Articles

May 2020 Visa Bulletin – EB-1 ROW Current; Possible Acceleration of Forward Movement Over Next Several Months

The U.S. State Department has just released the May 2020 Visa Bulletin which is the eighth Visa Bulletin for the FY2020 fiscal year. The headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is the [...]

By |2020-04-30T12:13:26-04:00April 30th, 2020|Articles, News, News Alert, Visa Bulletin|

USCIS Closes Offices and Other Public-Facing Services Until At Least June 4th (Updated: Was May 3rd)

USCIS has just announced that in an effort to protect its workforce and the public amidst the Coronavirus/Covid-19 outbreak, they are suspending all routine face-to-face services with applicants at all offices, including all interviews and naturalization ceremonies. April 24, 2020 Update: USCIS has extended the closure to be at least until June 4th, until further [...]

By |2020-04-26T10:25:34-04:00April 26th, 2020|Articles, Government Shutdown, News, News Alert|

President Trump Seeks to Bar Certain Immigrants from Entering U.S. for 60 Days

In a late night tweet, on April 20th, President Trump indicated that he would suspend immigration into the United States during the coronavirus outbreak. The actual executive order has just been signed and released and it indicates [...]

By |2020-04-23T08:52:59-04:00April 22nd, 2020|AOS, Articles, News, News Alert|

USCIS Delays H-1B Cap Intake and Receipting; Significant Impact on F-1 Cap Gap Cases

USCIS has announced that H-1B cap petitions will experience a significant delay in the case intake and the issuance of receipt notices as a result of the Coronavirus/Covid-19 outbreak. USCIS have announced that they will not begin processing any filed H-1B cap petitions until at least May 1 although they will continue to accept filings. [...]

By |2020-04-16T09:15:32-04:00April 16th, 2020|Articles, H-1B, News, News Alert|

Public Charge: Are Unemployment Benefits Permitted?

UPDATE:   A new revised Final Rule is in effect starting December 23, 2022.  Please review this updated content. In light of the Coronavirus/Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting millions of workers (at least temporarily) losing their job, our office has been flooded with calls and emails about whether claiming unemployment insurance will give rise to inadmissibility [...]

By |2023-01-05T12:37:29-05:00March 30th, 2020|Articles, Employees, H-1B, News, News Alert|

Extending Visa Waiver Program Period of Stay Using Satisfactory Departure

As a result of the Coronavirus/Covid-19 travel disruptions and border closures, many Visa Waiver Country nationals are in the United States within an ability to depart the U.S. before their 90-day authorized period of stay (I-94) expires. There are limited (but expanding) options for getting relief for Visa Waiver Country nationals stuck in the U.S. [...]

By |2020-03-23T09:25:15-04:00March 23rd, 2020|Articles, ESTA, News, News Alert, Travel|

USCIS Suddenly and Temporarily Suspends Premium Processing on All I-129 and I-140 Petitions Due to Coronavirus

USCIS has just announced that March 20, 2020 they are immediately and temporarily suspending premium processing service for all Form I-129 and I-140 petitions until further notice due to the Coronavirus/Covid-19 pandemic. Immediate Suspension of ALL Premium Processing Services Effective today, March 20, 2020, USCIS will not accept any new requests for premium processing. They [...]

By |2020-03-20T15:06:12-04:00March 20th, 2020|Articles, News, News Alert|

April 2020 Visa Bulletin – EB-2 ROW Retrogression Anticipated; FB-2A Remains Current

The U.S. State Department has just released the April 2020 Visa Bulletin which is the seventh Visa Bulletin for the FY2020 fiscal year. The headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is the lack of much forward movement [...]

By |2020-03-19T10:37:30-04:00March 19th, 2020|Articles, News, News Alert, Visa Bulletin|

USCIS Temporarily Suspends Premium Processing of H-1B CAP Petitions ONLY

USCIS has just announced that effective April 1, 2020, they are temporarily suspending premium processing for H-1B cap petitions which are selected under the H-1B lottery. Please note that this suspension applies only to H-1B cap petitions filed under the annual H-1B cap season and it is expected that the premium processing service will be reinstated for all cap [...]

By |2020-03-17T17:08:05-04:00March 17th, 2020|Articles, H-1B, News, News Alert|

President Trump Bans Travel to U.S. from Most European Countries for 30 Days Over Coronavirus

In a surprising move, on March 11, 2020, President Trump issued a proclamation by which he is seeking to suspend travel to the U.S. from a number of European countries starting Friday, March 13, 2020 for a period of 30 days. During its release, this ban was labeled "total" and although it is very broad [...]

By |2020-03-12T10:01:49-04:00March 12th, 2020|Articles, News, News Alert, Travel|

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