In today’s world of evolving multinational organizations, from hierarchical to flat structures, and increased scrutiny of the L-1 visa category by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the challenges of the “function manager” position within the L-1A visa and First Preference Employment-based immigrant visa for Multinational Managers or Executives (EB-1 MM) classifications continue to cause … Continue Reading
On Aug. 31, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed a final rule in the Federal Register to increase the premium processing fee for certain visa petitions to $1,410, effective Oct. 1, 2018. Premium processing, a service offered for certain petitions, requires U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to adjudicate a petition (i.e., approve, … Continue Reading
USCIS is extending the temporary suspension of premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions and, beginning Sept. 11, 2018, will be expanding this temporary suspension to include certain additional H-1B petitions. The suspensions are expected to last until Feb. 19, 2019. While H-1B premium processing is suspended, USCIS will reject any request for premium processing filed with … Continue Reading
Following the July 20 announcement of the granting of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalian beneficiaries, the Department of Homeland Security published a notice on Aug. 27 with instructions for the 18-month Somalian TPS extension from Sept. 18, 2018 through March 17, 2020. The 60-day re-registration period runs from Aug. 27, 2018 through Oct. 26. 2018. … Continue Reading
The USCIS announced a re-registration period of Aug. 14, 2018, and Oct. 15, 2018, for current Yemen beneficiaries under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the United States. This action follows the July 5th announcement extending current Yemen TPS beneficiaries until March 3, 2020.… Continue Reading
On Aug. 7, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the Fiscal Year 2017 Entry/Exit Overstay Report (or Overstay Report). Visa Overstay Reports have been requested by Congress in recent fiscal years as a means to encourage development of a barometric Port of Entry visa checking system and to report on overstays that were identified … Continue Reading
The Department of State (DOS) recently released the September 2018 Visa Bulletin. The charts below show movement in employment-based categories. Referring to the Final Action Dates, following are updates from the September Visa Bulletin: EB-1: Mainland China and India had no movement, with a cutoff date of Jan. 1, 2012, while El Salvador/Guatemala/Honduras, Mexico, Philippines, and Vietnam … Continue Reading
The National Law Journal selected the 2018 Trailblazers in Immigration. This year, Greenberg Traurig Immigration & Compliance attorneys Laura Reiff and Kate Kalmykov were recognized on the list for their notable achievements in the practice of law. Kalmykov leads the immigration practice group in the firm’s New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia offices. She has more … Continue Reading
As an update to an earlier post, on Aug. 1, the president signed the Knowledgeable Innovators and Worthy Investors Act (KIWI Act) granting E-1 and E-2 status to certain New Zealand nationals under mutual considerations. This will permit citizens of New Zealand to apply for U.S. visas to carry on significant trade with the United States … Continue Reading
As previously reported, on June 28, 2018, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Memorandum titled “Updated Guidance for the Referral of Cases and Issuance of Notices to Appear (NTAs) in Cases Involving Inadmissible and Deportable Aliens.” USCIS has announced that because it is waiting for operational guidance on the Policy Memo from … Continue Reading
Yesterday, Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen, announced that after careful review of many factors, an extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalia beneficiaries would be granted until March 17, 2020. Somalian TPS beneficiaries are a relatively small population, approximately 500 persons, but this act today demonstrates the ability of DHS to make case-by-case … Continue Reading
Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen has announced her determination that an extension of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Somalia is warranted pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act. After carefully reviewing conditions in Somalia with interagency partners, Secretary Nielsen determined the ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions that support … Continue Reading
Today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, announced an extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 1,250 Yemeni beneficiaries. This extension is somewhat unique in that (1) Yemen is one of seven countries listed in the travel ban and (2) this extension goes against the current trend of not extending TPS for … Continue Reading
The U.S. Supreme Court, on June 26, 2018, upheld President Trump’s Proclamation on the Travel Ban in Trump v. Hawaii. As previously blogged, the Proclamation was issued by President Trump on Sept. 24, 2018. It was then blocked by the District Court, after which the Ninth Circuit partially stayed, and on Dec. 4, 2017, the … Continue Reading
Law360 recently published an article by Rebecca B. Schechter and Courtney B. Noce titled, “The New Normal For Business Immigration in 2018.” The article discusses the year ahead and what employers can expect in terms of immigration. Schechter and Noce provide insights on “Buy American, Hire American” (BAHA), including increased scrutiny and stricter requirements. Additionally, the … Continue Reading
The Department of Homeland Security announced the cessation of Temporary Protected Status of citizens from El Salvador. This decision follows recent TPS decisions for Haiti, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Today’s decision will impact more than 200,000 Salvadorans in the United States for more than 15 – 20 years. DHS has announced a transition period through Sept. 9, 2019. … Continue Reading
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) automatically extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Honduras for six months through a notice published in the Federal Register. This was an automatic extension given that DHS did not make a decision on Honduras’ designation that was set to expire. Current beneficiaries of TPS under Honduras’ designation … Continue Reading
Greenberg Traurig Laura Reiff, co-chair of Greenberg Traurig’s Immigration and Compliance practice, was recently quoted in the Bloomberg Law article, “Trump Stretches Meaning of Deregulation in Touting Achievements.” The article reviews a list of the administration’s deregulation achievements in 2017, including the H-2B visa program regulation. Reiff highlights the additional requirements placed on businesses that wanted … Continue Reading
Greenberg Traurig’s Business Immigration and Compliance team thanks our clients, colleagues and fellow industry members for a successful 2017 and look forward to the new year ahead. Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.… Continue Reading
Since the introduction of the Executive Order “Buy American, Hire American” (BAHA), federal agencies, including DHS and USCIS, are following the directive to focus on protecting U.S. workers and U.S. resources. The USCIS website was updated as of Dec. 20, 2017 regarding BAHA and below are key highlights from this update, which is essentially a … Continue Reading
Greenberg Traurig Laura Reiff, Co-Chair Business Immigration and Compliance, was recently quoted in the Bloomberg Law article, “Immigration Attorneys on Their toes in the Age of Trump.” The article discusses the developments in immigration in 2017 and how attorneys are handling the new environment. Reiff expresses the need to be more proactive as immigration attorneys … Continue Reading
By a vote of 235-193, the House passed H.J. Res 123, the Continuing Appropriations Act. Upon passage, H.J.Res 123 was sent immediately to the Senate, where it passed by a vote of 81-14. The Bill now goes to the president wherein he is expected to sign it into law. Today’s action extends government operations and … Continue Reading
The U.S. Mission in Turkey has resumed limited processing of nonimmigrant visas following the earlier suspension of nonimmigrant visa services in all U.S. diplomatic posts in Turkey back on Oct. 8, 2017. The U.S. Mission in Turkey will process nonimmigrant visas on a limited basis with a reduced number of appointments in both Ankara and … Continue Reading
On Tuesday, Oct. 10, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed an appeal in Trump v. International Refugee Assistance Project (16-1436), one of the cases challenging a provision in a now-expired version of President Trump’s travel ban (Executive Order No. 13780).… Continue Reading
