On October 28, 2019, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) updated the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) to define the clearly approvable standard in the context of L-1 visa applications filed under a petitioning company's blanket L-1 petition. The FAM now provides that "clearly approvable" means...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the December 2019 Visa Bulletin. In December, movement in most categories is limited. China sees gradual advancements in the employment-based, first and second preference (EB1 and EB2) categories, while India sees little to no progression in any...
Effective December 2, 2019, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is implementing a stricter, more formalized fee waiver policy. The USCIS justified this policy change by noting that the agency is almost entirely funded by fee revenue, and fee waivers cost the agency hundreds...
On October 24, 2019 the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has begun producing a new travel document with new security features that will serve in place of permits to reenter the United States (form I-327, commonly referred to as "reentry permits")...
This evening, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a proposed rule to increase filing fees for most types of applications and petitions. It would also add a number of new fees and change certain other immigration benefit request requirements. The proposed rule is...
Charles Oppenheim, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, gave a presentation at the IIUSA EB5 Industry Forum on October 29, 2019, where he provided stakeholders with his updated predictions on backlogs and wait times for EB5 applicants....
On November 2, 2019, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) that prevents enforcement of President Trump's executive order that would have required a foreign national requesting admission on an immigrant visa to have qualifying health insurance. The rule had been scheduled to...
Representatives of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) recently met with representatives from the U.S. Department of State's Visa Office (VO) to discuss current immigration policies and procedures. Prior to the meeting, AILA submitted written questions to the VO, to which the DOS responded in...
A student in F-1 status typically is eligible to participate in optional practical training (OPT) upon completion of the degree program or, in some circumstances, before graduation. The purpose of OPT employment is to provide the foreign national student with an opportunity to apply the...
On October 31, 2019, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will publish a final rule in the Federal Register that will increase the premium processing fee to $1,440. This fee increase is scheduled to go into effect 30 days after the final rule is...
