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On January 10, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced the extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for El Salvador, Sudan, Ukraine, and Venezuela. DHS designates certain countries for TPS where ongoing extraordinary and temporary conditions in their home country (often armed conflict or natural disaster) prevent nationals from returning safely […]
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Under the H-1B Modernization and Nonimmigrant Program Improvement Rule published on December 18, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) codified its current deference policy for nonimmigrant petitions. Under U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) policy, when a nonimmigrant petition involves the same parties and the same underlying facts, USCIS adjudicators should generally defer to […]
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US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced the extension and redesignation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Yemen, Haiti, and Ethiopia. These changes aim to provide essential protection and opportunities for those fleeing conflict and instability in their home countries. This article will provide information on TPS in general and these recent updates. What […]
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On January 31, 2024, USCIS published a fee rule, increasing the fees on most applications, adding an Asylum Program fee for certain applications, and creating a fee structure for certain employment-based applications, based on the type of organization or the size of the organization. These new fees took effect on April 1, 2024, and can […]
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Every individual applying for lawful permanent residency or immigrant visa in the United States is required to establish that an applicant is not inadmissible to the U.S. on public health grounds. People inside the United States, seeking lawful permanent residency through the process of adjustment of status before the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS), […]
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We are fast approaching the time of year when the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducts its annual lottery to assign the limited number of H-1B visas available for the next fiscal year, which begins October 1. USCIS has yet to announce the filings dates for this year’s lottery process, but we anticipate that […]
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On December 04, 2020, a U.S. District Court in the state of New York ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to fully reinstate the DACA Program. The order, which was effective immediately, requires DHS to start accepting new initial DACA applications, issue work permits with a validity period of two years, and allow DACA […]
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On July 31, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a final rule on the USCIS fee schedule, which includes a major restructuring of the filing fees for processing applications and benefits with the agency. While the administration has many adjustments to the filing fees for processing […]
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On June 18, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California, et. al. In a 5 to 4 decision, Chief Justice Roberts delivered the majority opinion of the Court, holding that when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the termination of the […]
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On March 18, 2020, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) closed its Field Offices for in-person services due to COVID-19. This has resulted in processing delays for applicants with pending applications for adjustment of status (lawful permanent residency / “green card”) and naturalization (U.S. citizenship) which require in-person interviews. In early June, USCIS Field […]
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Below, please find the latest information regarding COVID 19 related office closures as of May 15, 2020 Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR): Non-detained Cases postponed through June 12, 2020 On May 15, 2020, EOIR announced that hearings in non-detained cases are postponed through June 12, 2020. This order applies to all non-detained cases nationwide. […]
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Below, please find the latest information regarding COVID 19 related office closures as of April 28, 2020 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS): – Temporary office closures extended through June 04, 2020 USCIS announced on April 24, 2020 that they are extending the temporary suspension of in-person services at least through June 04, 2020. USCIS […]
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