posted on: July 27, 2021
A bill to authorize an additional 8,000 special immigrant visas for Afghan interpreters, contractors and other vulnerable allies was scheduled for House consideration on Thursday. The measure would open up the extra slots in a visa program designed to provide a safe haven for Afghan allies at risk of persecution or death if they remain […]
posted on: July 26, 2021
Nearly a decade after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to provide protections to undocumented immigrants brought here as children, Judge Andrew Hanen of the Southern District of Texas struck down the program on July 16, ordering U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to stop issuing […]
posted on: July 20, 2021
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced new policy guidance that eliminates the need for individuals who have applied for a change of status (COS) to F-1 student to apply to change or extend their nonimmigrant status while their initial F-1 COS application is pending. Under the previous policy, applicants needed to maintain status up […]
posted on: July 16, 2021
Senate Democrats’ supplemental spending bill for Capitol security would also make significant moves to protect Afghan interpreters and refugees as the U.S. military finishes its withdrawal from Afghanistan. The $3.7 billion measure, introduced Monday in response to the Jan. 6 riot, would increase the number of authorized Afghan special immigrant visas from 26,500 to 46,500. […]
posted on: July 12, 2021
Backlogs, processing delays, and revenue shortfalls are nothing new at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The agency has long suffered from severe structural problems that hurt people who depend on it for work authorization, adjustment of status, naturalization, and many other immigration benefits. However, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agency operations has […]
posted on: July 9, 2021
DHS has withdrawn a proposed rule that would have attacked fixed time limits to certain student visas. In September, the Trump administration proposed adding a fixed end-date to student visas when they are issued, which would have been a departure from the earlier practice of allowing the visas to remain valid as long as the international […]
posted on: June 25, 2021
In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is extending the flexibilities it announced on March 30, 2020, to assist applicants, petitioners and requestors who are responding to certain: Requests for Evidence; Continuations to Request Evidence (N-14); Notices of Intent to Deny; Notices of Intent to Revoke; Notices of Intent to […]
posted on: June 24, 2021
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced today it will accept resubmitted fiscal year (FY) 2021 H-1B cap-subject petitions that were rejected or administratively closed solely because the requested start date was after Oct. 1, 2020. If your FY 2021 petition was rejected or administratively closed solely because your petition was based on a registration submitted […]
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 […]
