On Feb. 23, 2020, the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Italy announced that the U.S. Consulate General in Milan will temporarily suspend its routine visa services until March 2, 2020, due to the recent spread of respiratory illness COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease). See Health Alert: U.S. Embassy Rome, Italy. On the same day, the U.S. Centers for … Continue Reading
There are reported leadership changes at USCIS. According to reports, Joe Edlow, chief counsel of USCIS, has been appointed deputy director for policy, assuming responsibilities of Mark Koumans, deputy USCIS director and interim leader, who takes a new deputy director for operations role. According to reports, Mr. Koumans may return to DHS in a new … Continue Reading
On Feb. 7, 2020, the official visa information website of the U.S. mission in China (http://cdn.ustraveldocs.com/cn/index.html?firstTime=No) announced that as of Feb. 3, 2020, regular visa services at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and Consulates General in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenyang are all suspended. The notice further states that the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in … Continue Reading
The Public Charge Inadmissibility Final Rule was issued in August 2019 and was to go into effect October 2019, when a preliminary injunction with national scope was granted that prevented the Department of Homeland Security from implementing the rule. On Jan. 27, 2020, the Supreme Court stayed the national injunction, and DHS may now implement the … Continue Reading
Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, one of the most widely filed USCIS forms, is filed by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident petitioning for an immediate or close relative intending to immigrate to the United States. Until now, petitioners had the option of filing Form I-130 with the USCIS, directly with the USCIS … Continue Reading
On Jan. 31, 2020, President Trump issued a Proclamation, effective Feb. 21, 2020, imposing even more limitations on visa issuance and travel to the United States for additional countries entitled “Proclamation on Improving Enhanced Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry.” This Proclamation follows his first travel ban from March 2017 where the Secretary … Continue Reading
The Trump Administration has publicly announced that on 5 p.m. eastern time Sunday, February 2, 2020, it will deny entry to all foreign nationals who have been in China within the last 14 days (since January 19, 2020). This ban does not apply to the following individuals: (1) Lawful permanent residents (Green Card holders); (2) … Continue Reading
On Jan. 31, the official visa information website of the U.S. mission in China posted an urgent announcement that U.S. Embassy and Consulates in China are cancelling immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments the week of Feb. 3. The visa information website cannot provide a specific date when routine visa services will be resumed. We expect EB-5 investors, … Continue Reading
On Jan. 31, 2020, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) published in the Federal Register a notice announcing a new version of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification (I-9 Form). The I-9 Form is required to be used by certain employers to verify each individual they hire for employment in the United States is legally … Continue Reading
On Jan. 29, 2020, USCIS announced that it would be making a significant change to the processing of I-526 Petitions, commonly referred to as EB-5 Petitions. USCIS previously had a policy to adjudicate EB-5 Petitions on a “first-in, first-out” basis. This meant that USCIS was to review and decide EB-5 Petitions based solely on the date the … Continue Reading
As many of our readers are aware, the novel coronavirus1 outbreak in China is a major public health concern. At the time of publishing this blog post, the U.S. has not restricted travel for visitors who may be coming from Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, the now-quarantined city that is the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. … Continue Reading
Due to the coronavirus outbreak throughout China, a number of heavily infected Chinese cities, including Wuhan, are under quarantine, whereas many other parts of China have imposed certain types of travel restrictions in an attempt to limit the spread of the virus. On Jan. 28, 2020, the U.S. Consulate General of Hong Kong & Macau … Continue Reading
As of Jan. 23, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will no longer accept requests for changes to E-1 or E-2 status or extensions of E-1 or E-2 status from Iranian nationals and their dependents (see USCIS notice concerning termination of eligibility). This change applies to Iranian nationals who are already in the United … Continue Reading
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) processing times for Employment Authorization Document (EAD) applications continue to increase despite already being at record highs. EADs are relied upon by many categories of foreign nationals to allow them to work lawfully in the United States. The processing times vary by USCIS Service Center, in addition … Continue Reading
A number of changes to U.S. immigration law occurred in 2019. As we look ahead into the new year, we continue to see new and proposed changes to U.S. immigration policy. This webinar will discuss significant developments from 2019 as well as a summary of potential changes to the U.S. business immigration system in 2020. Wednesday, January … Continue Reading
On Jan. 9, 2020, USCIS posted a Notice in the Federal Register announcing the implementation of the H-1B registration process for H-1B cap-subject petitions. USCIS notes: The initial H-1B petition registration period will begin on March 1, 2020. Starting on that date, USCIS will require H-1B cap-subject petitioners, including those eligible for the advanced degree … Continue Reading
On Dec. 20, 2019, President Trump signed H.R. 1865, an eight-bill appropriations bill that extends the vital EB-5 program until Sept. 30, 2020, among other things. The president also signed H.R. 1158, a four-bill appropriations package that deals mainly with national security issues. Upon his signature, these actions fund and maintain the operation of government … Continue Reading
On Dec. 16, Congressional leaders negotiated and debuted a $1.37 trillion spending package to fund the operational needs of the country and extend vital programs such as EB-5. The massive spending package is in two packages with Division 1-Extensions, Title 1, Immigration Extensions calling for the EB-5 extension: 17 SEC. 104. Section 610(b) of the … Continue Reading
As we previously reported here, USCIS published a notice of proposed rulemaking for an adjustment of fees to meet operational needs. Today, USCIS announced an extension of the comment period on the proposed fee increases for future years from Dec. 16 to Dec. 30, 2019. USCIS stated: SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is … Continue Reading
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), after publishing the final rule for a new H-1B lottery process in January 2019 has announced that the testing period is now over for the registration process in relation to the H-1B lottery and implementation will go into effect for the fiscal year 2021 H-1B cap. See the USCIS … Continue Reading
On Nov. 26, 2019, a complaint for Injunctive Relief and a Temporary Restraining Order was filed by Florida EB-5 Investments, LLC against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) challenging a Nov. 21, 2019, DHS-issued final rule amending its regulations for the EB-5 program to purportedly modernize the rules (EB–5 Immigrant Investor Program Modernization, 84 Fed. … Continue Reading
Twice a year, the Office of Management and Budget, in concert with the General Services Administration and its own Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, publish the Unified Regulatory Agenda (Unified Agenda). The Unified Agenda is a transparency program that publishes federal agency rulemakings in process. It is not a process set in concrete but … Continue Reading
The Department of State (DOS) has implemented revised visa stamp reciprocity for L-1, L-2 and E-1/ E-2 visa holders. Now, the maximum validity date of an L-1 or L-2 visa of a French national will be seventeen (17) months. The previous validity period was five (5) years. The new validity period for E-1 and E-2 … Continue Reading
The EB-5 Regional Center Program was set to expire on Nov. 21, 2019. On Nov. 18, Congress introduced a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the 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 … Continue Reading
