There has been, as always, a drumbeat of news on Immigration over the last two weeks. Perhaps the biggest surprise was Friday’s arrival of new H-1B “selections” for this year’s H-1B cap Lottery, which, apparently, ended up up not reaching the cap. USCIS has been exceptionally silent in telling the public how many “new” selectees were notified, or if yet …
Mid August 2020 Immigration Update — USCIS and DHS are “Illegally” Headed!
GAO Says Appointments of Wolf and Cuccinelli to Acting DHS Leadership Roles Were Invalid The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a decision concluding that after Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned in April 2019, the official who assumed the title of Acting Secretary, Kevin McAleenan, had not been designated in the order of succession to serve …
Immigration News Update August 2020— USCIS Raises User Filing Fees Significantly
There has been, as always, a drumbeat of news on Immigration over the last two weeks. Perhaps none as significant and long lasting as the notice that on October 2, 2020, USCIS will be raising filing fees across the board. Some of these fee increases are deceptively hidden, such as no longer including work or travel permits in the Adjustment …
Immigration News for August 2020
DHS to Raise Fees Significantly for Many Immigration Benefits The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a final rule, to be published on August 3, 2020, and take effect 60 days later, that will increase significantly many immigration and naturalization fees charged by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and reduce some others. It also removes certain fee exemptions; changes …
Immigration News Update July 2020 — Trump Backs Off Barring Foreign Students
Well, that did not take long. Just as quickly as the Trump administration issued a new “policy” essentially barring all foreign students from being in the United States, the Trump administration caved in front of a federal court judge and withdrew the policy announcement. So, the memos of March 2020 remain in affect, allowing students to temporary attend online classes …
Press Statement on Lawsuit Filed by Diversity Lottery Selectees Against Trump Administration and Department of State
Today, 149 Diversity Lottery selectees from 14 countries, some of whom actually have immigrant visa stamps, have been interviewed prior to be issued visa stamps, or who were waiting for their final interviews sued President Trump, Secretary Pompeo and the Department of State in Federal Court in Washington, D.C. seeking immediate relief from the Presidential Proclamation of June 22, 2020. …
Immigration News for Mid-July 2020
USCIS Furlough Plans for August 3 Continue to Move Forward U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is expected to furlough more than two-thirds of its employees beginning August 3, 2020, for at least a month and up to three months or more, if Congress does not pass sufficient emergency funding. The furlough of approximately 13,400 USCIS employees is likely to …
Immigration News Update — July 2020 — Trump’s Immigration Proclamation and the War on Foreign Students
Trump Amends Proclamation to Suspend Entry of Nonimmigrant Workers, With Exceptions; USCIS Issues Statement On June 29, 2020, President Trump issued an amendment to his Presidential Proclamation issued June 22, 2020. The initial Proclamation restricted foreign workers who did not hold a valid U.S. visa stamp in their passports but appeared to exempt individuals who held any type of valid …
Urgent Immigration Update — Damaging Trump Immigration Proclamation Has Serious Negative Consequences for Legal Immigrants and Non-Immigrants
As we notified our clients and friends two weeks ago, (and advised them to return to the United States immediately), the Trump administration has used the COVID-19 epidemic as an excuse to stop legal employment and family-based immigration to the United States. And, this newest Proclamation expands the bar to stop several types of legal non-immigrant from coming to the …
Immigration Updates for Late June 2020
The Supreme Court Rules DHS Violated APA, DACA Stands (At Least for Now) On June 18, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that Elaine C. Duke, then-Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in 2017 when she rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, in place since 2012, at the direction …