Keeping you informed on the latest immigration news.
No Surprise: Ombudsman’s Annual Report Says USCIS Faces ‘Unprecedented Challenges’ Due to Pandemic, Backlogs, Financial Issues
The Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) Ombudsman's Annual Report for 2021 states that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) "faces unprecedented challenges this year on virtually every front—from financial pressures to substantial backlogs across...
New DACA Applications Blocked by Federal Judge
New Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) applications will not be allowed under a ruling by a U.S. district judge in Texas on July 16, 2021. The judge ruled that DACA violated the Administrative Procedure Act but temporarily stayed his ruling for the nearly...
Miller Mayer Wins O-1 Approval for Mental Health Technology Doctor
Miller Mayer immigration attorney Kristal Ozmun recently received an approval of an O-1 extraordinary ability visa petition filed for an Indian doctor specializing in the field of mental health technology. After a successful response to a request for additional...
Miller Mayer Offers EB-5 Advice to 1,000 Investors in Vietnam
Miller Mayer immigration attorney Nicolai Hinrichsen was a panelist last week on a live-stream event for Vietnamese investors. The event drew over an estimated 1,000 viewers, and focused on the current state of the EB-5 regional center program and a new court decision...
Federal Appeals Court Rules Against EB-5 Investors
On July 9, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in Wang v. Blinken that family members must be counted toward the annual cap of about 10,000 EB-5 green cards. Plaintiffs had argued that the immigration statute is ambiguous and could also be...
USCIS Extends and Redesignates Yemen for TPS, Suspends Certain Requirements for Yemeni F-1 Students
On July 9, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the extension and resignation of Yemen for temporary protected status (TPS). On the same date, DHS announced the suspension of certain regulatory requirements for Yemeni F-1 nonimmigrant students who...
National Interest Exceptions Extended to One Year, Embassies Report
U.S. embassies in London and Berlin have reported that "all National Interest Exceptions (NIE) are now valid for 12 months and multiple entries as long as you are traveling for the same purpose for which you originally received [a National Interest Exception (NIE)]."...
OFLC Completes Randomization Process, Publishes List of Randomized H-2B Applications for Employers Seeking H-2B Workers Starting October 1, 2021
The Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) completed the process to randomly assign to analysts for review and processing all H-2B applications submitted during the three-day filing window (July 3-5, 2021) requesting an October 1, 2021,...
USCIS Announces Updated Receipt Guidance for I-9 Process
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced updated guidance on receipts for the I-9 employment authorization verification process: When employees present a receipt showing that they applied to replace a List A, B, or C document that was lost, stolen,...
Miller Mayer Memo: EB-5 Developments: Regional Center Program Expires; Behring Decision Vacates Final Rule Raising Minimum Investment
In new developments, EB-5 stakeholders are concerned that Congress allowed the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program to expire on June 30, 2021. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued related guidance. Also, a new decision in the Behring...
