The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has expanded the availability of provisional waivers of unlawful presence. Effective August 29, 2016, provisional waiver requests may be filed in all cases that qualify for a standard (non-provisional) waiver of unlawful presence. Background on Provisional Waivers As explained in the...
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) issued final policy guidance on July 13, 2016, regarding foreign national students admitted on a tentative or conditional basis. In short, the guidance indicates that universities and schools are not permitted to issue I-20s for conditional students. Background In order...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has issued a reminder to employers enrolled in the E-Verify program that, as of August 1, 2016, such employers must log into their respective accounts at least once every 270 days to remain in the program. If an...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS), through Charles Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, provides monthly visa bulletin insights and predictions. The information provided this month involves expectations for September and prospects for October 2016, the beginning of fiscal year 2017 (FY17). Summary...
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continues its careful expansion of Global Entry, an international trusted traveler program. Effective July 12, 2016, any British citizen, holding a valid U.K. passport, is eligible to apply for a Global Entry permit. Program Background Global Entry is a voluntary...
Although most of the focus on the visa bulletin released by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) each month is reserved for the employment-based (EB) categories, the monthly visa bulletin also provides cutoff dates for the family-based (FB) categories. These categories tend to be less...
Every year, the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) Ombudsman submits a report to the U.S. Congress on the state of immigration services within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This report is a key component of the CIS Ombudsman's role. The Ombudsman's office reviews U.S. Citizenship...
On June 30, 2016, President Obama signed a law aimed at strengthening the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The Freedom of Information Improvement Act of 2016 implements policies to increase the transparency by the U.S. federal government. These important changes come on the eve of...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) August 2016 Visa Bulletin is remarkable, but not surprising, in that it contains a February 1, 2014 cutoff date for the employment-based, second preference (EB2) worldwide category. This is the first time this category has ever had a cutoff...
The fiscal year 2017 (FY17) H1B cap season continues to wind down. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed that the latest stage, the return of all H1B petitions that were not selected in the lottery, was completed on July 8, 2016. Given the...
