When a foreign national applies for U.S. citizenship, the individual typically must pass a civics test prior to approval of the application for naturalization (form N-400). There are 100 possible civics questions the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officer may ask during a naturalization...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that, beginning Monday, January 28, 2019, premium processing will resume for all fiscal year 2019 (FY19) H1B cap cases, including the advanced degree exemption “master’s cap” cases. Premium processing provides a guarantee that the USCIS will...
A new online fee calculator has been added to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website to help stakeholders properly calculate the amount owed when applying for certain immigration benefits. This calculator is designed to help reduce the number of applications and petitions the...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released a policy memorandum that provides USCIS officers with guidance on when the in-person interview requirement may be waived for the beneficiary of a petition to remove the conditions on residency (form I-751). Background on I-751 Petition to...
In order for an L-1 petition to be approved, one of the basic requirements is that the beneficiary has worked abroad for a related entity for at least one year in the past three years. This is often referred to as the "one-in-three" rule. The...
A partial shutdown of the federal government is now in effect because Congress was unable to pass a new budget or continuing resolution. This also means that several immigration programs are temporarily suspended, including the regional center portion of the employment-based, fifth preference (EB5) immigrant...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, Charles Oppenheim, often issues visa bulletin explanations and predictions, following the release of the monthly visa bulletin. Mr. Oppenheim had hoped to provide updated short-term predictions in the January 2019 Visa...
Congress must pass a spending bill to extend government operations by midnight of December 21, 2018, or else another temporary shutdown of the federal government will go into effect. This would be the third shutdown of 2018.The crux of the current budget dispute revolves around...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has expanded its Information Services Modernization Program to more field offices. The Detroit and Los Angeles field offices recently were added to the program, which aims to end self-scheduled InfoPass appointments and steer applicants towards online information. The...
Congress has passed a short-term bill to fund the federal government for two weeks. The federal budget is now extended through December 21, 2018. This bill also extends various immigration programs for the same time period, including the employment-based, fifth preference (EB5) regional center program.Congress...
