Keeping you informed on the latest immigration news.
State Dept. Imposes New Restrictions on Chinese Communist Party Members
As part of a continued chilling of relations between the United States and China, on December 4, 2020, the Department of State announced several new visa restrictions on Chinese Communist Party members and their family members, including: New rules limiting the...
Senate-Passed Bill Would Remove Per-Country Limits on All Employment-Based Immigrant Visa Categories; Includes Controversial Provisions
On December 2, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed its version of H.R. 1044, the "Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2020." The Senate version of the bill now returns to the U.S. House of Representatives, which passed its version of the bill over a year ago. If the...
U.S. District Court Orders DHS to Reopen DACA for New Applications
On December 4, 2020, a U.S. district court vacated a July memorandum issued by Chad Wolf that made certain changes to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and ordered DHS to reopen the program to new applications. The court found that Chad Wolf...
Miller Mayer Obtains Permanent Resident Status for German Client
Miller Mayer recently obtained permanent resident status for a client from Germany who had been stuck in conditional permanent resident status in the US since 1996. Miller Mayer’s decades of immigration experience and expertise helped bring this happy conclusion to a...
Miller Mayer’s Steve Yale-Loehr Quoted re Biden’s Immigration Plans, Nominations
Miller Mayer immigration attorney Steve Yale-Loehr was quoted by the Detroit News in "Metro Detroit Immigration Advocates: Hopes for Biden Tempered by Experience." Steve said, "President Trump issued a lot of executive orders. And because he issues them as executive...
USCIS Issues Alert for Asylum Applicants on Preliminary Injunction
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued an alert noting that a U.S. district court's September 11, 2020, preliminary injunction in Casa de Maryland Inc. v. Wolf provides limited injunctive relief to members of two organizations, CASA de Maryland...
State Dept. Launches Visa Bond Pilot Program
On November 24, 2020, the Department of State (DOS) published a temporary rule providing for a visa bond pilot program from December 24, 2020, through June 24, 2021. The six-month pilot program aims to assess the operational feasibility of issuing visa bonds to inform...
Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers Offers 12 Recommendations for Biden Administration
The Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers (ABIL), of which Miller Mayer is a member, released 12 recommendations to reform business immigration in the early days of the incoming Biden administration. The recommendations include: Restoring the customer-service ethos...
USCIS Updates Guidance on Discretionary Factors for Adjustment of Status Applications
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating existing policy guidance regarding agency discretion in adjudications of adjustment of status applications. The update provides "a non-exhaustive list of positive and negative factors that may be relevant...
Visa Bulletin for December Includes Info on Diversity Visas, Scheduled Expiration of Two Employment Visa Categories
The Department of State's Visa Bulletin for December 2020 includes information on the diversity visa immigrant category rank cut-offs that will apply in December and January. It also includes information on the scheduled expiration of two employment visa categories on...
