On October 21, 2016, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released the updated version of the extreme hardship policy section of its policy manual. This section guides USCIS adjudicators on determining extreme hardship to qualifying relatives for discretionary waivers of inadmissibility. The guidance becomes...
This afternoon, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the December 2016 Visa Bulletin. In the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category, the cutoff date for India moves ahead by three months, to February 1, 2008. EB2 China advances by just over two months, to September...
Since 2006, couples in India who wed under the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 are required to register their marriages. Contrary to what many believe, however, under Indian law, a failure to register one's marriage generally does not impact the legal validity of the marriage....
On October 24, 2016 the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted a notice in the Federal Register announcing an increase in filing fees for most types of immigration filings. These fee increases are scheduled to go into effect December 23, 2016. USCIS Rationale for Fee...
Publication of a new employment eligibility verification form (form I-9) is expected on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website by November 22, 2016. Employers are allowed to continue using the existing I-9 form, which has an expiration date of March 31, 2016, until...
A large percentage of the H1B petitions filed with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) each year involve employment in the so-called "E-V-C" (employer-vendor-client) model. In such EVC model cases, the H1B employee is placed at the worksite of a company other than the...
On October 4, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the addition of nine airports to the Global Entry Program (GEP). The GEP allows the prescreened participants to go through expedited security screening at certain airports through...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended the temporary protected status (TPS) designation of Nepal for an additional 18 months, to June 24, 2018. This TPS designation was granted initially in the wake of the devastating earthquakes that occurred in 2015. Please see...
On September 30, 2016, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the release of form I-131A, a new form that "… allows lawful permanent residents (LPRs) to apply for a travel document (carrier documentation)…" from abroad if certain criteria are met. While useful, it...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) implemented a policy on November 5, 2015 that requires consular officers to revoke the nonimmigrant visas of individuals arrested for, or convicted of driving under the influence (DUI), driving while intoxicated (DWI), or similar alcohol-related crimes. The DOS has...
