Policy

This category displays articles relating to immigration and labor compliance policies coming from Congress or any of the executive agencies tasked with defining and enforcing the U.S. immigration policies.

October 2023 Government Shutdown and Immigration: (How) Will It Affect Me?

Many of our clients and readers have been anxiously awaiting news from Washington, DC regarding the funding of the federal government and the threat of shutdown and how it would impact immigration processing.    We are providing an overview [...]

By |2023-10-01T21:02:22-04:00September 21st, 2023|Articles, Government Shutdown, News, News Alert, Policy, USCIS|

Details of the New Public Charge Rule (Effective from December 23, 2022)

Starting December 23, 2022, a new Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility final rule is in effect (see the full USCIS policy alert).     The final rule details how USCIS will apply the public charge ground of inadmissibility and [...]

By |2023-01-05T12:35:54-05:00January 5th, 2023|Articles, I-485, News, News Alert, Policy|

USCIS Restrictions on Multiple H-1B Cap Petitions for Same Beneficiary by Related Employers

Update:  March 2024.   Starting FY2025 H-1B cap season, USCIS will switch to beneficiary-centric selection process which will count each beneficiary only once for registration selection purposes.  See more details about the new rule. Update:  March 2022.   Starting FY2023 H-1B cap season, USCIS requires H-1B registrant employers to make an additional attestation which reads, I further [...]

By |2024-02-01T10:17:51-05:00March 3rd, 2022|Articles, H-1B, News, News Alert, Policy, USCIS|

President Trump Temporarily Suspends U.S. Entry for Certain H-1B, J-1 and L-1 Workers

In an executive order dated Monday, June 22, 2020, President Trump has temporarily barred certain work visa holders from entering the U.S. The restriction becomes effective at 12:01 a.m. EDT on June 24, 2020, will expire on December 31, 2020 (unless renewed), and will ban certain H, J and L work visa holders from entering [...]

By |2020-08-13T10:02:12-04:00June 22nd, 2020|Articles, L-1, News, News Alert, Policy|

USCIS Makes Substantial Changes to I-539 Application Process Starting March 11, 2019

USCIS has announced that it is making changes to Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status and that the new revised form will be the only version allowed starting March 11, 2019.  Unfortunately,  USCIS has also indicated that the form itself will only be available on USCIS website on March 11, 2019 - the same [...]

By |2023-09-26T11:20:55-04:00February 14th, 2019|Articles, Fees, News, News Alert, Policy|

USCIS Proposes Rule to Change H-1B Cap Lottery System and US Master’s Degree Lottery

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) has published a proposed rule which seeks to amend in substantial ways the way the annual H-1B “cap” work visa applications and lottery are being filed and how the U.S. master’s degree applications are being allocated under the H-1B cap lottery. Please note that this is a proposed [...]

By |2018-12-06T11:33:00-05:00December 6th, 2018|Articles, Employees, Employers, H-1B, News, News Alert, Policy|

USCIS Ombudsman Listening Session on H-1B Premium Processing Suspension

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Ombudsman Office is organizing a listening session regarding the suspension of premium processing for most H-1B petitions.   The goal of this session is to hear from the public how the H-1B premium processing suspension [...]

By |2018-10-25T10:39:43-04:00October 25th, 2018|H-1B, News, News Alert, Policy|

New USCIS Policy Extends I-693 Medical Exam Validity to Two Years; But Must File I-693 Earlier

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service ("USCIS") have just announced a change in their policy regarding the validity period of a Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, when filed in support of a Form I-485 Adjustment of Status Application.   Effective November 1, 2018, the I-693 medical report will be valid for two [...]

By |2022-03-28T15:38:11-04:00October 18th, 2018|AOS, Articles, I-485, News, News Alert, Policy|

USCIS Notice to Appear (NTA) Policy Implementation Begins – What to Expect?

On October 1, 2018, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) began implementing the new policy regarding issuance of Notice to Appear (NTA) regarding certain inadmissible and deportable foreign nationals who are in the U.S.    USCIS is [...]

By |2018-10-04T11:05:06-04:00October 4th, 2018|Articles, ICE, News, News Alert, Policy|

New USCIS Policy Creates I-140 Revocation Notice Rights to AC21 Porting Beneficiaries; Requires Proactive AC21 Porting Filing

In a November 11, 2017 Policy Memorandum, USCIS has formally adopted a recent AAO decision in Matter of V-S-G Inc. and has provided guidance on its impact on AC21 beneficiaries where the underlying I-140 immigrant petition is being revoked.   The new policy memorandum states that beneficiaries who have properly ported their green card process to [...]

By |2017-12-07T10:05:46-05:00December 7th, 2017|AOS, Articles, Employees, Employers, I-140, I-485, News, News Alert, Policy|

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