The United States is now under a national emergency due to the COVID-19 epidemic. While USCIS remains open and is accepting all mail at the time of writing, it has canceled all in-person appointments, including interviews, biometrics and InfoPass appointments, through April 7, 2020. All appointments will be automatically rescheduled by USCIS when possible. While all … Continue Reading
On Oct. 17 a fiery debate occurred on the U.S. Senate floor. Two great supporters of immigrants and immigration reform, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL, Minority Floor Leader) and Mike Lee (R-UT, Chairman, Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust) battled to a draw on an issue they both support – eliminating the per-country caps on employment-based immigration. … Continue Reading
On March 14, USCIS released an Inspector General’s report on Green Card Processing Times. The report found that green card processing times exceeded the existing 120-day goal by taking an average of 282 days to complete. The report identified processing times are greatly affected by interviews and vetting occurring at USCIS. The report made two … Continue Reading
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is denying Advance Parole (AP) applications when an applicant travels internationally while the application is pending with USCIS. This represents a big adjudication shift by USCIS, which has for several years allowed certain AP applicants to travel abroad while waiting for USCIS to approve an AP application. By making … Continue Reading
Today, President Trump joined Senator David Perdue (R-GA) and Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) announcing the introduction of a bill titled “Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act,” known also as the “RAISE Act.” The president praised the work of the senators and in a statement added, “We want a merit-based system. One that protects … Continue Reading
USCIS has issued a new online tutorial for immigrants that will help determine when a Form I-485, Application for Adjustment of Status, can be filed with USCIS. For those immigrants who have a family-based or employment-based immigrant petition filed or approved on their behalf, the new Visa Bulletin tutorial details how to determine your priority … Continue Reading
It has been reported that President Trump’s administration is likely preparing to effectuate additional changes affecting immigration issues. Specifically, in addition to the Executive Order executed on Jan. 27, 2017, the administration is reportedly working on additional Executive Orders, a released draft of which addresses the availability and use of advance parole, among other issues … Continue Reading
Kate Kalmykov, shareholder at Greenberg Traurig, and Jordi S. Bayer, associate at Greenberg Traurig, recently authored an article in the New Jersey Law Journal (NJLJ) discussing creative solutions for employers to sponsor foreign national employees for Green Cards. Kate and Jordi highlight the similarities and differences between Extraordinary Ability, Outstanding Researcher and National Interest Waiver … Continue Reading
