Consult with an attorney. Not Legal Advice. Attorney Advertisement.
Monday, December 31, 2018
Practice Pointer: Green Card Strategy for Step-Children of Immediate Relatives vs Fiancés
Consult with an attorney. Not Legal Advice. Attorney Advertisement.
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Episode 78 - Recap of Immigration Law & Practice Change in 2018.
Consult with an Attorney. Not Legal Advice.
Friday, December 28, 2018
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Monday, December 24, 2018
Friday, December 21, 2018
I-751 Workload Transfer
From USCIS:
We transferred some of the following cases from the Vermont Service Center to the Texas Service Center:
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Wednesday, December 19, 2018
Update I-131 Instructions for Renewing AP
https://www.uscis.gov/i-131
If you file Form I-131, Application for Travel Document, to request an advance parole document and depart the United States without possession of an advance parole document that is valid for the entire time you are abroad, your Form I-131 will be considered abandoned. At times, an individual may have an approved advance parole document while a second one is pending. Individuals may travel on the approved advanced parole document, provided the document is valid for the entire duration of the time abroad. The pending Form I-131 will not be considered abandoned in this situation.
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Monday, December 17, 2018
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Friday, December 14, 2018
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
USCIS Reaches H-2B Cap for First Half of FY 2019
From USCIS:
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reached the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the first half of fiscal year (FY) 2019.
Dec. 6, 2018, was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before April 1, 2019. USCIS will reject new cap-subject H-2B petitions received after Dec. 6 that request an employment start date before April 1, 2019.
On Dec. 6, the number of beneficiaries USCIS had received petitions for surpassed the total number of H-2B visas available for the H-2B cap for the first half of FY 2019. In accordance with regulations, USCIS determined it was necessary to use a computer-generated process, commonly known as a lottery, to ensure the fair and orderly allocation of H-2B visa numbers to meet, but not exceed, the cap for the first half of FY 2019. On Dec. 11, 2018, USCIS conducted a lottery to randomly select petitions received on Dec. 6. As a result, USCIS assigned all petitions selected in the lottery the receipt date of Dec. 11. Premium processing service for petitions selected in the lottery also began on that date.
USCIS continues to accept H-2B petitions that are exempt from the congressionally mandated cap. This includes the following types of petitions:
- Current H-2B workers in the United States petitioning to extend their stay and, if applicable, change the terms of their employment or change their employers;
- Fish roe processors, fish roe technicians, and/or supervisors of fish roe processing; and,
- Workers performing labor or services in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and/or Guam from Nov. 28, 2009, until Dec. 21, 2029.
U.S. businesses use the H-2B program to employ foreign workers for temporary nonagricultural jobs. Currently, Congress has set the H-2B cap at 66,000 per fiscal year, with 33,000 for workers who begin employment in the first half of the fiscal year (Oct.1 - March 31) and 33,000 for workers who begin employment in the second half of the fiscal year (April 1 - Sept. 30).
We encourage H-2B petitioners to visit the H-2B Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Cap Season page.
USCIS Policy Manual Update (Form N-648)
From USCIS:
USCIS is revising guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to update and clarify filing procedures and adjudications on Form N-648, Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions. Please see the Policy Alert for more detailed information:
Visit the Policy Manual for Comment page for more information on stakeholder review and comment. |
I-539 Workload Transfer
From USCIS:
We transferred some of the following cases from the Vermont Service Center to the Texas Service Center, Nebraska Service Center, California Service Center, and Potomac Service Center:
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Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Monday, December 10, 2018
USCIS Revises Interview Waiver Guidance for Form I-751
From USCIS:
| USCIS has issued a policy memorandum (PDF, 115 KB) (PM) providing guidance to USCIS officers on when to consider waiving the interview requirement for Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence. This PM goes into effect on December 10, 2018 and applies to all Form I-751 petitions received on or after December 10. Generally, USCIS officers must interview a conditional permanent resident who is the principal petitioner on a Form I-751, unless the interview is waived. This guidance explains that officers may consider waiving an interview if they are satisfied that:
This PM applies to all USCIS officers adjudicating Form I-751 and fully replaces the June 24, 2005, PM, “Revised Interview Waiver Criteria for Form I-751, Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence.” |
USCIS Closes Havana Field Office on Dec. 10, 2018
From USCIS:
USCIS will permanently close its field office in Havana, Cuba, on Dec. 10, 2018. The USCIS field office in Mexico City, Mexico, will assume the Havana Field Office’s jurisdiction over U.S. immigration matters for individuals who are in Cuba. The U.S. Department of State in Havana will also assume responsibility for certain services previously handled by USCIS.
U.S. Embassy visa services in Havana have been almost entirely suspended since November 2017 due to a drawdown in staffing as a result of attacks affecting the health of U.S. Embassy Havana employees. The U.S. Department of State and USCIS continue to explore options to resume consular and other immigration services in alternate locations. USCIS will inform individuals of alternate filing or processing instructions that are established.
