The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its policy manual so that a receipt for an application for naturalization (form N-400) now also will provide a 24-month extension of the applicant's "green card" (I-551). Prior to this change, if an N-400 applicant wished...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the January 2023 Visa Bulletin. With the exception of retrogression for China and India in the employment-based, first preference (EB1) category, there little-to-no movement in any of the employment-based categories. All cutoff dates listed refer to those...
As we approach the end of another new year, now is a good time for employers to review a number of immigration-related matters and documents to help ensure smooth business operations in 2023. It is always advisable to engage in internal audits to identify and...
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) recently sent a letter to the U.S. Department of State (DOS), urging the DOS to address ongoing issues related to E-1 and E-2 visa applications. In the letter, AILA also includes various suggestions that could be implemented to alleviate...
When an individual applies for an F-1, H1B, or other nonimmigrant visa at the U.S. consulate abroad, it can be fairly common to be refused initially under Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). This broad section applies to a wide variety of...
Answer When applying for a visa "stamp," the petition must be valid and the job must still be available. If circumstances change after the visa is issued, there is no cooling off period required to apply for an amendment. Further, the existing visa typically would remain...
Answer The last official update on this came in March 2022, when the USCIS indicated that premium processing for H-4 and EAD applications likely would not become available until fiscal year 2025 (which begins October 1, 2024). So, it appears we still have a long wait.One...
On October 31, 2022, a new final rule on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) went into effect. The implementation of this final rule means that DACA – a program that provides certain temporary protections and benefits to qualifying undocumented immigrants who were brought to...
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) terminated recognition of the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) as an accrediting agency on August 19, 2022. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), in turn, recently issued an alert explaining the immigration impact this loss...
Today, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the December 2022 Visa Bulletin. The most notable change in the latest visa bulletin is additional retrogression in the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category. All cutoff dates listed refer to those in the final action chart (i.e.,...
