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.” Later, on July 13, 2018, the USCIS issued a Policy Memorandum titled “Issuance of Certain RFEs and NOIDs.” … 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
On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives began debate on two immigration bills aiming to enhance border and interior enforcement of immigration law, among other matters. The two bills were the result of House Republican Majority discussion on approaches to effectively address the Administration’s call to secure America’s borders and provide for Deferred Action Childhood … Continue Reading
On June 20, 2018, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) titled “Affording Congress an Opportunity to Address Family Separation.” The stated purpose of this EO is to confirm the policy of the Administration with regard to immigration and entry of persons at the border. The text of the EO restates the policy stance … Continue Reading
As we previously reported, in January 2018 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) automatically extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Honduras for six months through an automatic extension, given that DHS did not make a decision regarding Honduras’s designation which was set to expire. At the time, Honduras’s TPS designation was automatically extended … Continue Reading
Today, Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen, announced an additional 15,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural visas will be available for Fiscal Year 2018. DHS had been under political pressure to release additional H-2B visas by businesses and industry groups citing labor workforce needs. Groups had been calling for the immediate release of additional H-2Bs to help … Continue Reading
On April 26, 2018, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen announced, after reviewing country conditions and consulting with various U.S. government agencies, that the grounds for Nepal’s TPS designation on the basis of an environmental disaster are no longer met and as such, termination of the designation is required by statute. As a result, … Continue Reading
USCIS issued a policy alert on May 16, 2018, to announce that it will revise its policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual. The changes will be effective as of May 15, 2018. The policy guidance reverses the previous stance on the tenant occupancy economic methodology. The new policy guidance does not consider the tenant-occupancy … Continue Reading
On May 15, USCIS announced completion of H-1B lottery picks for this year. H-1B cap petitioners can expect notification from USCIS in the next several weeks. In an update on its website, USCIS said it has completed data entry for all fiscal year 2019 H-1B cap-subject petitions selected in its computer-generated random selection process. USCIS … Continue Reading
The Department of State’s (DOS) June 2018 Visa Bulletin showed very little movement the employment-based categories. Referring to the Final Action Dates, the following are the updates for the June Visa Bulletin:… Continue Reading
On April 25, 2018, European Union ambassadors reached an agreement between the European Council and representatives of the European Union Parliament for a European version of the U.S. Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).… Continue Reading
Update on USCIS Efforts to comply with “Buy American and Hire American” On April 4, 2018, the Director of USCIS, Lee Francis Cissna, penned a letter to Chairman Grassley to update him on USCIS’ efforts to comply with the April 2017 Executive Order, “Buy American, Hire American.” The contents of the letter are broken into … Continue Reading
USCIS has announced that it received 190,098 H-1B petitions during the filing period for FY2019, which began on April 2, 2018, including petitions filed for the advanced degree exemption. This year’s number of petitions is lower than the 199,000 H-1B petitions filed in FY2018. Per the regulations, on April 11, USCIS conducted its random lottery … Continue Reading
USCIS announced today, April 6, 2018, that the FY 2019 H-1B cap is now closed because it has received a sufficient number of H‐1B petitions to reach the 65,000 statutory cap as well as the 20,000 advanced degree exemption. The announcement did not provide details about the total number of H-1B petitions filed. USCIS will … Continue Reading
Ten shareholders from global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP have been selected to be members of Law360’s 2018 Editorial Advisory Boards. The 10 attorneys span 11 practices and eight offices, including Ian R. Macdonald for the Immigration Editorial Advisory Board. To read the full list, click here.… Continue Reading
From April 30, 2018, to Oct. 31, 2018, the USCIS California Service Center (CSC) and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Blaine, Washington, port of entry (POE) will implement a joint agency pilot program for Canadian citizens seeking L-1 nonimmigrant status under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This pilot is … Continue Reading
The Department of State (DOS) has noticed for public comment an Information Collection Review – Electronic Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration that would require immigrants coming to the United States to submit five years of social media history. This effort is viewed by many as a component of “enhanced vetting” on behalf of the … Continue Reading
On March 23, 2018, USCIS significantly changed its interpretation of the H-1B rules by issuing a policy memorandum adopting the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) decision Matter of S- Inc. The issue addressed in Matter of S- Inc. is the meaning of the term “related entities” in cases where multiple employers file cap-subject H-1B petitions for … Continue Reading
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced a temporary suspension of premium processing for 2019 Fiscal Year H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those cases seeking exemption on the basis of the beneficiary having obtained a U.S. masters or higher degree. It is expected that the temporary suspension will last until Sept. 10, 2018. The reason for … 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
The Business Immigration & Compliance Practice of Greenberg Traurig, LLP is pleased to announce that Courtney B. Noce has been elevated to shareholder in the Atlanta office. Noce focuses her practice on U.S. business immigration, compliance, and enforcement actions, as well as global immigration. She represents both large multinational companies and small startups on the … Continue Reading
GT hosted a Washington, D.C. reception of the National Immigration Forum (NIF) on “What Drives The Immigration Debate: A Conversation.” Welcoming remarks were made by Eddie Aldrete, Senior Vice President, IBC Bank, and Board Chair of the National Immigration Forum that recognized Laura Reiff, immediate past Chairman of the NIF, for her former and continued … Continue Reading
On Feb. 16, 2018, USCIS published the final policy memorandum on signature requirements, which changed its existing rules for signatures on written requests filed with USCIS. Effective March 18, 2018, all paper filings with the USCIS must include a handwritten ink signature and USCIS will no longer accept signatures of individuals based on power of … Continue Reading
On Feb. 26, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the Department of Justice’s petition for writ of certiorari in a Ninth Circuit DACA Case. The Court took the unusual step of encouraging the federal court to act stating “It is assumed the Court of Appeals will proceed expeditiously to decide the case.” This action means that … Continue Reading