Individuals who live in Cuba, or who petition for residents in Cuba, must follow these filing instructions:
General information about the U.S. Embassy in Havana is available on the embassy website. You may also contact the embassy by calling 011 (53) (7) 839-4100 or by mailing:
U.S. Embassy Havana
Calzada between L & M, Vedado
Havana, Cuba
For more information on USCIS and its programs, visit uscis.gov.
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Saturday, December 8, 2018
Friday, December 7, 2018
Thursday, December 6, 2018
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
USCIS Offices Closed Wednesday
From USCIS:
National Day of Mourning for President George H.W. Bush
WASHINGTON—President Trump has declared Wednesday, Dec. 5, a national day of mourning to remember the life and legacy of George H.W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States. Accordingly, all U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offices will be closed Wednesday. USCIS will reschedule all naturalization ceremonies, interviews, and appointments set for that day.
USCIS will schedule new dates and promptly inform those affected. All applicants with biometric appointments scheduled for Wednesday will receive a new appointment notice within three weeks.
The USCIS Contact Center will be open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern time, but with limited live help. You can also get basic information about immigration services and ask questions about your case on our Tools page.
Monday, December 3, 2018
Episode 77 - Interview with Business Immigration Attorney Lorenz Wolffers. Discussing Current Immigration Trends and Practice.
Episode 77 - Interview with Business Immigration Attorney Lorenz Wolffers. Discussing Current Immigration Trends and Practice. Email: lorenz@Corstange.com (LinkedIn)
63% of Non-Citizen Households Use Welfare, Justifying Public Charge Concerns
Saturday, December 1, 2018
Friday, November 30, 2018
DHS Proposes Merit-Based Rule for More Effective and Efficient H-1B Visa Program
From USCIS:
| WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today a notice of proposed rulemaking that would require petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions to first electronically register with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) during a designated registration period. Under the proposed rule, USCIS would also reverse the order by which USCIS selects H-1B petitions under the H-1B cap and the advanced degree exemption, likely increasing the number of beneficiaries with a master’s or higher degree from a U.S. institution of higher education to be selected for an H-1B cap number, and introducing a more meritorious selection of beneficiaries. The H-1B program allows companies in the United States to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and a bachelors or higher degree in the specific specialty, or its equivalent. When USCIS receives more than enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated H-1B cap, a computer-generated random selection process, or lottery, is used to select the petitions that are counted towards the number of petitions projected as needed to reach the cap. The proposed rule includes a provision that would enable USCIS to temporarily suspend the registration process during any fiscal year in which USCIS may experience technical challenges with the H-1B registration process and/or the new electronic system. The proposed temporary suspension provision would also allow USCIS to up-front delay the implementation of the H-1B registration process past the fiscal year (FY) 2020 cap season, if necessary to complete all requisite user testing and vetting of the new H-1B registration system and process. While USCIS has been actively working to develop and test the electronic registration system, if the rule is finalized as proposed, but there is insufficient time to implement the registration system for the FY 2020 cap selection process, USCIS would likely suspend the registration requirement for the FY 2020 cap season. Currently, in years when the H-1B cap and the advanced degree exemption are both reached within the first five days that H-1B cap petitions may be filed, the advanced degree exemption is selected prior to the H-1B cap. The proposed rule would reverse the selection order and count all registrations or petitions towards the number projected as needed to reach the H-1B cap first. Once a sufficient number of registrations or petitions have been selected for the H-1B cap, USCIS would then select registrations or petitions towards the advanced degree exemption. This proposed change would increase the chances that beneficiaries with a master’s or higher degree from a U.S. institution of higher education would be selected under the H-1B cap and that H-1B visas would be awarded to the most-skilled and highest-paid beneficiaries. Importantly, the proposed process would result in an estimated increase of up to 16 percent (or 5,340 workers) in the number of selected H-1B beneficiaries with a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. institution of higher education. USCIS expects that shifting to electronic registration would reduce overall costs for petitioners and create a more efficient and cost-effective H-1B cap petition process for USCIS. The proposed rule would help alleviate massive administrative burdens on USCIS since the agency would no longer need to physically receive and handle hundreds of thousands of H-1B petitions and supporting documentation before conducting the cap selection process. This would help reduce wait times for cap selection notifications. The proposed rule also limits the filing of H-1B cap-subject petitions to the beneficiary named on the original selected registration, which would protect the integrity of this registration system. On April 18, 2017, President Trump issued the Buy American and Hire American Executive Order, instructing DHS to “propose new rules and issue new guidance, to supersede or revise previous rules and guidance if appropriate, to protect the interests of U.S. workers in the administration of our immigration system.” The EO specifically mentioned the H-1B program and directed DHS and other agencies to “suggest reforms to help ensure that H-1B visas are awarded to the most-skilled or highest-paid petition beneficiaries.” Additional information on the proposed rule is available in the Federal Register. Public comments may be submitted starting Monday, December 3, when the proposed rule publishes in the Federal Register, and must be received on or before January 2, 2019. For more information on USCIS and our programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), Instagram (/uscis), YouTube (/uscis), and Facebook(/uscis). |
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
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