Current Director of USCIS, L. Francis Cissna, has reportedly told his staff that he will be leaving his post at the end of the month. He is set to be replaced by Ken Cuccinelli, a staunch conservative and former Virginia attorney general. Unlike Cissna, Cucinelli does not appear to have any significant immigration experience. He[…]
Watson Immigration Law is celebrating its 10th Anniversary by offering free immigration consultations on June 11, 2019 and June 13, 2019, from 10 AM to 3 PM! Please use the following link to sign up: https://calendly.com/watsonimmigrationlaw/free-immigration-consultation.
Today Trump issued a memorandum making it mandatory for state and local agencies to sue I-864 sponsors for all means-tested benefits that are paid to adjustment of status applicants/beneficiaries. These means-tested benefits programs include Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Previously, no agency anywhere across the U.S. sued[…]
Changes are coming on the H-1B front, and likely none of them good. The Department of Homeland Security will be proposing a rule that, among other things, will attempt to revise the definition of specialty occupation, revise the definition of employment and employer-employee relationship, and craft additional requirements designed to ensure employers pay the requisite[…]
USCIS announced today that the Texas Service Center will begin processing certain cap-exempt H-1B petitions. In addition to this announcement, USCIS also switched up other filing addresses and procedures. For example, prior to this announcement, all H-1B petitions requesting a continuation of previously approved employment without change with the same employer were adjudicated at the[…]
Watson Immigration Law is celebrating its 10th Anniversary by offering free immigration consultations on June 11, 2019 and June 13, 2019, from 10 AM to 3 PM! Please use the following link to sign up: https://calendly.com/watsonimmigrationlaw/free-immigration-consultation.
USCIS has just announced that it has completed data entry and processing for all H-1B cap-subject petitions which were selected in the lottery for fiscal year 2020. They will now begin the process of returning those H-1B petitions which were, unfortunately, not selected this year. While receipt notices may still likely trickle in for the[…]
The June 2019 Visa Bulletin was just released. Most jarring was the massive retrogression that occurred for the EB1 India category, which retrogressed an astonishing 2 years, 1 month, and 21 days, from 22 February 2017 to 1 January 2015. The only (somewhat) silver lining is that this retrogression is expected to be temporary, with[…]
Today President Trump issued an Executive Order imposing new sanctions on Iran with respect to the iron, steel, aluminum, and copper industries. More importantly, Section 5 of the EO suspends entry of Iranian immigrants and nonimmigrants engaged or related to those industries. Relevant language below (emphasis added): Sec. 5. The unrestricted immigrant and nonimmigrant[…]
The Trump administration continues its attack on the H-1B visa program on all fronts. Earlier this month, while testifying before a Congressional Committee on the annual budget of the Department of Labor, Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta proposed increasing filing fees for H-1B visa petitions. The proposed fee increase would take place on October 1,[…]