Today, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that foreign nationals applying for a change of status to F-1 are no longer required to maintain nonimmigrant status until within 30 days of the actual (i.e. deferred) program start date. Rather, the USCIS has reverted...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its policy guidance related to the impact of registering to vote on a foreign national's good moral character (GMC) requirement when applying for U.S. citizenship. The updated guidance is designed to prevent potentially catastrophic consequences for...
This afternoon, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the August 2021 Visa Bulletin. All cutoff dates listed refer to the dates in the final action chart (i.e., Chart A), unless otherwise specified. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has not yet indicated whether...
On June 14, 2021, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated the USCIS Policy Manual to implement a new process, referred to as a bona fide determination, to grant victims of crime in the United States with pending U visa petitions earlier access to...
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign nationals traveling to the United States from certain countries have been subject to travel restrictions based on several presidential proclamations. The presidential proclamations currently in effect suspend entry to the United States of certain individuals who were present in...
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 some updated predictions for the rest of fiscal year 2021 (FY21), which runs through September 30,...
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused delays in processing at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). With an increased volume of filings, some petitioners and applicants have complained about longer than usual wait times to receive receipt or rejection notices after filing a benefit...
The regional center portion of the employment-based, fifth preference (EB5) immigrant investor program will expire after June 30, 2021. Congress failed to reach an agreement to extend the program, and it is now in recess until July 9, 2021. There is still reason to believe...
A federal judge in California has struck down the 2019 regulation that made numerous changes to the EB5 immigrant investor visa program, most notably a sizable increase in the minimum investment requirement. Under the 2019 rule, the minimum investment increased to $1.8 million for standard...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued policy revisions to the USCIS Policy Manual with regard to the criteria for expedite requests by applicants and petitioners, as well as the issuance of requests for evidence (RFEs) and notices of intent to deny (NOIDs)....
