Keeping you informed on the latest immigration news.
USCIS Names Mark Koumans as New Deputy Director
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on May 10, 2019, that Mark Koumans is the agency’s new Deputy Director, effective May 13. Mr. Koumans, a career federal employee, has served since September 2015 in a number of executive positions at U.S....
DHS Continues Documentation Validity for Beneficiaries of Nepal, Honduras TPS
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it will not implement or enforce the decision to terminate temporary protected status (TPS) for Honduras or Nepal pending resolution of an appeal in Ramos v. Nielsen or other order of the court, and as required...
DHS Increases H-2B Cap for FY 2019 by 30,000 Additional Visas
A temporary rule jointly issued by the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Labor (DOL), effective May 8, 2019, increases the H-2B cap for fiscal year (FY) 2019 by 30,000. The H-2B visa permits a foreign worker to fill temporary nonagricultural jobs in the...
USCIS Clarifies Period of Authorized Stay for P-1S Essential Support Personnel of Individual Athletes
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its Adjudicators Field Manual to emphasize that, under current regulations, the periods of initial authorized stay are different for individual athletes (P-1A visa) and their essential support personnel...
Miller Mayer’s David Wilks and Stephen Yale-Loehr Quoted Various Media Outlets
Stephen Yale-Loehr was quoted by the Associated Press in "Border Patrol Expands Fingerprinting of Migrant Children," which was published in many outlets. "DHS may claim that they can get around this bar [against taking biometric data from children] by getting parental...
USCIS Expands Fee Payment Changes to Additional Field Offices
In recent months, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced an expansion of fee payment changes to additional field offices. Those offices now only accept payments in the form of a personal check, attorney check, business check, debit card,...
Enforcement of Unlawful Presence Memo Targeting International Students Temporarily Blocked by Federal Judge
On May 3, 2019, a federal judge issued a nationwide order requiring USCIS to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a policy under which F-1/M-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors would begin to accrue unlawful presence as soon as they violate the terms of their visa...
USCIS and CBP Extend I-129 Pilot Program to Canadian L-1 Nonimmigrants
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that they are extending the joint agency pilot program for Canadian citizens seeking L-1 visa status under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) through...
SSA Resumes Issuing No-Match Letters
In March 2019, the Social Security Administration (SSA) resumed mailing notifications to employers identified as having at least one name and Social Security Number (SSN) combination submitted on the wage and tax statement (Form W-2) that do not match SSA's records....
USCIS Ending Forms Request Line June 1
Starting June 1, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is ending the Forms Request Line service that allows people to order forms by phone. The agency is encouraging applicants to download and print forms for free from the USCIS website. Mailed forms can...
