A U.S. federal district court has preliminarily approved a settlement agreement related to H1B petitions filed for market research analyst positions. The lawsuit stems from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) taking a stand that the position of a market research analyst is not...
A federal district court has set aside a final rule that would have replaced the H1B lottery registration system with one that prioritizes cases filed based on wage level. The rule had been finalized by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the final...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated its adjustment-of-status filing charts webpage today, indicating that the more favorable dates for filing chart (i.e., Chart B) is to be used for virtually all family and employment-based categories in the October 2021 Visa Bulletin. The only...
[See NewsFlash! Use “Dates for Filing Chart” for Oct 2021 Visa Bulletin, posted later on 13.Sep.2021.]This morning, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the October 2021 Visa Bulletin, which is the first visa bulletin for fiscal year 2022. This month's visa bulletin also includes...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released an updated application to register for permanent residence or adjust status (form I-485), which now provides the applicant with the option to also apply for a new or replacement Social Security card. Previously, this required a...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) recently held its monthly YouTube program with Charlie Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division. During the program, Mr. Oppenheim provided updated predictions for fiscal year 2022 (FY22), which begins on October 1, 2021. Predictions for Start of...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has revised its policy related to the definition of a parental relationship. The USCIS will now recognize a parent-child relationship for children born abroad using assisted reproductive technology (ART), as long as the child's parents were married at...
On August 24, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that, starting October 1, 2021, green card applicants will be required to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19. The complete vaccination history is documented by a designated civil surgeon on form I-693, which...
The U.S. Senate has confirmed President Biden's nominee, Ur Mendoza Jaddou, to serve as the Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Director Jaddou, whose mother is from Mexico and father is from Iraq, is the first woman to be confirmed by the...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has signed a settlement agreement with a group of F-1 students affected by long delays in processing of optional practical training (OPT) and 24-month STEM OPT extension applications. The settlement agreement potentially benefits the entire class of OPT...
