John Q Khosravi Law Firm

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John Q. Khosravi Immigration Law Firm (JQK Law Firm)

Website: JQKLaw.com

Email: info@jqklaw.com

Phone: (818) 934-1561

Skype: john.khosravi


Licensed to Practice in CA. Practice Focus on Federal Immigration Law. This Blog is Legal Advertisement.

Monday, November 27, 2017

SEVENTH CIRCUIT CONSTRUES 237(A)(1)(H) WAIVER

http://www.sabrinadamast.com/journal/2017/11/10/seventh-circuit-construes-237a1h-waiver

CBP Admits to misuse of summons power

From DHS:

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 
Department of Homeland Security 
Washington, DC 20528 / www.oig.dhs.gov 
For more information visit our website, www.oig.dhs.gov 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For Information Contact: 

Thursday, November 16, 2017 Public Affairs (202) 254-4100 

DHS OIG Cites CBP for Misuse of Summons Power 

A new management alert from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) Special Reviews Group (SRG) determined that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) lacked clear guidance on the use of its examination and summons authority under 19 U.S.C. § 1509, resulting in inconsistent and, occasionally, improper uses of such summonses to obtain records. CBP was found to have violated its own policy on the use of the summons on numerous occasions. 

The review of CBP’s policies and practices relating to Section 1509 summonses arose from an OIG investigation of a CBP summons issued to Twitter, Inc. in March 2017 requesting all records concerning the Twitter account @ALT_USCIS. Twitter responded by filing a complaint against CBP in federal court claiming the summons exceeded the scope of the agency’s authority and accusing CBP of attempting to “unmask” the @ALT_USCIS anonymous speaker and infringing upon his or her First Amendment rights. CBP quickly withdrew the summons and Twitter dismissed its complaint. 

The summons authority under Section 1509 is limited specifically to the collection and examination of records related to the importation of merchandise, including the assessment of customs duties. In the course of its review, SRG found numerous cases of Section 1509 summonses issued outside of this context. Based on data provided by CBP, between January 2015 and May 2017, CBP violated its own policy on the use of Section 1509 summonses at least 1 out of every 5 times. 

DHS OIG made three recommendations to CBP aimed at ensuring CBP personnel are informed and trained on the use of Section 1509 summonses, and that such summonses are being used properly within the agency. CBP concurred with these recommendations and has taken, and continues to take, corrective actions to address the issues raised in the alert. 


The alert is the first report by the SRG, a new DHS OIG initiative. The SRG is a multidisciplinary group of OIG employees that blends the skills of attorneys, investigators, and program analysts to conduct sensitive reviews and special investigations across DHS. 

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Trump administration starts push to officially rescind ‘startup visa’ rule

http://www.sfchronicle.com/business/amp/Trump-administration-starts-push-to-officially-12370353.php

Trump Administration Tightens Scrutiny of Skilled Worker Visa Applicants

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-administration-tightens-scrutiny-of-skilled-worker-visa-applicants-1511114338#ampshare=https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-administration-tightens-scrutiny-of-skilled-worker-visa-applicants-1511114338

It's not just anecdotal: the U.S. is rejecting more and more visa requests from Russians

https://meduza.io/en/news/2017/11/17/it-s-not-just-anecdotal-the-u-s-is-rejecting-more-and-more-visa-requests-from-russians

As CNMI Transitional Worker Program Draws Down, USCIS Announces Cap for Final Three Fiscal Years

From USCIS:

WASHINGTON— Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the number ofvisas the agency will grant for the last three fiscal years (FYs) of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1) program. Congress previously mandated thatUSCIS end the program by reducing the number of workers in the program to zero by Dec. 31, 2019.
Under the CW-1 program, employers in the CNMI can apply for permission to employ foreign workers who are ineligible to work in the territory under other nonimmigrant worker categories. The intent of phasing out this foreign worker program is to encourage the territory’s transition into the U.S. immigration system, as well as to bolster recruitment of U.S. workers in the CNMI.
The table below provides the cap for FY 2018, FY 2019 and FY 2020 until the end of the program:
Fiscal Year (FY)
Cap
FY 2018
9,998
FY 2019
4,999
FY 2020 (until Dec. 31, 2019)
2,499
USCIS announced in May that the agency received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the maximum possible CW-1 cap for FY 2018. April 11, 2017, was the last day that USCIS accepted FY 2018 CW-1 petitions requesting an employment start date before Oct. 1, 2018. USCIS encourages employers to file petitions for CW-1 workers as early as possible within 6 months of the requested employment start date. Please note, however, that USCIS will reject a petition if it is filed more than six months in advance.
For more information about the CW-1 worker program, visit the CW-1: CNMI-Only Transitional Worker page or call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.


