The July 2018 Visa Bulletin has been released by the U.S. Department of State (DOS). As predicted, the cutoff dates for India in both the employment-based, second preference (EB2) and the employment-based, third preference (EB3) categories advance by several months. EB2 China also advances, while...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently issued a notice, reminding stakeholders that optional practical training (OPT) work authorization automatically terminates if the F-1 student transfers to another school or begins study at a different educational level. Although the notice may appear alarming to...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently updated its online policy guidance related to the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA). The USCIS update to the online policy manual consolidates all CSPA guidance in one location, and supersedes prior memos and judicial decisions dealing with...
Recently, the Employee Rights Section (IER) of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS) of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding information sharing for interagency referrals. This apparently...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published the annual report for fiscal year (FY) 2017 that details characteristics of H1B petitions. FY17 ran from October 1, 2016 through September 30, 2017. The report provides data related to H1B petitions filed during FY17, including...
Last night, Charles Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division for the U.S. Department of State (DOS), was the featured speaker at the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) D.C. Chapter meeting. During his talk, he provided some updated predictions regarding the employment-based, second...
Lawful permanent residents (LPRs, or "green card" holders) applying to naturalize, and various different categories of I-485 adjustment-of-status applicants, are required to attend U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in-person interviews before their respective applications may be approved. Given the heightened scrutiny in the current...
Effective April 30, 2018, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began phasing in the use of U.S. Postal Service (USPS) signature confirmation restricted delivery service to send certain key documents, such as the original I-551 form (commonly referred to as a "green card"). This...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently updated the section of its online policy manual that discusses the employment-based, fifth preference (EB5) immigrant investor visa program. The update clarifies that, once a petition by an entrepreneur to remove the conditions on permanent resident status...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently has updated its policy manual to include new requirements for the automatic acquisition of citizenship for certain children born abroad to unwed U.S. citizen (USC) mothers. The new requirements are a result of the U.S. Supreme Court...
