conducting Most Arrests During COVID-19 Crisis
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a statement that it will "temporarily adjust its enforcement posture" effective immediately and shift focus to public safety risks, those who are subject to detention on criminal grounds and those it deems…
April Visa Bulletin Update: USCIS to Honor Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Categories Next Month
Employment-Based Priority Date Cut-offs for April 2020 To be eligible to file an employment-based adjustment application in April, employer-sponsored foreign nationals must have a priority date that is earlier than the date listed below for their preference category and country. After…
USCIS Offices Suspend In-Person Services Until At Least April 1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will temporarily close its local field offices and Application Support Centers (ASCs) and suspend in-person services, effective immediately, to help slow the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The suspension is expected to remain in…
Coronavirus Update: More U.S. Consulates Suspend Services; USCIS Local Offices May Suspend Interviews and Appointments
Additional U.S. Embassies and Consulates have cancelled nonimmigrant and immigrant visa appointments in light of the COVID-19 virus. Some are reportedly also issuing preliminary refusal notices (known as “221(g) notices”) on pending applications, with plans on revisiting these applications once…
H-1B Cap Registration Period Closes March 20
The FY 2021 H-1B cap registration period will close on Friday, March 20, at 12:00pm EDT. Employers and their immigration counsel will have until this time to draft, review, e-sign and submit their registrations to the agency. To date, the…
Premium Processing for FY2021 H-1B Cap Initially Suspended, Then Available in Stages
USCIS announced today that it is temporarily suspending premium processing for FY 2021, but will resume the service in a two-phased approach starting no later than May 27, 2020, for certain H-1B cap filings. Petitioners filing FY 2021 cap-subject H-1B petitions…
President Trump Adds Ireland and the United Kingdom to the COVID-19 Travel Ban, Effective 11:59 PM EDT on Monday, March 16
President Donald Trump issued a proclamation today that will extend his administration’s COVID-19 travel ban to the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland starting Monday, March 16 at 11:59 PM EDT. The ban now prohibits foreign nationals from entering the United States if…
April 2020 Visa Bulletin: Modest Employment-Based Cut-Off Date Advancement in Most Categories
According to the State Department’s April Visa Bulletin, cutoff dates for the issuance of an immigrant visa will be as follows: EB-1: All countries except for China and India will advance by three months to June 1, 2019. China will advance by…
Coronavirus Update: Travel Instructions for U.S. Citizens and Others Returning from the Schengen Area, China and Iran; U.S. Consular Service Suspensions in India and Elsewhere
The U.S. government continues to implement new policies and procedures in an effort to control the COVID-19 virus, which was designated a national emergency by the White House today. New Procedures for Certain Travel to the U.S. The Department of Homeland…
President Trump Orders European Travel Ban Starting 11:59 pm EDT on Friday, March 13
Late Wednesday, March 11, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation that prohibits foreign nationals from entering the United States if they have been physically present in the Schengen Area within 14 days before their attempted entry, with exceptions. The proclamation takes effect…
Italy on Lockdown due to Coronavirus
All of Italy will be placed under the lockdown conditions thus far imposed upon the so-called “red zone” in the north of the country, the Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte has said. The restrictions will include banning all public gatherings and preventing all movement…
H-1B Cap Update: First Week of Cap Registration Sees Some Technical Issues, New Terms of Use
Since USCIS opened the H-1B cap registration system on March 1, employers and immigration counsel have been preparing cap registrations amid some system slowdowns and technical problems. USCIS officials have been working to resolve these issues, but as with any…
Update: Coronavirus Travel Advisories
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of State have issued travel advisories to inform travelers about health problems related to the Coronavirus Disease that might affect their safety abroad. CDC Travel Advisories The CDC's…
Coronavirus Update: U.S. Imposes Travel Restrictions on Certain Foreign Nationals with Recent Iran Travel
The White House has issued a Presidential Proclamation that imposes travel restrictions on certain foreign nationals who have been present in Iran within 14 days of attempting entry to the United States. The restrictions take effect at 5 pm EST on…
FY 2021 H-1B Cap Registration Begins Sunday, March 1
USCIS will begin to accept H-1B cap registrations for employment in FY 2021 on Sunday, March 1, at 12:00pm ET. Employers and their immigration counsel will have until Friday, March 20, at 12:00pm ET to draft, review, e-sign and submit…
Coronavirus Travel Advisories
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of State have issued travel advisories to inform travelers about health problems related to the Coronavirus Disease that might affect their safety abroad. CDC Travel Advisories The CDC's…
Supreme Court Allows Public Charge Rule to Apply in Illinois, As State Department Readies Implementation of Similar Rule at U.S. Consulates
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled late Friday that the Trump Administration can enforce its new public charge regulation in Illinois, staying the last of several federal court injunctions that temporarily blocked the rule from taking effect. Though multiple lawsuits challenging the…
USCIS Opens H-1B Cap Registration Account Set-Up for Employers
USCIS’s new online system for H-1B cap registration is now open for employer account creation. If your organization plans to sponsor foreign nationals for H-1B cap employment in FY 2021, it must take steps to set up an account in…
The New Public Charge Rules: What Employers and Foreign Nationals Need to Know
Starting February 24, 2020, foreign nationals applying for adjustment of status to permanent residence will be subject to a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulation that redefines the test for the “public charge” ground of inadmissibility. On the same…
Visa Bulletin – March
To be eligible to file an employment-based adjustment application in March, employer-sponsored foreign nationals must have a priority date that is earlier than the date listed below for their preference category and country. The ability to file adjustment of status applications…
H-1B Cap Registration Update: How to Create and Manage an Employer Registration Account
USCIS’s new online system for H-1B cap registration will soon be open. If your organization plans to sponsor foreign nationals for H-1B cap employment in FY 2021, it must take steps to set up an account in the USCIS system…
State Department to Request Expedited Review of Public Charge Questionnaire, Aims to Implement Rule Starting February 24
The State Department will request expedited review from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of its DS-5540 public charge questionnaire, to be used by consular officers in determining the admissibility of visa applicants under the agency’s new public charge rule. The rule,…