This morning, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the August 2018 Visa Bulletin. The employment-based, third preference (EB3) category advance a bit for India, and surges forward for China. Meanwhile, a cutoff date is instituted in the employment-based, first preference (EB1) category for all...
Thursday evening, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memo that appears to greatly expand the situations in which a foreign national is to be issued a notice to appear (NTA). An NTA is a charging document that initiates removal (i.e. deportation)...
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), which is part of the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE), recently released a broadcast message reminding all students on optional practical training (OPT) that volunteer positions not directly related to their course of study do not qualify...
Recently, Attorney General Jeff Sessions vacated a 2016 Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decision and issued a new decision that will severely limit the circumstances under which victims of violence at the hands of non-government actors will be eligible for asylum. Grounds for Asylum and Benefits In...
This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the travel ban implemented by President Trump in September 2017 was a permissible exercise of his authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Pursuant to this rule, the travel ban, which applies to citizens of Iran,...
Although the website for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) was recently updated to indicate that a key memorandum on roving employees was "canceled," the DOL has since then confirmed that the memo remains in effect. The memo was written in 1994 by the then-Administrator...
As has been anticipated, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a proposed rule to terminate the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER). This rule allows a foreign national to apply to be temporarily paroled into the U.S. based on a qualifying investment. More details on...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently confirmed that it no longer automatically accepts service requests from applicants whose I-765 applications for employment authorization have been pending for more than seventy-five (75) days. The USCIS informed the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) that this...
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...
