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...
Today, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the data entry process has been completed for all cases selected in the fiscal year 2020 (FY20) H1B lottery. The USCIS will now begin returning all cap-subject petitions that were not selected.The USCIS notes that,...
The June 2019 Visa Bulletin has been released by the U.S. Department of State (DOS). The most notable movement is that the employment-based, first preference (EB1) category for India retrogresses significantly, albeit only temporarily. In addition, the latest visa bulletin cautions that the employment-based, fifth...
When filing for a STEM OPT extension, an international student must complete and submit a training plan for STEM OPT students (form I-983) to the academic institution's designated school official (DSO). The form includes sections for both the student and the employer to complete and...
As of May 20, 2019, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will accept only the latest version of the petition for a nonimmigrant worker (form I-129), which has a 01/31/19 date printed at the bottom of each page. The USCIS will reject any prior...
Today, a federal district court judge ordered immigration officials to temporarily cease enforcement of the August 9, 2018 policy memorandum that greatly expanded the situations in which those in F, J, or M status may begin accruing unlawful presence. This order stems from a lawsuit...
Beginning in May 2019, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will begin issuing form I-94 arrival/departure records with alphanumeric "numbers" (i.e., composed of letters and numbers). This change will have no impact on the validity of I-94 cards and numbers issued prior to the...
