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...
By law, there is an annual limit of 65,000 new H1Bs that may be approved each year, not including the 20,000 available under the advanced-degree exemption (i.e. master's cap) and those filed for cap-exempt employment. As the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) typically...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released April 20, 2017 guidance on how international students, particularly those in English language study and STEM OPT extension programs, will be affected by the loss of accreditation of institutions previously recognized by the Accrediting Council for Independent...
Designations for temporary protected status (TPS) for nationals of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone will be terminated on May 21, 2017. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is also recommending that the TPS designation for Haitian citizens be terminated in January of 2018. Background on...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has issued a warning in relation to a recent trend in telephone scams. The OIG warns that criminals are calling prospective victims and altering the caller ID number to appear as though...
The administrative appeals office (AAO) issued a non-precedent decision, on April 28, 2017, that acknowledges the right of an I-140 beneficiary who has ported to a new employer pursuant to the American Competitiveness in the Twenty First Century Act (AC21) to receive and respond to...
As of May 1, 2017, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun issuing redesigned versions of permanent resident cards (i.e. I-551 forms, commonly referred to as "green cards") and employment authorization documents (EADs). The redesigned documents include several enhanced security features. Existing green...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a news alert on Wednesday, May 3, 2017, informing stakeholders that the data entry process has been completed for all cases selected in the fiscal year 2018 (FY18) H1B lottery. The USCIS will now begin returning all...
Two individuals, formerly associated with hardline anti-immigration groups, have received high-level positions within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Julie Kirchner, the former executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), has been appointed ombudsman at the United States Citizenship and Immigration...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memorandum on April 12, 2017, adopting the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) decision in Matter of I-Corp. This decision clarifies that the USCIS cannot approve a petition for a foreign national worker that is based on...
