News & Events

In this week's Immigration Nerds Podcast, we sit down with EIG attorney Jeremy Dumetz and talk about the hotly debated "citizenship" question the Trump administration is pushing for in the 2020 Census. Jeremy and EIG Media Producer Ian Gaines talk about the history of the ...

On May 31, 2019, the Philippines Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) released Memorandum Order No. 28-2019, which prescribes the policies and guidelines relevant to the registration requirements of foreign nationals. All foreign nationals working in the Philippines are now required to obtain a tax identification number (TIN) with ...

On Wednesday, June 12, Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah) introduced a bill in the Senate that would make the E-Verify program permanent. E-Verify, the online tool that allows employers to input a new hire’s driver’s license and Social Security information to verify whether the person is eligible to ...

On May 31, the Customs and Border Protection agency was made aware that up to 100,000 images of travelers and license plates were hacked in a cyber attack. For security purposes, the agency collects and stores personal data of all travelers who cross the US border. Federal ...

Melia Russell | June 16, 2019   As a candidate, Donald Trump began his campaign by attacking Mexicans. Now, some here legally fear they’ll be collateral damage in his trade wars. For a quarter century, skilled Mexican citizens have been able to get three-year work permits under a ...

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the July 2019 Visa Bulletin. Cut-off dates remain effective for the EB-1 categories with no movement forward in any of the categories. The Department of State stated in Section G of the July visa bulletin that due to the increased demand, the ...

In this week's Immigration Nerds podcast, EIG legal writer Kahn T. Branch previews the summer of Brexit.  We discuss Theresa May's resignation and the election of a new prime minister, the deal or no deal Brexit options, and the EU Summit.

USCIS is currently being sued in two separate cases over their Notice of Intent to Revoke (NOIR) process and policy. USCIS may revoke a petition if the terms of employment and the original petition differ, in cases of fraud, misrepresentation, or inaccurate information, in cases ...

“Is this person a citizen of the United States?” With the 2020 census looming and the issue of a new question on citizenship to be added, the Trump Administration is blocking Congress' access to background documents about how the new question came to be with executive ...

On Monday, June 10, Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan announced that President Trump named Kenneth Cuccinelli II as Acting Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Mr. Cuccinelli assumed the role on the same day. While Cuccinelli has been a strong ...

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services' (USCIS) processing delays have been steadily increasing for many years, but the backlog has reached new highs under the Trump Administration. Earlier this year, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) issued a report on the USCIS long-delayed processing times. ...

Update: At 3:24 pm EST on June 7, 2019, the USCIS announced that premium processing for all remaining FY2020 H-1B cap-subject petitions will begin on June 10, 2019. This commences phase two of the two-phase approach offered by USCIS in an effort to best manage premium processing ...

In this week's Immigration Nerds podcast, we talk about the recently announced requirement for applicants seeking a U.S. visa: sharing your social media account information for all platforms used over the past five years. How will this data be used? What is the government looking ...

Melia Russell | June 5, 2019   According to new data released by the federal government on the state of the H-1B visa, commonly used for high-skilled workers in tech, there has been an abrupt drop in approvals for a work permit that once was granted routinely. Fewer ...

U.S. citizens hoping to travel to Cuba now face new restrictions for their plans. On Tuesday, the Trump Administration introduced a ban on what are referred to as "people to people" trips to the island, banning many forms of educational and recreational trips. The "people to ...

On Monday, June 3, it was announced that USCIS Deputy Director Mark Koumans had been appointed as the acting director as L. Francis Cissna departs the agency. Mr. Koumans was appointed as the deputy director on May 13, 2019.  Prior to his role as the deputy ...

Taiwan has legalized same-sex marriage. This came after Taiwan’s constitutional court held that same-sex marriage should be legalized back in 2017. The court’s decision caused a cascading effect amongst the public as many people pressured the government to hold referendums on the issue. The effect of ...

UK’s Migrant Advisory Committee (MAC) has reviewed the Shortage Occupation List and has recommended broadening the list to include roles related to Software Development, Programmers, Web Designers, Veterinarians, Health Workers, and Architects, among others. Foreign nationals in recognized shortage occupations can enter the UK more quickly compared to ...

Effective June 24, 2019, there will be changes to the fees charged by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) to international students, exchange visitors and SEVP-certified schools. The increased fees were calculated to match the estimated cost of funding SEVP operations, including the maintenance of technological ...

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 processes will remain, for the time being, with physical petitions submitted by mail, USCIS is now accepting certain ...

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 and statistics for the most widely-used immigrant and nonimmigrant programs from 2018, as compared to the previous ...

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 DS-160 form. The change has received heavy criticism as the U.S. government has released no guidance on ...

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 the most significant items related to immigration. Our attorneys break down each item and say whether they "love it, hate ...

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 President, I submitted my resignation today effective June 1, 2019," he wrote. Cissna served for 20 months as the Director ...

On Friday, May 24, UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced her resignation saying: "I will shortly leave the job that it has been the honour of my life to hold. The second female prime minister, but certainly not the last. I do so with no ...

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 impact of an immigration system based on merit or one based on family connections.

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 holders, H-1B visa holders' spouses who are in the process of getting a green card, the right to work. H-4 visa holders have ...

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 outlined in a press release, "eProcessing will be a complete digital experience, from applying for a benefit, to communicating with ...

Effective May 27, 2019, the Essential Skills in Demand (ESID) lists will be changed. A new Regional Skill Shortage List (RSSL) will be introduced to replace the current Immediate Skill Shortage List. The RSSL will be tailored to each of New Zealand's 15 regions. The Ministry of Business, ...

The Saudi Arabia government has approved a new special residence scheme, similar to the green card program, to attract affluent and highly-skilled foreign nationals. The new plan will allow holders to work, obtain visas for relatives, own property, and leave and re-enter the country without an ...