Yesterday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) informed the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) that it will resume the availability of premium-processing service for all H1B petitions by October 3, 2017. The USCIS is expected to issue an official announcement to this effect in...
The General Services Administration (GSA) announced that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will move its headquarters to Camp Springs, Maryland. The USCIS currently has multiple locations for its headquarters. This location will consolidate the headquarters and the lease agreement will be valid...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has issued instructions for entry in the fiscal year 2019 (FY19) diversity visa (DV) lottery. The DV lottery, often called the "green card" lottery, grants 50,000 immigrant visas each year to qualified applicants. Registration for FY19 begins at noon...
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) recently clarified when pretrial agreements in criminal cases qualify as "convictions" under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). In its decision in the Matter of Mohamed, the BIA determined that an intervention or a diversion program designed to avoid...
On September 1, 2017, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) revised its Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) policy guidance to consular officers regarding "misrepresentation" under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) § 212(a)(6)(C)(i). In particular, the DOS changed its policy on when a consular officer can...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has approved 10,000 U visa petitions for fiscal year (FY) 2017, the maximum allowed per year by law under this category. The U visa is reserved for victims of certain types of crime who cooperate with law enforcement...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has resumed premium-processing service for H1B petitions selected under the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 cap. This announcement includes those cases filed as part of the 20,000 master’s cap. The reinstatement of the premium processing...
As expected, President Trump signed a bill into law on Friday, September 8, 2017, to fund the federal government through December 8, 2017. The bill includes numerous other provisions, including emergency disaster relief funding, as well as the extension of the employment-based, fifth preference (EB5)...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that the more favorable 'dates for filing' chart in the October 2017 Visa Bulletin must be used for family-based cases. Unfortunately, as usual, only the 'final action' chart may be used in October for employment-based cases....
Multiple reports from attorneys across the country have indicated that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has a new policy prohibiting attorneys from entering secondary inspection areas at U.S. ports of entry (POEs) to meet or accompany clients. Although there has been no official...
