The Department of State (DOS) has issued its September 2018 Visa Bulletin. As to be expected in the last month of the fiscal year (the new fiscal year begins on October 1), several categories are no longer current and other categories have experienced significant retrogressions.
Read MoreA recent report by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) confirms that the USCIS has exponentially increased the number of requests for evidence (“RFE”) it has issued for H-1B petitions and denials of L-1 petitions this past year as a result of the Trump administration’s “Buy American, Hire American” Executive Order. Notably, for H-1B petitions, the RFE rate jumped from 17.3% in Q1 (under the Obama administration) to 69% in Q4 2017.
Read MoreDuring a stakeholders teleconference yesterday, USCIS confirmed that processing times for Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, would continue to slow down as the agency intensifies its efforts to identify marriage fraud. Previously, I-751s were adjudicated within a year, but processing times are now reaching up to 20 months.
Read MoreThe Department of State (DOS) has issued its August 2018 Visa Bulletin. Most notably, the Employment-Based (“EB”)-1 category for all nationals worldwide (except for China and India) is no longer current and has retrogressed to May 1, 2016. EB-1 for Chinese and Indian nationals had no movement. EB-2 and EB-3 worldwide remains current. EB-2 for Chinese nationals advanced by two months, but there was no movement for EB-2 Indian nationals. EB-3 for Chinese, Indian and Philippine nationals also moved forward.
Read MoreThe enforcement priorities of the Trump administration when it comes to U.S. immigration continue to intensify. Late last week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) released guidance, expanding the range of cases in which it can initiate removal proceedings.
Read MoreOn June 26, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Trump administration’s Travel Ban (version 3.0) by a 5-4 vote. Formally referred to as the September 24, 2017, Presidential Proclamation, the Travel Ban restricts travel to the United States for nationals of the following seven countries: Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Venezuela, and North Korea. For Venezuela, the travel ban is limited to certain government officials and their family members visiting the U.S. on business or tourist visas (B-1/B-2).
Read MoreThe Department of State (DOS) has issued its July 2018 Visa Bulletin. Most notably, the Employment-Based (“EB”)-3 category for Chinese nationals retrogressed dramatically by two years and five months to January 1, 2013. EB-2 for Chinese and Indian nationals, and EB-3 for Indian nationals made significant advances while EB-1 for Chinese and Indian nationals and EB-3 for Philippine nationals had no movement.
Read MoreThe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is moving to officially end the International Entrepreneur Parole Program under which certain foreign national entrepreneurs could have come to the United States to develop and oversee start-up businesses. The Program was created by the Obama Administration and was supposed to take effect in July 2017. However, implementation of the Program has been delayed and, although USCIS started accepting applications in March 2018 (after a Court order), it’s unlikely that any applications actually have been approved.
Read MoreU.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memorandum this week, changing the way unlawful presence will be calculated for students (F-1), exchange visitors (J-1), and vocational students (M-1), and their dependents, while in the United States. The new policy memorandum will take effect on August 9, 2018.
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