The ancient festival of lights known as Diwali has been celebrated by millions of Hindus around the world for millennia, and Indian immigrant communities in the United States continue to observe the holiday in an effort to maintain a cultural connection to their native homeland....
U.S. Army recruiters have canceled enlistment contracts for many foreign-born military recruits recruited through the Military Accessions Vital to National Interest (MAVNI) program. Reports state that these contracts have been cancelled because of the burdensome enlistment process for these types of recruits. Recruiters are instead focusing on...
On Sunday, October 8, 2017, the U.S. Mission to Turkey announced that, effective immediately, the U.S. embassy and consulates in Turkey have suspended processing nonimmigrant visas. This action was taken in response to escalating diplomatic tensions between the two countries. The government of Turkey responded...
Just as employers and their respective attorneys were getting ready to file thousands of H1B cap subject petitions for fiscal year 2018, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a memorandum dated March 31, 2017 that called into question whether a position classified as...
This morning, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that President Trump is terminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Trump will be "winding down" the program over the coming months. Background on DACA Beneficiaries of DACA, popularly referred to as "dreamers," are undocumented aliens who were...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the August 2017 Visa Bulletin this afternoon. In the final action (FA) chart, the cutoff dates in the employment-based, first preference (EB1) category remain unchanged, leaving India and China stuck at January 1, 2012. In the employment-based, second...
The January 17, 2017 regulation for employment-based applicants includes a provision to allow for up to a 10-day grace period both before and after the work authorization period for certain foreign nationals in E-1, E-2, L-1, or TN status. These grace periods have also long...
The E-3 visa is a nonimmigrant, employment-based visa category available to qualifying Australian citizens. While very similar to the H1B classification, the E-3 classification has a few unique requirements and benefits. General Requirements Parallel Those of H1B Category The E-3 category allows an individual to enter the...
Earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Maslenjak v. United States, rejecting an argument by the Trump Administration that a person can be denaturalized based on a false statement made during the naturalization process, regardless of its materiality. Rather, the court held...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memorandum on May 23, 2017 that adopts the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) decision in Matter of A-T- Inc. The adopted decision serves to instruct USCIS personnel that, for purposes of determining whether a person qualifies...
