On May 20, 2019, the Texas Service Center (TSC) began accepting certain cap-exempt H1B petitions for processing. Beginning July 19, 2019, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may reject any petition not filed at the appropriate service center. General H1B Filing Address and Other Information Until...
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued new guidance regarding rejection criteria for the petition for a nonimmigrant worker (form I-129). Beginning August 5, 2019, the USCIS will reject any petition that does not include the petitioner's name and primary U.S. office...
Effective Monday, June 10, 2019, in addition to any cap-subject H1B petition filed for regular processing that requested a change of status, the USCIS will also accept filings of premium processing requests of all remaining cap-subject petitions. Those employers who elect to "upgrade" their pending...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated the Adjudicators Field Manual (AFM) with guidance regarding the processing of marriage-based green card applications that involve a U.S. sponsor or foreign national spouse under the age of eighteen (18). As of April 21, 2019, certain...
The U.S. State Department (DOS) has implemented changes to electronic forms DS-160, Application for a Nonimmigrant Visa, and DS-260, Application for an Immigrant Visa, that go into effect immediately. These applications will now request information about the social media username or handle used by an...
On May 10, 2019, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated the Adjudicator's Field Manual (AFM) to reduce the circumstances under which the USCIS will consider granting a case expedited treatment. In general, the USCIS has the authority to grant an expedite request on...
A lawsuit challenging a number of recent H1B policies enacted by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun to heat up. IT Serve Alliance v. USCIS is the lawsuit filed by a group of IT consulting companies who are members of the organization...
On May 16, 2019, President Trump unveiled a legislative proposal for immigration reform, an issue that has been a lightning rod for controversy since he took office in January 2017. The proposal, spearheaded by the President's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, aims to recalibrate...
Effective today, May 20, 2019, any cap-subject H1B petition filed for regular processing that requested a change of status may now be "upgraded" to premium processing by filing form I-907. This, of course, only applies if the petition was selected in the H1B lottery.For all...
The Trump Administration has released a memorandum that is ostensibly designed to combat "the large numbers of aliens who overstay their period of lawful admission… ." The memo focuses primarily on those who overstay B-1/B-2 business / visitor status and those who overstay following admission...
