USCIS Making Strides to Modernize and Digitize its Processes
In an effort to modernize and streamline USCIS processes, the agency announced on May 22, 2019, that it is rolling out a new eProcessing strategy. While most application
Read More »USCIS 2018 Statistical Annual Report Shows Increase in the Number of Newly Naturalized U.S. Citizens, Decrease in H-1B Approval Rates
On May 31, 2019, USCIS released its 2018 Statistical Annual Report, the first annual report released by the agency in nearly 10 years. The report is limited to show data
Read More »U.S. Visa Applicants Required to Disclose Social Media Presence on Visa Application
As of Friday, May 31, 2019, individuals applying for U.S. Visas are now required to disclose all social media accounts they have managed in the last five years on the
Read More »Immigration Nerds Talk About the Unified Regulatory Agenda
In this week’s Immigration Nerds Podcast, we’re joined by EIG attorneys Storm Estep and Ryan Knight to discuss the recently released Unified Regulatory Agenda and
Read More »USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna Resigns
On Friday, May 24, US Citizenship and Immigration Services Director L. Francis Cissna announced his resignation via email to agency employees. “At the request of the
Read More »Immigration Nerds Discuss President Trump’s Proposed Immigration Program, and Merit vs. Family Based Systems
In this week’s Immigration Nerds podcast, we talk to EIG attorney Ryan Knight about President Trump’s newly proposed immigration program, and the possibility and
Read More »Update: H-4 Visa Work Ban to be Published
After months of “will they, won’t they?” speculation, the federal government has announced it will publish a long-promised rule to disallow H-4 visa
Read More »USCIS Goes Digital with eProcessing
On Wednesday, May 22, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a strategic shift toward a digital business model and the introduction of eProcessing. As
Read More »President Trump Considering Options for the Administration’s Immigration Policy Role
President Trump is reportedly planning to create a new role within his administration for an individual to oversee the administration’s immigration policies. The job title
Read More »USCIS Extends H-1B Adjudication to the Texas Service Center
As of May 20, 2019, USCIS announced that the Texas Service Center would begin accepting certain H-1B petitions to decrease processing times and assist the California,
Read More »UPDATE: USCIS Changes Unlawful Presence Rules for F, J, and M Students
On May 3, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina issued an injunction to temporarily enjoin USCIS from applying the Department of Homeland
Read More »Trump Administration’s FY 2020 Budget Proposal Seeks to Increase H-1B Filing Fees
The Trump administration has released an FY 2020 budget proposal which, if approved, would result in the doubling of H-1B filing fees. Companies with 25 or fewer U.S.
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