News & Events

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 ...

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 ...

This week, we're delighted to be joined at the mic by Laura Young, Salesforce Director of Global Mobility and Immigration. Ms. Young oversees all inbound and outbound immigration employment operations for Salesforce, including the US and global immigration program for the company. In this conversation, ...

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, ...

The EU Council in Brussels, consisting of 27 EU ambassadors, has agreed to the UK Government’s request to remain in the EU until January 31, 2020. This is the third extension the EU has granted the UK. Under the agreement, EU nationals will continue to have free ...

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 ...

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 ...

As of today, the EU Council has come to an agreement with the UK government to postpone Brexit until January 31, 2020. An earlier withdrawal is still possible, and it is likely to trigger new elections in the coming months. No additional information has been provided ...

In this week's Immigration Nerds podcast, we discuss how the government is collecting DNA samples from immigrants migrating to the United States.

On Wednesday, the State Department began a 60-day comment period on the Public Charge rule. This comment period slows down the department’s initially expedited approach for the implementation of its public charge application. As previously reported, the State Department’s rule was in effect as of ...

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the November 2019 Visa Bulletin. All employment-based categories see little to no movement for the month of November. The cut-off date for the EB-2 category for persons born in China has advanced since October 2019 but has continued to remain retrogressed since July 2019. The cut-off ...

On October 17, 2019, the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) reached a Brexit deal. The Withdrawal Agreement was officially published on October 21, 2019.  The UK Parliament began to debate the Withdrawal Agreement today (October 22nd) and has already voted against the Prime Minister's rapid ...

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 ...

In this week's Immigration Nerds podcast, we talk to Makoto Takeda, the co-founder of Bistream. Mr. Takeda talks about the business relationships his company facilitates between companies, investors, universities, and talent in Japan and Germany and the mutual benefits created between these two global markets.

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

On October 7, 2019, New Zealand implemented significant changes to the Talent (Accredited Employer) Work Visa Program. For all new applications received after this date, the minimum salary needed for the Talent (Accredited Employer) Work Visa will increase from NZD $55,000 to NZD $79,560 per year, reflecting ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

If immigration changes fast, technology is even faster. In this week's Immigration Nerds podcast, we talk to EIG's Chief Technology Officer Sanjay Akut about the latest trends in tech, and how EIG has assembled a nimble and robust technology solution with the number one priority ...

The UK government has opened up a new type of Post-Study Work Visa to international students in hopes of recruiting and retaining successful global talent into the country. International students who have a valid immigration status and have completed a course of study at an undergraduate level ...

In a letter to a U.S. Court of Appeals on September 16, the Department of Homeland Security indicated that the earliest possible publication date for a proposed rule to rescind H-4 employment authorization would be in Spring 2020. Until such a time that a new rule goes ...

On September 20, the Trump administration came to an asylum cooperation agreement with El Salvador, designed to deter migrants from seeking asylum in the United States. The agreement states that any migrants that pass through El Salvador seeking asylum must apply for protection in that country first ...

In this week's Immigration Nerds podcast, we talk to EIG attorney Ryan M. Knight about social media surveillance as part of the visa process. This level of scrutiny forces some tough questions: What is the price of freedom of expression in the Land of the ...

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the October 2019 Visa Bulletin. EB-2 and EB-3 categories for the worldwide quota have become current once again. Cut-off dates for the EB-2 and EB-3 categories for persons born in China have remained retrogressed since July 2019. For persons ...

The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC), the largest technology council in the country, has announced that Jerry Erickson, President and CEO of Erickson Immigration Group (EIG), has been elected to NVTC's Board of Directors. Also elected to the 2019-2020 board are Mr. Michael C. Condro, Partner Audit & Assurance, Deloitte ...

Today is a special episode — we are celebrating the Immigration Nerds podcast's first anniversary! We started in a tiny room with a few attorneys and a producer, all of us racking our brains to tackle the immigration issues of the day. We now have a guest list and audience that ...