posted on: June 21, 2021
Twice each year, the federal government publishes a “regulatory agenda,” a preview of all the proposals that are in the pipeline to become federal regulations. Last week, the Biden administration used the 2021 Spring Regulatory Agenda to indicate the many ways that it intends to move away from the Trump era, in everything from legal immigration to […]
posted on: June 21, 2021
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on June 16 that he is restoring a vital lifeline to survivors of gender-based violence, gang violence, and violence on account of family relationships. Garland issued two decisions overruling Trump-era Attorneys General Jeff Sessions and William Barr’s rulings disqualify many such individuals from asylum in the United States. Garland’s rulings […]
posted on: June 18, 2021
Thousands of winners of the annual visa lottery sued the Biden administration, saying its policies have brought diversity visa processing to a standstill, negatively affecting their chance to live in the U.S. In a complaint filed Monday, roughly 24,000 lottery winners and their families accused President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken and two State Dept. […]
posted on: June 16, 2021
USCIS will offer lockbox filing flexibilities to provide relief to certain applicants and petitioners impacted by delays at a USCIS lockbox. These flexibilities only apply to benefit requests submitted to a USCIS lockbox and not to USCIS service centers or field offices. Applicants and petitioners can contact the agency to verify previously filed benefit requests have not […]
posted on: June 15, 2021
On Thursday, the New American Economy (NAE) released a report documenting that the U.S. does not have enough high-skilled workers to meet demand for computer-related jobs, and employers are seeking immigrant talent to help fill that gap. A bipartisan immigration research group found that for every unemployed computer or math worker in the country in 2020, there […]
posted on: June 14, 2021
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued new policy updates in the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify the criteria and circumstances for expedited processing; improve request for evidence (RFE) and notice of intent to deny (NOID) guidance; and increase the validity period for initial and renewal employment authorization documents (EADs) for certain noncitizens with pending adjustment of […]
posted on: June 10, 2021
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued three new policy updates in the USCIS Policy Manual. These updates: Clarify the criteria and circumstances for expedited processing; Address the circumstances in which officers should issue Requests for Evidence (RFEs) and Notices of Intent to Deny (NOIDs); and Extend the validity period for initial and renewal employment […]
posted on: June 8, 2021
On May 25, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a temporary final rule making available an additional 22,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural guest worker visas for fiscal year 2021 to employers who are likely to suffer irreparable harm without these additional workers. While 16,000 of the additional visas are limited to returning workers, 6,000 visas have been […]
posted on: June 7, 2021
A few Indians have joined in the ongoing litigation that is challenging the COVID-related travel ban to the U.S. The amended complaint was filed with a federal court in Washington, D.C. to include the travel ban for those physically present in India. While green card holders were exempt from the travel ban, it has strongly affected […]
posted on: June 3, 2021
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that applicants, petitioners, requestors, and beneficiaries may call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 to request to reschedule biometric services appointments. Previously, the only way to request rescheduling a biometric services appointment scheduled at a USCIS Application Support Center was by mailing a letter to the USCIS. The […]
