Articles Posted in Immigration Law

The USCIS has issued a policy alert stating that although many states have decriminalized the sale, possession, and use of marijuana, such acts are nevertheless in violation of federal law. Under federal law, marijuana is classified as a “Schedule I” controlled substance whose manufacture, cultivation, possession, or distribution may lead to criminal and immigration consequences.…

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced the start of the fiscal year (FY) 2020 H-1B cap season, start dates for premium processing of cap-subject H-1B petitions, and the launch of its new H-1B data hub, while reminding petitioners of its new H-1B cap selection process. These new efforts underscore the agency’s commitment…

The USCIS will resume premium processing on Tuesday, March 12, 2019, for all H-1B petitions. If you received a request for evidence (RFE) for a pending petition, you should include the RFE response with the premium processing request. When an H-1B petitioner properly requests the agency’s premium processing service, USCIS guarantees a 15-day processing time.…

The USCIS will resume premium processing on Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, for all fiscal year (FY) 2019 H-1B cap petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption (the “master’s cap”). Petitioners who have received requests for evidence (RFEs) for pending FY 2019 cap petitions should include their RFE response with any request for premium…

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today a notice of proposed rulemaking that would require petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions to first electronically register with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) during a designated registration period. Under the proposed rule, USCIS would also reverse the order by which USCIS selects H-1B petitions…

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday upheld a preliminary injunction keeping in place the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program pending judgment in a challenge to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s decision to cancel it. Judge Kim M. Wardlaw wrote the 90-page majority opinion, joined in by Judge Jacqueline H. Nguyen. Judge…

Gone are the days when a foreign student in F-1 status who fails to maintain their status, such as by failing to attend school or working without authorization, could nevertheless enjoy “duration of status” for several years or more and not accrue unlawful presence in the U.S. until either an immigration judge or the USCIS…

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently updated its guidance, taking a much stricter approach to approving applications that are largely filed by those seeking work in the tech industry. Under the new policy, which goes into effect Sept. 11, 2018, agents will be able to deny applications deemed incomplete or containing errors, without…

Immigrants on the H-1B highly-skilled visas, as well as their partners, are the targets of an under-the-radar effort to weed out foreign workers. Activists say the move is inhumane and business leaders argue it will hurt the economy. A report released Tuesday by the Silicon Valley-backed immigration lobbying group FWD.us lays out the White House’s…

USCIS Filing Fees Set To Increase On 12/23/2016 Just in time for the holidays, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has recently announced an increase in the filing fees for almost all of its applications. In particular, applications concerning the “million dollar investment greencard” face filing fee increases in the thousands of dollars. Further,…