Foreign nationals are experiencing delays of more than a month in receiving approved work permits and green cards that are normally issued and mailed within days of approval. Applicants are also experiencing extended delays in the time it takes USCIS to adjudicate these applications. These delays have a major impact on foreign nationals and their US employers.
Continue Reading USCIS Document Production Delays Cause Major Inconvenience to Foreign Nationals and Their Employers
Green Card
Trump Files Emergency Appeal with SCOTUS to Lift Public Charge Injunction
On January 13, 2020, the Trump administration filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court to lift a nationwide temporary injunction on the DHS “public charge” rule that was upheld by the Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit) last week. The public charge rule, published in August 2019, expands the grounds on which the government can deny immigration benefits to various applicants seeking permanent residence (green card) status or work authorization to include those who have received certain public benefits, such as Medicaid, CHIP, and SNAP (see article, “DHS Reinterprets Public Charge”). The rule gives the government broad discretion to deny an applicant if “at any time”, the applicant would “likely” become a public charge. A medical condition alone could be enough for an immigration officer to exercise discretion to deny the application.
Continue Reading Trump Files Emergency Appeal with SCOTUS to Lift Public Charge Injunction
Lots of Smoke, No Fire – The Debate Continues Around the Elimination of the Per-Country Limit for Employment-Based Green Cards
On September 19, 2019, Congress tried and failed to eliminate the per-country limit for employment-based green cards. This latest effort, a bill known as the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019 (HR 1044) easily passed in the House 365-65, but stalled in the Senate where it has been blocked by Senator David…
Employment-Based Priority Dates are Stalling … Family-Sponsored Ones are Soaring
While employment-based green card applicants are seeing unprecedented backlogs in their priority dates, notably in the EB-1 category reserved for “priority workers”, family-sponsored green card applicants are seeing their priority dates advance at a pace not seen in the last few years.
This development is happening almost unnoticed in the shadow of the media’s…
USCIS Plan To Reduce Wait Times for Green Card Interviews May Not Succeed
In October 2017, the Department of Homeland Security implemented Trump’s Executive Order, “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry,” by requiring all applicants sponsored for green cards by their employers to be interviewed in person at a US Citizenship & Immigration Services office. The first batch of interviews were scheduled quickly, but over the last…
Travel Ban FAQs
The President’s Executive Order, commonly called the “travel ban”, has raised many questions. We answer the most frequently asked questions below, and will update them as additional information becomes available.
Continue Reading Travel Ban FAQs
DHS Clarifies Policies Affecting Travelers and Applicants, As Details of Possible New Executive Orders Emerge
The fast pace of immigration developments under the new Trump administration continues. The following are some of the issues that are most important to individuals and businesses in the United States:…
Continue Reading DHS Clarifies Policies Affecting Travelers and Applicants, As Details of Possible New Executive Orders Emerge
Chaffetz Introduces Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act
On September 22, 2011, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) introduced HR 3012 in the House. The Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act would eliminate the annual cap on green card numbers for employment-based immigrants and increase the cap for family-based immigrants. Currently, foreign nationals who are sponsored by their employers for permanent jobs in the US…
First Visa Bulletin of Fiscal Year Shows Long Waits for Green Cards
On September 10, 2009, the U.S. Department of State released the October 2009 Visa Bulletin. As anticipated, the news is not good. Waiting lists for Indian and Chinese nationals whose U.S. employers have sponsored them for positions that require advanced degrees are backed up to early 2005. For positions that require at least a bachelor’s…