The September 2018 Visa Bulletin was released today. Most notably, EB2 and EB3 worldwide had final action dates imposed and EB2 China and EB2 and EB3 India retrogressed further. All of these dates are expected to return to current or to their August 2018 dates in October. However, contrary to previous visa bulletins, EB1 is[…]
Yesterday, the Dept. of Justice posted the below press release (copied from their website) that DOJ has partnered with the Dept. of Labor in an effort to protect American workers. The partnership will allow detailed information sharing to find discriminatory practices by employers using the following visas: H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, H-2A, H-2B, D-1 and PERMs[…]
This morning, USCIS suspended the NTA memo issued on June 28th which we wrote about at the time. The policy is postponed until operational guidance is issued. We will keep you posted as this issue develops. This is a big relief for the moment but important to understand that this will likely be implemented soon. […]
As discussed in Friday’s blog post, the EB-1 category will retrogress on August 1st. A note in the visa bulletin stated that this retrogression would be immediate. It does look like this retrogression has already gone into effect and that USCIS’s system is currently not letting officers issue green cards for EB-1 applicants. This just[…]
The August 2018 Visa Bulletin was released this morning. Most notably, EB1 worldwide will retrogress, most likely becoming current again at the start of the new fiscal year. Additionally, EB3 India is now within 2.5 month of moving past EB2 India. If you are now eligible to file your adjustment of status, you can go[…]
USCIS issued new policy guidance today (copied below) that is very concerning. For most types of cases, USCIS will not issue “requests for further evidence” (RFE) of “notices of intent to deny” (NOID) and will go straight to denial “if the record does not establish eligibility”. This policy will apply to most visa categories whether[…]
I had the distinct honor of appearing on the podcast Ask An American Immigrant hosted by the wonderful Mili Metz of The Swell Collective. We discuss my immigrant journey to America, to becoming a lawyer, to my advocacy as well as the challenges of being a busy working mother. I make an important announcement also[…]
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) released the below statement concerning yesterday’s new NTA guidance. The press release can be found below. Copied from AILA’s website: New USCIS Policy Will Needlessly Push Thousands More Cases into the Deportation Machinery Friday, July 06, 2018 WASHINGTON, DC – On July 5, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)[…]
USCIS issued updated guidance today that expanded the types of cases in which they can issue Notices to Appear (NTAs). NTAs commence removal proceedings. More information is available below. Copied from USCIS’s website: USCIS Updates Notice to Appear Policy Guidance to Support DHS Enforcement Priorities WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued updated guidance (PDF, 139[…]
Every month, the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s (AILA) Department of State Liaison Committee checks in with Charlie Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division at the Department of State. This month’s check-in included information about retrogression in employment-based immigrant categories in future visa bulletins. In particular, there is a chance that EB-1 China[…]