Immigration

The Biden administration is developing a system in Qatar to speed up the processing of at-risk Afghans overseas that are seeking permanent legal status in the U.S. and a resettlement destination. The U.S. has already received and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans through a temporary humanitarian process known as parole. Humanitarian parole leaves the Afghan evacuees […]

The U.S. will grant an additional 20,000 H-2B visas for the first half of the fiscal year to address the labor shortage. The U.S. government hopes that the additional visas will help the U.S employers that are facing irreparable harm if they cannot get additional workers on or before March 31, 2022. The additional visas became […]

USCIS updated guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding immigration medical examination requirements for certain Afghan nationals applying for adjustment of status after arriving in the U.S. under Operation Allies Welcome (OAW). These applicants may not need to repeat an immigration medical examination if they already completed an immigration medical examination conducted by a panel physician before […]

USCIS announced today that it is updating guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding immigration medical examination requirements for certain Afghan nationals applying for adjustment of status after arriving in the United States under Operation Allies Welcome (OAW). Effective immediately, these applicants may not need to repeat an immigration medical examination if they already completed […]

The Biden administration recently announced four actions intended to improve immigration “pathways” for noncitizens in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. However, these changes are constrained by the delays at USCIS and congressional limits on immigrant visa numbers. Read More »

Thousands of applicants for U.S. citizenship have been waiting for well over a year for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to process their applications. But the problem isn’t the usual bureaucratic red tape. In this case, thousands of paper-based immigration records are locked in man-made caves that USCIS says it can’t access. Read More »

USCIS provided updated guidance on requests for “National Interest Waivers” related to job offer and labor certification requirements for advanced degree professionals and individuals of exceptional ability. The Biden administration aims to remove barriers to legal immigration under Executive Order 14012, Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New […]

The Biden administration has expanded students eligible for Optional Practical Training (OPT) in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. DHS published on January 21, 2022 a Federal Register notice announcing that “The Secretary of Homeland Security is amending the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List [for OPT] by adding 22 qualifying fields of study.” This policy […]

The State Department announced a new rule that will waive fees for visa applicants who were denied because of the Muslim and refugee ban. Under the new rule, an immigrant visa applicant who has an approved immigration petition may reapply for a visa without paying the fees if they were refused a visa under the Muslim […]

As President Biden’s first year in the White House ends, his record on immigration shows modest policy changes. While the Biden administration ended the construction of the border wall, much of the Trump-era immigration policies remained. Biden has retained Title 42, a pandemic-related policy mandating the expulsion of migrants as a public health precaution. During Biden’s […]