The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that the more favorable 'dates for filing' chart in the October 2017 Visa Bulletin must be used for family-based cases. Unfortunately, as usual, only the 'final action' chart may be used in October for employment-based cases....
Multiple reports from attorneys across the country have indicated that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has a new policy prohibiting attorneys from entering secondary inspection areas at U.S. ports of entry (POEs) to meet or accompany clients. Although there has been no official...
The October 2017 Visa Bulletin, which is the first visa bulletin of fiscal year 2018, has been released by the U.S. Department of State (DOS). In addition to laying out the cutoff dates for October 2017, this month's visa bulletin also includes predictions for the...
This morning, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that includes a continuing resolution to fund the federal government through December 8, 2017. The U.S. Senate passed the bill yesterday, and it now goes to the President, who is expected to sign it into...
As of September 1, 2017, the processing of U.S. visas in Russia has been greatly scaled back. Applications for nonimmigrant visas have been suspended indefinitely for all consulates in Russia, other than at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. This action was taken in response to...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has posted a webpage with information related to the directives in President Trump's April 18, 2017 "Buy American, Hire American" executive order (EO). The page summarizes the relevant portions of the EO, and briefly lays out the steps...
This morning, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that President Trump is terminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Trump will be "winding down" the program over the coming months. Background on DACA Beneficiaries of DACA, popularly referred to as "dreamers," are undocumented aliens who were...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a news alert, advising stakeholders impacted by Hurricane Harvey of the immigration relief that may be available on a case-by-case basis. Some of the types of relief that may be requested include:Changing a nonimmigrant status...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is warning residents in Houston, Texas, of criminals in the area posing as agents of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The individuals are reportedly knocking on doors in the area and demanding that the residents evacuate, presumably to then rob...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is closing its field office, asylum office, and application support centers in Houston, Texas, through September 5, 2017. This move was made because of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Harvey. Details for rescheduling cancelled appointments at those offices...
