Blog
Key Takeaways of USCIS Filing Fee Increases – Effective October 2, 2020
Today August 3, 2020, USCIS published a final rule that significantly increases certain immigration filing fees. The rule, which will be effective October 2, 2020, also removes some fee exemptions, changes fee waiver requirements, alters premium processing time...
Current Administration Expands Ban on Legal Immigration
Yesterday, President Trump issued a proclamation continuing Proclamation 10014 and limiting the entry, with some exceptions, of individuals seeking entry on an H-1B, H-2B, J, or L visa, including individuals accompanying or following to join individuals on these...
USCIS Field Offices are Slowly Reopening
In the last three months in the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic, USCIS Field Offices were only accessible for emergency services. Earlier this week the offices are starting to slowly reopen. USCIS Field Office Partial Reopening At the Portland, Oregon Field Office,...
How Has the Pandemic Affected the Green Card and Naturalization Processes?
We live in unprecedented times! COVID-19 pandemic has made a significant impact on the processing and issuance of green cards. On April 23, 2020, the Presidential Proclamation that suspended the entry of immigrants who would be considered a risk to the U.S. Labor...
Presidential Proclamation Suspending the Entry of Certain Immigrants into the U.S. – What you Should Know
Here’s What We Know On April 22, 2020, President Trump issued a proclamation suspending the entry of any individual seeking to enter the United States as an immigrant who: Is outside the United States on the effective date of the proclamation; Does not have a valid...
Is COVID-19 Pandemic Impacting Your Immigration Status?
It is incredible how much the world has changed in a week. As cities and states continue to issue a range of “shelter in place” orders and as public health concerns over COVID-19 continue to grow, immigration professionals are scrambling to shift their practices and...
New H-1B Season Brings New Electronic Registration Process for the Employers
With the H-1B season upon us, the employers filing for the first-time H-1B visa holders must now jump through more hoops to secure the cap-subject H-1B filings. With only 65,000 H-1B visas available annually and an additional 20,000 visas for the beneficiaries with...
New Regulations for the EB-5 Investor Visa Program
On July 23, 2019, USCIS announced the publishing of a final rule that would make several substantial changes to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. Becoming effective on November 21 of this year, this announcement marks the first major revision to the program since...
The Importance of I-9 Audits in our Current Immigration Climate
Earlier this week, the New York Times published an in-depth report on ICE’s highly sophisticated tools for locating foreign nationals that it wants to deport, focusing on the Pacific Northwest coastline, and featuring Officer Miller and his partner, who our firm often...
USCIS Slow Processing Times: Why is Your Immigration Case Delayed?
Applicants are waiting longer and longer for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to process and approve their applications and petitions. Whether they are applying for family-based benefits, employment-based benefits, naturalization, travel documents, or...