On Nov. 18, Congressional Appropriation leadership introduced a 26-page Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund government and extend vital programs such as EB-5 through Dec. 20, 2019. Leaders hope to use the additional time to extend current operations and complete fiscal matters and other priorities before the holidays. In addition to the extension of time, the CR allows … Continue Reading
Nearly 96% of the USCIS budget derives from fees. In our coverage of Congress, appropriations, continuing resolutions, and government shutdowns, we are reminded that USCIS is a fee-driven agency, as it does not depend on appropriations for its operations and, for example, remains open during government shutdowns over appropriations. We wrote last week about a … Continue Reading
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it will require a $10 non-refundable fee for each H-1B registration, once it implements the electronic registration system. The final rule, Registration Fee Requirement for Petitioners Seeking to File H-1B Petitions on Behalf of Cap-Subject Aliens, will be effective Dec. 9, 2019. Upon implementation of the electronic registration system, … Continue Reading
As reported previously, President Trump announced that his administration has nominated Poland as a Visa Waiver Program (VWP) participating country. Today, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan formally announced the designation of Poland into the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) . On Nov. 11, 2019, Polish citizens and nationals will have the ability to apply for … Continue Reading
Today, Senators Graham (R-SC), Rounds (R-SD) and Cornyn (R-TX) introduced the “Immigrant Investor Program Relief Act” (S. 2778, the Act) proposing long overdue improvements to modernize the EB-5 program in alignment with industry and market principles. The Act reflects a fair compromise between rural and urban stakeholders providing substantial market advantages to rural and urban … Continue Reading
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Nov. 1, 2019, the extension of the validity of Temporary Protected Status (TPS)-related documentation for beneficiaries under the TPS designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan through Jan. 4, 2021. The announcement is based on a Federal Register notice that automatically extends the validity of … Continue Reading
On Oct. 30, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it is increasing the fee to request premium processing for certain employment-based petitions. Beginning on Nov. 29, 2019, The premium processing fee will increase to $1,440 from the current fee of $1,410 for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien … Continue Reading
Today, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele announced on Twitter a one-year extension (through Jan. 4, 2021) of the wind-down period of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 200,000 El Salvadorians working in the United States. Prior to today’s announcement and as previously reported, TPS status for El Salvador was extended in January 2018 through Sept. 9, 2019. Meanwhile, … 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
E-Verify released a reminder on Sept. 27, 2019, that certain employment authorization documents (EADs) issued by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries from Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, and El Salvador are automatically extended through Jan. 2, 2020. We reported the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) notice of their action … Continue Reading
On Oct. 4, 2019, President Trump issued a Proclamation, that will be effective on Nov. 3, 2019, suspending the entry of immigrants who will financially burden the United States healthcare system. The reasoning behind the issuance of this Proclamation is to not burden American taxpayers with immigrants who utilize the U.S. healthcare system without payment … Continue Reading
Today, President Trump announced that his administration has nominated Poland as a Visa Waiver Program (VWP) participating country. Entry into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program allows citizens of participating countries to travel to the United States for tourism, business, or in transit for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa. President Trump … Continue Reading
Today, the U.S. Senate approved the House-passed Continuing Resolution (CR; H.R. 4378 ) to fund the U.S. government through Nov. 21 by a bipartisan vote of 82-15. The last step in the process is the president’s signature which, according to media reports, remains likely. Please contact your GT attorney with any specific questions and check … Continue Reading
As previously reported, the rulemaking extending TPS for Syria has concluded: AGENCY: DHS-USCIS RIN: 1615-ZB72 Status: Concluded TITLE: Extension of the Designation of Syria for Temporary Protected Status STAGE: Notice ECONOMICALLY SIGNIFICANT: No RECEIVED DATE: 09/19/2019 LEGAL DEADLINE: None ** COMPLETED: 09/20/2019 COMPLETED ACTION: Consistent with Change DATES: Extension of Designation of Syria for TPS: The … Continue Reading
Greenberg Traurig recently sponsored the 2019 Samsung Gives Charity Gala in New York City. With hundreds of guests in attendance, including musicians, athletes, and celebrities, this program is dedicated to celebrating worthy causes, furthering community impact, and honoring organizations and the people who work so hard every single day to make the world a better place. … Continue Reading
Yesterday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) introduced a continuing resolution (CR) to fund government from end of the current fiscal year, Sept. 30, until Nov. 21, 2019. By a vote of 301-123, the House today passed H.R. 4378, the CR that will fund the government through Nov. 21. To EB-5 advocates, this timing is significant … Continue Reading
On Aug. 23, 2019, our firm wrote about the U.S. Department of State’s (DOS) announcement that the validity period of E-1 and E-2 visas for French Nationals would be reduced from 60 months to 15 months effective Aug 29, 2019. The effective date has now been postponed to Sept. 26, 2019. The general rule is that different … Continue Reading
On Aug. 28, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued new policy guidance “to address requirements for ‘residence’ in statutory provisions related to citizenship, and to rescind previous guidance regarding children of U.S. government employees and members of the U.S. armed forces employed or stationed outside the United States.” USCIS has updated its Policy … Continue Reading
With only a 9-day notice, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced critical restrictions on French Nationals for E visas on August 20, 2019. The general rule is that different types of U.S. visas have different visa validity periods depending on the nationality of the visa applicant because the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) requires … Continue Reading
The H-1B program is undergoing even more scrutiny under the current White House administration. Under the “Buy American, Hire American” Executive Order, the goal is for companies to hire only the best and the brightest for visa sponsorship, mostly H-1B visa holders. The Department of Labor (DOL), the governmental agency that handles the public disclosure … Continue Reading
The Department of Homeland Security has announced an extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) through March 31, 2021, for approximately 7,000 Syrian nationals legally in the United States. For more information on Syria or other TPS matters, please contact your GT attorney or click here. This blog will be updated as information becomes available, so please check back … Continue Reading
As an update to previous entries, the Office of Management and Budget has posted the conclusion of DHS/USCIS Public Charge Rule review: Department of Homeland Security AGENCY: DHS-USCIS RIN: 1615-AA22 Status: Concluded TITLE: Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds STAGE: Final Rule ECONOMICALLY SIGNIFICANT: Yes RECEIVED DATE: 07/12/2019 LEGAL DEADLINE: None ** COMPLETED: 07/31/2019 COMPLETED ACTION: Consistent … Continue Reading
On a second trip to the House floor in a week, HR 549 (the Venezuela TPS Act of 2019) was passed by the House with a bipartisan vote of 272-158. The bill failed to obtain two-thirds of the House for suspension calendar passage on July 23 and was resurrected by sponsors on July 24 for reconsideration in … Continue Reading
After years of delay the Obama-era EB-5 immigration regulations were published on July 24, 2019. You can find a copy of the regulations at this link. You can also find a summary of them here. The regulations only apply to those who file their I-526 Petitions on or after Nov. 21, 2019. Without further ado, below are … Continue Reading
