The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision (Ma v. Sessions) earlier this month, upholding the removal order of an H-1B worker whose timely filed H-1B extension petition was denied and whose following application for permanent residence based on employment also was denied. The court reasoned that the H-1B worker was not eligible for permanent residence because he had more than 180 days of unlawful status by the time he had filed his application for permanent residence. The H-1B worker argued that he was in lawful status while his H-1B extension petition was pending because the regulations automatically extend work authorization during this time and that he only started accruing unlawful status once his extension petition was denied. The court disagreed. It held that such work authorization does not constitute “lawful status” and that the H-1B worker had ceased to be in lawful status once the underlying petition had expired. As such, the H-1B worker had well over 180 days of unlawful status at the time he applied for permanent residence and was not eligible for any relief.
Read MoreThe Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) unit, which is responsible for immigration enforcement along U.S. borders, has indicated it will expand the use of facial recognition technology to record departure information from international travelers. The technology is being implemented gradually at airports nationwide.
Read MoreStarting October 1, 2018, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) may begin removal (also referred to as “deportation”) proceedings after denying an application for a benefit, such as an application for adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident (Form I-485), naturalization (Form N-400), or change or extension of status (Form I-539). This new policy stems from President Trump’s Executive Order 13768, “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States.”
Read MoreUSCIS announced today that it will temporarily suspend premium processing for most H-1B petitions filed at the Vermont and California Service Centers beginning September 11, 2018. USCIS expects that the suspension will last until February 19, 2019.
Read MoreUSCIS has clarified that STEM OPT extensions are available to international students who will work at a site other than the employer’s principal place of business. USCIS updated its website on Friday, August 17, with this clarification.
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 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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