The Department of State recently issued a reminder about upcoming changes to domestic air travel documentation requirements under the Real ID Act, which requires all state-issued identification documents to meet a set of minimum security standards. IDs that do not...
Topic: Immigration Updates
USCIS Reopens Previously Pending Deferred Action Requests
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will reopen all non-military deferred action cases that were pending on August 7, 2019. Deferred action is a discretionary decision to temporarily postpone the removal from the United States of a...
Reciprocity Schedule for France Revised for E Treaty Trader/Investor Visas
Effective September 26, 2019, the reciprocity schedule for France will be revised for E visas (treaty traders and investors). The reciprocity tables will be updated to reflect this change. Reportedly, the maximum validity for E-1 and E-2 visas will be decreased from...
USCIS Proposes Deleting Time Limits on Work Authorization Processing for Asylum Applicants
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a proposed rule to remove the 30-day time limit on granting or denying an initial application for an employment authorization document (EAD) in affirmative asylum applications. USCIS also proposes to...
OFLC Announces Schedule for E-Filing of LCAs
The Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has announced its schedule for electronic filing of labor condition applications (LCAs) in the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) System. Affected LCA programs include the H-1B, H-1B1, and...
Everyday Immigration Podcast Explaining Immigration: Doctor Shortage
The U.S. is facing a doctor shortage. Many foreign-born physicians are ready, willing, and able to fill that gap, but our own policies are getting in the way. Find out more in this latest installment of the explaining immigration series. [fusion_youtube...
Guidance Updated on Adjudication of Cuban Adjustment Act Cases
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has updated policy guidance relating to adjustment of status under the Cuban Adjustment Act (CAA), enacted in 1966 as a special avenue for Cuban refugees to adjust to lawful permanent resident status in the United States....
USCIS Policy Guidance Changes Definition of “Residing in the United States” for Purposes of Acquiring Citizenship
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has issued policy guidance, effective October 29, 2019, and applicable prospectively to applications filed on or after that date, that defines "residence" and clarifies distinctions between U.S. residence and physical...
Ninth Circuit Dismisses Challenge to Denial of National Interest Waiver for Lack of Jurisdiction
Affirming the district court's dismissal for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction of an Iranian engineer's suit challenging the denial of his petition for a national interest waiver (NIW) related to his application for a work visa, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals...
USCIS Changes Direct Filing Addresses for Certain Nonimmigrant Worker Petitions
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has changed the direct filing addresses for certain petitioners filing Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, as of September 1, 2019. USCIS said that starting October 1, 2019, "we may reject Forms I-129 that...
