Yesterday, Federal Judge Edward Chen, of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, issued a preliminary injunction temporarily stopping the United States government from rescinding the temporary protected status designation for immigrants from Sudan, El Salvador, Haiti, and Nicaragua. By court order, the government must maintain…
Visa Lawyer Blog
Reminder for F-1 Students in “Cap-Gap” Status
If you are an F-1 student with an H-1B petition that remains pending with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and your “cap-gap” employment authorization is only valid through September 30, 2018, you may risk accruing unlawful presence if you continue to work on or after October 1,…
NTA Policy Memo to be Implemented Beginning October 1st for I-485 and I-539s
Several months ago, we reported that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) amended its policy regarding the issuance of Notice to Appear (NTA) documents in removal proceedings. During the month of June, USCIS released a policy memorandum indicating the agency’s intent to revise NTA policy to better align…
DHS Proposes New Rule to Restrict Admission of Aliens Reliant on Public Benefits
On Saturday, September 22, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security announced a new proposed rule that may prevent non-citizens reliant, or likely to become reliant on public benefits, from gaining admission to the United States. The new proposal entitled, “Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds,” has been signed by the Secretary…
Upcoming Visa Trends and Projections: EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, EB-5
In this post, we would like to keep our readers informed about Visa Bulletin projections for the coming months. Charles Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division of the U.S. Department of State provides a monthly analysis of each month’s Visa Bulletin including discussion of current trends and…
This Week In Immigration: Immigrants Receive “Fake Dates” on Notices to Appear in Court
“Fake Dates” Appear on Notices of intent to Deny Across the nation, news outlets are reporting that dozens of individuals have received court orders from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ordering them to appear in court by a certain date. The problem? When these individuals showed up to court on…
Guidance on New USCIS Policy Denying Petitions without first issuing RFE or NOID
We would like to remind our readers that beginning September 11, 2018, USCIS immigration officers will have the discretion to issue denials without first issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOIDs). The new policy was announced in a policy memorandum released during the month…
Weekly Immigration News: I-751 Filing Location Changed, TPS Somalia, and ICE Enforcement Actions for the month of August
I-751 Change to Filing Location Today, Monday September 10, 2018, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a change to the filing location for Form I-751 Removal of Conditions. The agency is now directing petitioners to send Form I-751 to a USCIS Lockbox facility instead of directly to the…
Is the TN Visa right for you?
If you are a citizen of Canada or Mexico and you are interested in working in the United States temporarily, the TN visa may be right for you. Under 8 CFR 214.16, Citizens of Canada or Mexico may seek temporary entry under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to…
DACA Program Will Remain…. For Now
Photo by Molly Adams On Friday August 31, 2018, Texas District Judge Andrew Hanen declined to issue a preliminary injunction that would have put a stop to the DACA program immediately. As we previously reported, the fate of the DACA program now rests in Judge Hanen’s hands, who is currently…