According to recent reports, there has been an increase in U.S. passport application denials to individuals with birth certificates showing that they were born in the United States near the U.S. / Mexico border. Many of these individuals are then sent to detention centers and...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has issued instructions for entry in the fiscal year 2020 (FY20) diversity visa (DV) lottery. The DV lottery, often called the "green card" lottery, grants 50,000 immigrant visas each year to qualified applicants. Registration for FY20 begins at noon...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released a table of the national average processing times by fiscal year for various types of forms, through the first half of FY18. The U.S. government fiscal year runs from October 1st through September 30th. The data shows that...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated its adjustment-of-status filing charts webpage today, indicating that the more favorable dates for filing (DF) chart is to be used for all family- and employment-based categories in the October 2018 Visa Bulletin. Most of the dates in...
A federal judge for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the Trump Administration to fully restore the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The judge ruled that the Administration's decision to rescind the DACA program was "unlawful and must...
Answer There is no inherent problem with pursuing OPT, assuming that one follows the rules. It is important to discuss all proposed OPT employment with one's designated school official (DSO), to make sure that one is compliant with the requirements. (23.Jul.2018)In frequent sessions of our Chat,...
Answer Naturalization applications are individual applications. There is no requirement that all members of a family apply. (16.Jul.2018)In frequent sessions of our Chat, Sheela Murthy and other senior attorneys provide guidance that clarifies the law in real time. For details on chat participation, click here.Access more...
This afternoon, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memorandum that provides officers with more discretion to deny an application or petition without first having to issue either a request for evidence (RFE) or notice of intent to deny (NOID). This memo...
Answer Normally, in this situation, one would simply submit the I-485 without the medical exam, or submit the medical exam with a doctor's notation that some of the vaccinations could not be performed because of the pregnancy. This can be updated at a later date. (18.Jun.2018)In...
Most months, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, Charles Oppenheim, provides visa bulletin explanations and predictions. For the May 2018 Visa Bulletin, Mr. Oppenheim only provides some very minor, short-term predictions. Family-Based Preference Categories For most family-based (FB) preference...
