An advance copy of the final rule, entitled Retention of EB1, EB2, and EB3 Immigrant Workers and Program Improvements Affecting High-Skilled Nonimmigrant Workers, has been released; it is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Friday, November 18, 2016. It is scheduled to...
On October 21, 2016, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released the updated version of the extreme hardship policy section of its policy manual. This section guides USCIS adjudicators on determining extreme hardship to qualifying relatives for discretionary waivers of inadmissibility. The guidance becomes...
On October 24, 2016 the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted a notice in the Federal Register announcing an increase in filing fees for most types of immigration filings. These fee increases are scheduled to go into effect December 23, 2016. USCIS Rationale for Fee...
Publication of a new employment eligibility verification form (form I-9) is expected on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website by November 22, 2016. Employers are allowed to continue using the existing I-9 form, which has an expiration date of March 31, 2016, until...
Answer The proposed I-140 EAD rule (which is just one provision in a much larger set of rules) is currently with the Office of Management and Budget. We are expecting it to eventually be published, but there is no anticipated timeline. Be aware, however, that if...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended the temporary protected status (TPS) designation of Nepal for an additional 18 months, to June 24, 2018. This TPS designation was granted initially in the wake of the devastating earthquakes that occurred in 2015. Please see...
On September 30, 2016, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the release of form I-131A, a new form that "… allows lawful permanent residents (LPRs) to apply for a travel document (carrier documentation)…" from abroad if certain criteria are met. While useful, it...
The complicated and stressful nature of the U.S. immigration system leaves many foreign nationals vulnerable to exploitation attempts by scammers. A recent trend in immigration scams has caused the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to issue a warning on its official blog, The Beacon....
Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a stopgap bill to fund the federal government through Friday, December 9, 2016. This bill also serves to extend the employment-based, fifth preference (EB5) regional center program for the same time period. This stopgap bill was also...
The Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CIS Ombudsman) held a teleconference on August 31, 2016 to discuss processing delays for certain types of cases. More specifically, the teleconference focused on adjudication delays of applications for employment authorization documents (EADs), change-of-status (COS) applications, and H1B petitions...
