H1B Cap Exemptions for Physicians
A large percentage of foreign nationals who come to work as physicians in the United States do so pursuant to H1B status. Ordinarily, the foreign national must be counted against the H1B cap before...
View ArticleNewsFlash! Health Insurance Required for Admission on Immigrant Visa,...
On Friday, October 4, 2019, President Trump issued an executive order that will bar entry of a foreign national requesting admission on an immigrant visa unless the individual has qualifying health...
View ArticleMurthyAudio: Retaining Top Talent for Managers and Executives
Strategies as to how multinational companies can fast track their most valuable L1B and L1A employees to permanent resident status (commonly referred to as the green card), to avail their services...
View ArticleNewsFlash! New USCIS Forms with New Public Charge Rule Required as of 15 Oct...
The new versions of forms I-129, I-539, I-864, and I-485 were posted on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website yesterday. The new I-944 (Declaration of Self-Sufficiency) form has...
View ArticleNewsFlash! DOS Amending Public Charge Rules, Effective 15 Oct 2019
On October 11, 2019, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) will publish an interim final rule to amend the regulations regarding how consular officers determine whether a foreign national is likely to...
View ArticleNewsFlash! Judge Issues Nationwide Injunction Against Enforcement of Public...
This afternoon, a federal district court judge issued a nationwide injunction against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from enforcing the new public charge rule. The public charge...
View ArticleUnderstanding “No-Match Letters” Issued by Social Security Administration
The Social Security Administration (SSA) resumed its practice of issuing employer correction request letters, also known as “no-match letters.” A no-match letter is used to notify an employer of an...
View ArticleNewsFlash! DOS Delays Implementation of Public Charge Rule
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced today that the interim final rule regarding visa ineligibility based on public charge grounds is not yet being implemented. Per the announcement, “visa...
View ArticleNovember 2019 Visa Bulletin: Gradual Advancements in Final Action Dates
The November 2019 Visa Bulletin has been released by the U.S. Department of State (DOS). In November, there is some advancement in the oversubscribed employment-based (EB) categories for China....
View ArticleH1B Restrictions Increase “Offshoring”
Immigration law has never been more challenging than under the current administration. One area that has gone largely unexplored has been the unintended consequences of how multinational companies tend...
View ArticleDOS Rule on Determining Visa Ineligibility Based on Public Charge Grounds
On October 11, 2019, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) published an interim final rule in the Federal Register, entitled Visas: Ineligibility Based on Public Charge Grounds. Once this interim final...
View ArticleNov 2019 Visa Bulletin Check-In: Updated Predictions
Most months, Charles Oppenheim, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, provides visa bulletin explanations and predictions. Following the release of the...
View ArticleNewsFlash! Premium Processing Fee Increasing by $30
On October 31, 2019, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will publish a final rule in the Federal Register that will increase the premium processing fee to $1,440. This fee increase...
View ArticleNew Guidance Clarifies Student & College Obligations in Documenting...
A student in F-1 status typically is eligible to participate in optional practical training (OPT) upon completion of the degree program or, in some circumstances, before graduation. The purpose of OPT...
View ArticleDOS Visa Office Guidance on DS-160 Process
Representatives of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) recently met with representatives from the U.S. Department of State’s Visa Office (VO) to discuss current immigration policies and...
View ArticleNewsFlash! Judge Temporarily Blocks Enforcement of Health Insurance...
On November 2, 2019, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) that prevents enforcement of President Trump’s executive order that would have required a foreign national requesting...
View ArticleUpdated DOS Predictions on EB5 Wait Times
Charles Oppenheim, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, gave a presentation at the IIUSA EB5 Industry Forum on October 29, 2019, where he provided...
View ArticleNewsFlash! USCIS Proposes to Increase Filing Fees for Most Immigration Benefits
This evening, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a proposed rule to increase filing fees for most types of applications and petitions. It would also add a number of new...
View ArticleSecurity Features Added to Certain Travel Documents
On October 24, 2019 the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has begun producing a new travel document with new security features that will serve in place of permits to...
View ArticleUSCIS Restricts Criteria to Apply for Fee Waivers
Effective December 2, 2019, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is implementing a stricter, more formalized fee waiver policy. The USCIS justified this policy change by noting that...
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