Wednesday, November 15, 2017

New Visa Bulletin for December 2017

https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/law-and-policy/bulletin/2018/visa-bulletin-for-december-2017.html

USCIS: Status of the Central American Minors Program

From USCIS:

On Nov. 9, 2017, the Department of State stopped accepting new applications for the Central American Minors (CAM) refugee program. USCIS will stop interviewing CAM cases on Jan. 31, 2018. After that date, individuals with pending applications who have not been interviewed will receive a notice with further instructions.
The decision to terminate the CAM refugee program was made as part of the U.S. government review of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for FY 2018.
The CAM program was established in 2014 to provide certain minors in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras the opportunity to be considered, while still in their home country, for refugee resettlement in the United States. Individuals who were determined to be ineligible for refugee status were then considered by USCIS for the possibility of entering the United States under parole. The parole portion of the CAM program was terminated in August 2017. 
Please visit the Department of State’s website for more information.

Monday, November 13, 2017

USCIS Form I-102 Updated

From USCIS:

Good afternoon,
We recently updated the following USCIS form(s):
11/13/2017 12:00 AM EST

New edition dated 10/19/17. Starting 01/12/2018, we will only accept the 10/19/17 edition. Until then, you can use the 12/23/16 edition. 
For more information, please visit our Forms Updates page.

More Jurisdictions To Provide Legal Defense For Immigrants At Risk Of Deportation

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/11/12/563557712/more-jurisdictions-to-provide-legal-defense-for-immigrants-at-risk-of-deportatio

Immigrants waiting longer for US citizenship as backlog builds

https://www.scpr.org/news/2017/11/10/77606/immigrants-waiting-longer-for-us-citizenship-as-ba/

US Approves 3,500 More Visas For Afghans Who Helped Troops

http://www.tolonews.com/afghanistan/us-approves-3500-more-visas-afghans-who-helped-troops

Fraud Waiver Improperly Denied By Board Of Immigration Appeals Says The Seventh Circuit

https://www.floridaimmigrationlawyerblog.com/amp/2017/11/fraud-waiver-improperly-denied-board-immigration-appeals-says-seventh-circuit.html

Thursday, November 9, 2017

USCIS Memo on Functional Managers

From USCIS:

The following Immigration Policy Memorandum is now available in the Policy Memoranda section of the USCIS website
Matter of G- Inc. clarifies that, to establish that a beneficiary will be employed in a managerial capacity as a “function manager,” the petitioner must demonstrate that: (1) the function is a clearly defined activity; (2) the function is “essential,” i.e., core to the organization; (3) the beneficiary will primarily manage, as opposed to perform, the function; (4) the beneficiary will act at a senior level within the organizational hierarchy or with respect to the function managed; and (5) the beneficiary will exercise discretion over the function’s day-to-day operations.

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

USCIS Form I-693 Update

Good afternoon,
We recently updated the following USCIS form(s):
11/03/2017 12:00 AM EDT

Update to Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record
For more information, please visit our Forms Updates page.

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Donald Trump Calls for Immediate End to ‘Diversity Visa’ Program That Admitted New York Terror Suspect to U.S.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/11/01/donald-trump-calls-immediate-end-diversity-visa-program-admitted-new-york-terror-suspect-u-s/

USCIS Sued Over EB-5 Delay On $747M Calif. Solar Project

https://www.law360.com/environmental/articles/980433/uscis-sued-over-eb-5-delay-on-747m-calif-solar-project

Groundbreaking for USCIS consolidated headquarters in Maryland

https://federalnewsradio.com/facilities-construction/2017/10/groundbreaking-for-uscis-consolidated-headquarters-in-maryland/slide/1/

Grassley Asks DHS To Cut Immigration Protection Program

https://www.law360.com/immigration/articles/980255/grassley-asks-dhs-to-cut-immigration-protection-program?nl_pk=3d58be1d-130f-45ab-8328-a9ad142de766&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=immigration

Ga. Justices Say Counsel Effective Despite Plea’s Impact

https://www.law360.com/immigration/articles/979758/ga-justices-say-counsel-effective-despite-plea-s-impact?nl_pk=3d58be1d-130f-45ab-8328-a9ad142de766&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=immigration