Immigration

In our latest alert, attorney Michele Frangella discusses the September visa bulletin and movements in the employment based categories. A major retrogression for second preference (EB-2) India and mainland China born applicants occurred.

Today, the Department of State (DOS) released the last visa bulletin for the 2015 fiscal year. Notably, major retrogressions are seen in the employment-based second preference category (EB-2) for both India and China. The EB-2 India category has retrogressed from October 1, 2008 to January 1, 2006.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Public Safety Canada, and the Secretariat of Governance of Mexico announced the planned expansion of the existing trusted traveler programs. This expansion is the first step toward the creation of a North American Trusted Traveler network and will be rolled out at the beginning of 2016.

On August 3, USCIS published updating processing times for EB-5 immigration benefits. The summary: it's bleak, with processing times at a year or more.

Many US employers are exploring opportunities to expand globally. Due to the English-speaking special relationship between the US and the UK, employers may first look to the UK to for international expansion.

On July 8, 2015, the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO), issued a decision finding Hartmann Studios, Inc. "liable for 808 violations of 8 U.S.C. § 1324a(a)(1)(B)", namely hiring workers in the United States without properly examining and documenting the employees' identity and immigration documents.

USCIS announced that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients of employment authorizations documents (EAD) after February 16, 2015, with validity longer than two years, were "likely mistakenly issued and must be returned."

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released final guidance on a recent Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) decision requiring amended or new H-1B petitions for workers who change job sites.

On Tuesday July 21, 2015, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released final guidance on a recent Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) decision requiring amended or new H-1B petitions for workers who change job sites.

On July 14, 2015, the House Judiciary Committee met to discuss oversight of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Immigration was a major topic alongside border security and global threats of terrorism, domestic terrorism and cyber-security.

US Customs and Border Protection announced the expansion of the Mobile Passport Control Program ("MPC") to San Francisco International Airport (SFO). MPC is now available at SFO, Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Miami International Airport, Chicago O'Hare International, and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

USCIS announced today, July 14, 2015, that it completed the return of  rejected fiscal year 2016 H-1B cap-subject petitions. It was previously announced on May 4, 2015, that USCIS completed data entry of all selected cap-subject petitions.

USCIS announced that beginning today, July 13, 2015, the agency will resume accepting premium processing requests for H-1B extension of stay applications. This provides an early cancellation of the previous USCIS directive suspending premium processing of extension petitions from May 26th through July 27th.

The Department of State issued an updated Form DS-7002, Training/ Internship Placement Plan for the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a web-based information system maintained by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Created by the Immigration Act of 1990, the Immigrant Investor Program, more commonly referred to as the EB-5 program, offers foreign investors an opportunity to secure permanent residency in the United States by making a minimum capital investment of $1 million per investor into a New Commercial Enterprise (NCE) that will create at least 10 jobs for US workers.

The US Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs reports that the database responsible for handling biometric clearances has been restored and is undergoing testing.  As of today, June 24, 2015, 39 posts are back online and issuing visas.  These posts represent more than two-thirds of the visa issuing posts worldwide.

The Department of State (DOS) has announced that its overseas embassies and consular posts halted the issuance of passports and visas on Friday, June 12, 2015 due to technical problems with its Consular Consolidated Database. 

Yesterday, in an opinion authored by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the U.S. Supreme Court brought a measure of hope to non-citizens facing deportation on the basis of certain minor criminal convictions.

This advisory summarizes key travel and employment issues if you are an F-1 student with Optional Practical Training (OPT) employment eligibility and an H-1B filing on your behalf has been accepted by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

On May 20, 2015, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released guidance and frequently asked questions (FAQs) relating to the filing of H-4 employment authorization applications for spouses of certain H-1B nonimmigrants.