The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) recently decided in a non-precedent decision that a provisional certificate from an Indian university was the equivalent of a degree. This favorable decision hopefully will lead the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to institute a formal policy of recognizing...
The Trump Administration has imposed a temporary electronics ban for all passengers, including U.S. citizens, taking direct flights to the United States from ten airports in eight Middle Eastern and African countries. This ban applies to electronic devices that are larger than a smart phone...
There are few surprises in the April 2017 Visa Bulletin. There is no movement in the dates for filing (DF) chart, and, while China and the Philippines see some forward movement the final action (FA), there is almost no relief in the employment-based categories for...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has posted answers to a number of frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding the Trump Administration's new travel ban, which is scheduled to go into effect on Thursday, March 16, 2017. This travel ban is based on an executive order...
On January 17, 2017 a regulation went into effect that permits the automatic extension of certain categories of employment authorization documents (EADs) for up to 180 days based on timely filed EAD renewal applications. This immigration benefit applies to applicants with new, qualifying renewal applications,...
The April 2017 Visa Bulletin was released this afternoon. Once again, there is no movement in the dates for filing (DF) chart. In the final action (FA) chart, the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category for India advances by three weeks, to June 22, 2008. EB2...
Due to a technical error, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently issued a number of H1B approvals that were incorrectly annotated with the H1B1 annotation. The USCIS is expected to issue corrected approval notices to reflect the proper H1B designation. Background on H1B1 Category The...
Updated Later in the day on March 6, 2017 This order has been signed. The travel ban is set to go into effect March 16, 2017. . . . . . . . . . . Later today, President Trump is expected to sign an executive order that...
A U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulation affecting highly skilled workers went into effect on January 17, 2017. One of the key components of the new regulation is the availability of a grace period of up to 60 days for certain categories of nonimmigrant...
Starting April 3, 2017, the USCIS will temporarily suspend premium processing for all H1B petitions. This suspension may last up to six months. While H1B premium processing is suspended, petitioners will not be able to file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, for a...
