February 19, 2020
Beginning on February 24, 2020, prospective H-1B CAP petitioners and their legal representatives (“petitioners”) may begin creating H-1B registrant accounts on the online USCIS website. Subsequently, between 12:00 PM (EST) of March 01, 2020, and March 20, 2020, petitioners may create and complete H-1B registrations ...
February 10, 2020
On February 7, U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel of Maryland issued a ruling that would protect Maryland residents who are seeking their green card from arrest or deportation while their case is ongoing. The judge's decision also required Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents ...
February 5, 2020
On January 27, 2020, in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court temporarily upheld the Trump Administration's "Inadmissibility on Public Charge'' rule. The high court's conservative majority will allow the rule to go into effect pending the appellate process in the lower courts. Under the rule, ...
February 5, 2020
On January 31, 2020, USCIS released the new version of Form I-9, used to verify the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. The specific changes to the form can be found on the government website, and the form itself is ...
January 31, 2020
The Trump Administration has expanded the travel ban to include six additional countries. Citizens from Nigeria, Eritrea, Myanmar, and Kyrgyzstan will not be allowed to apply for visas to immigrate to the U.S., and the U.S. gov't will suspend the issuance of visas that can ...
January 27, 2020
On Monday, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to lift the nationwide injunction on the Trump administration's "public charge" rule while the case plays out in the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposal makes it more difficult for immigrants who rely on, ...
January 22, 2020
On Friday, January 17, over one hundred technology companies jointly filed an Amicus Brief challenging the Trump administration's "public charge" rule. These companies joined a nationwide lawsuit to assert that the proposed policy would adversely affect U.S. employers. The brief argues that the proposed rule will: Discourage ...
January 22, 2020
On Wednesday, January 15, U.S. District Judge Peter Messite issued a preliminary injunction against President Trump’s latest executive order, which allows state and local officials to deny the resettlement of refugees in their communities. Trump argued this executive order was put in place due to ...
January 9, 2020
In a document scheduled to be published on Thursday, January 9, USCIS has released additional details outlining how the FY2021 H-1B cap registration process will work. New information includes: Before the initial preregistration window opens on March 1, employers and their representatives may set up their ...
January 8, 2020
For certain immigration benefits, including naturalization, a good moral character must be proven. On December 13, USCIS announced updates to its policy manual on good moral character determinations. The updated guidance includes implementation of recent case law regarding applicants with two or more DUI convictions.
January 8, 2020
USCIS has announced that its new electronic registration has completed pilot testing and will be used for the upcoming 2021 H-1B Cap Season. In this new process, from March 1 – March 20, 2020, employers or their representatives must first register with basic information about the company and ...
December 17, 2019
Preliminary injunctions issued by federal judges in California and Washington against the “public charge” policy were stayed on Thursday by a divided three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The majority on the panel argued that the Trump administration has the legal authority ...
December 17, 2019
In a long term plan to simplify and streamline the application process for some employers, the Department of Homeland Security will propose amendments to the filing process for eligible employers who seek to hire certain employees. The amendment may authorize USCIS to pre-adjudicate certain petition requirements for ...
December 9, 2019
On Friday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the successful completion of the electronic registration process pilot. The registration process will be put into practice for the next H-1B cap lottery, Spring 2020. USCIS proposed the preregistration system as a way to "dramatically streamline processing ...
December 4, 2019
USCIS released guidance on November 21, 2019, which clarifies when the Service may adjust the status of an alien whose Conditional Permanent Resident (CPR) status has been terminated. This guidance applies to the adjustment of status applications filed with USCIS after November 21, 2019. A ...
November 20, 2019
On November 14, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposed rule modifying eligibility for employment authorization based on a pending asylum claim. USCIS’s proposal includes excluding from eligibility for employment authorization: Aliens who entered or attempted to enter the United States unlawfully without good ...
November 20, 2019
On Monday, November 18, it was announced that Ken Cuccinelli would no longer serve as the Acting Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a post which he has held for the last five months. At the time of publishing, according to the Department ...
November 18, 2019
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court held an oral argument to deliberate over the White House’s plan to roll back Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The policy, first implemented by the Obama administration in August 2012, allows undocumented individuals who were brought to the ...
November 14, 2019
The Department of Homeland Security published a proposed rule to the Federal Register on Thursday, November 14. The DHS proposal increases fees for certain immigration and naturalization applications charged by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). According to the proposed rule, the increase is ...
November 9, 2019
Today, a three-judge panel from the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled that a challenge to the H-4 EAD (Save Jobs USA v. DHS) does have grounds to be heard in court. In September 2016, a DC-based United States District Court judge, ...
November 6, 2019
USCIS now offers select applicants the option to file an I-539 extension application online to facilitate processing queue. The eligible applicant must be filing for an extension of an existing status and must file individually (without co-applicants). Individuals may complete the I-539 form online to extend status ...
November 6, 2019
On October 30, 2019 USCIS announced that the Premium Processing fee charged by the service for expedited processing of certain applications for immigration benefits will increase from $1,410.00 to $1,440.00 beginning December 2, 2019. Premium Processing is an optional service that allows petitioners or employees to request the 15-day ...
October 23, 2019
On October 15, CEOs and Deans from the top business schools in the country wrote a letter addressed to the President and members of Congress, asking them to reform the U.S. Immigration system to meet the country’s need for highly skilled employees in the STEM field. The ...
October 15, 2019
On Friday, just four days before the Trump Administration's public charge rule was set to effect, federal judges in California, New York, and Washington issued a preliminary nationwide injunction. In a breaking alert, the Immigration Nerds talk with managing directors Hiba Anver and Justin Parsons ...
October 14, 2019
On Friday, three federal courts in California, New York, and Washington issued judgments that will block the implementation of the Trump Administration's public charge rule. As previously reported, the rule was to go in to effect on Tuesday, October 15. The public charge rule would evaluate ...
October 11, 2019
On September 27, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard oral arguments for the Save Jobs USA v. DHS case that may determine the future work opportunities and livelihoods for the H-4 spouses of H-1B holders as they wait to ...
October 9, 2019
USCIS has announced that, as a result of the Department of Homeland Security’s Public Charge rule, several forms for applications of immigration benefits, including form I-485 applications for adjustment of status and form I-129 petitions for nonimmigrant workers, will be updated as of October 15. USCIS will ...
October 4, 2019
Uncertainty of exact timing could undo expected cost savings Past problems with electronic filing systems has some attorneys concerned about reliability A new electronic preregistration process that’s likely to be part of next spring’s H-1B visa lottery is bringing additional uncertainty to what’s already a ...
October 4, 2019
In this week's Immigration Nerds podcast, Diane Rish, the Associate Director of Government Relations at American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) joins us at the mic. Through multiple FOIA requests and painstaking litigation, AILA along with the American Immigration Council won access to USCIS documents that revealed ...
September 27, 2019
Today, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit heard arguments for Save Jobs USA v. the Department of Homeland Security. Originating in the US District Court in DC, Judge Tatel (Clinton appointee) heard the case with Judge Griffin (Bush) and Senior Judge Silberman (Reagan). The ...