The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a reminder to nationals of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone of the August 18, 2015 deadline for temporary protected status (TPS) registration. Eligible individuals must apply by the deadline in order to obtain the corresponding immigration benefits. Eligibility...
On August 12, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not follow proper procedures when they created the STEM OPT extension regulation. Thus, the Court vacated or struck down the regulation, effective February...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued an explanation regarding signature waivers for permanent resident cards (i.e. green cards). This is in reference to situations in which a form I-551 (commonly, a "green card") bears the notation signature waived, rather than the green card...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletin for September 2015 contains significant changes for Indian nationals. There is favorable news in the employment-based, third preference (EB3) category for India. The cutoff date for EB3 advances by more than six months, to December 22, 2004....
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed that the Vermont Service Center (VSC) is experiencing delays in issuing J-1 waiver approval notices. This is creating problems for J-1 physicians who need these notices from the VSC in order to proceed with the waiver...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued final guidance specifying the requirements for filing amended H1B petitions based on changes in worksite location. This guidance makes some concessions to employers of H1B workers, in response to concerns raised following the May 2015 issuance of initial...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has launched eFOIA a new, free mobile application that allows users to submit and track Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. This is part of an ongoing effort to improve the FOIA process and response time within the DHS. DHS...
Maria M. Odom, the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CIS Ombudsman), has submitted her office's 2015 Annual Report to Congress. This annual report includes lists of problems within the immigration system identified by the CIS Ombudsman's office, as well as recommended solutions. Background on the CIS Ombudsman The...
It has been announced that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) intends to negotiate for an expansion of preclearance operations to ten additional overseas airports. Preclearance facilities, which are operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), are designed to improve U.S. security while simultaneously...
On July 15, 2015, the White House released a report outlining recommendations for changes to the U.S. immigration system, in order to "…bring the system into the 21st century." The report identifies avenues for making improvements to the immigration system and is titled, Modernizing and Streamlining...
