In a much-anticipated decision dated January 23, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia sided with the Department of Homeland Security's request for extension to extend the vacatur of the current STEM OPT rule which was struck down on August 12, 2015. The current STEM OPT rule continues to remain valid until [...]
In a December 30, 2015 opinion, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has handed a decision (Mantena v. Johnson) which requires USCIS to provide notice of its intent to revoke an immigrant I-140 petition to certain [...]
On November 17, 2016, USCIS released the final version of this rule. On December 31, 2015 USCIS released a draft of the proposed and long-awaited rule seeking to improve certain aspects of the employment-based [...]
The U.S. State Department has just released the February 2016 Visa Bulletin which is the fifth Visa Bulletin for the FY2016 fiscal year. The major headline [...]
In response to the changed H-1B petition amendment requirements following the Simeio decision, the U.S. State Department has circulated a cable to U.S. Consulates worldwide with specific guidance to consular officers on how to address H-1B visa stamping petitions where there is change of employment. While the cable does not create new policies, it specifically [...]
In a sudden and surprising move, a number of immigration-related provisions were inserted into the must-pass government funding bill, titled “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016” The bill passed both the House and the Senate and was signed into law by President Obama on [...]
A significant policy change has narrowed dramatically the interview waiver eligibility. See the updated alert. With the end of the year quickly approaching, many of our clients will travel abroad during the Holiday season to visit their homelands and will need to renew their current U.S. visas. We would like to remind our [...]
The U.S. State Department has just released the January 2016 2015 Visa Bulletin which is the fourth Visa Bulletin for the FY2016 fiscal year. The major [...]
A recent class action lawsuit serves as a reminder that employment policies for H-1B workers must comply not only with Federal immigration laws, but also state and local labor rules. On November 9, 2015, Accenture PLC, a global professional services company, became the defendant in a class action lawsuit filed in New York State. The [...]
