USCIS Plans for Employee Furloughs Starting July 3
Washington, D.C., June 24, 2020: In response to funding shortages caused by a huge drop in visa applications, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services is planning to furlough nearly 70% of its workforce. Under current law, USCIS raises funds for its operations from application fees that immigrants and employers pay for visa processes. USCIS is now […]
President Signs Proclamation to Temporarily Suspend Permanent and Temporary Immigration to the United States for Remainder of 2020
Washington, D.C., June 22, 2020: Citing the COVID-19 pandemic and need to protect American jobs, President Trump signed a Presidential Proclamation on Monday which suspends certain permanent immigration and temporary immigration to the United States for the remainder of the 2020 calendar year. The full text of the Proclamation can be found here : www.whitehouse.gov. […]
July, 2020 Visa Bulletin Released – India EB-5 Category to Become Current
Washington, D.C. – June 18, 2020: The U.S. Department of State recently published its monthly Visa Bulletin for July, 2020. Employment Based Green Cards The July, 2020 visa bulletin shows modest movement forward for most Employment-based categories and significant movement forward for EB-1 and EB-5 India. The upcoming visa bulletin shows that EB-5 India will […]
USCIS Drags Its Feet on EB-5 Processing
Washington, D.C., June 18, 2020: USCIS processing times for EB-5 visa processing appear to be getting worse instead of getting better. USCIS announced that official processing times for EB-5 I-526 visa petitions are between 29 and 61 months (61 months is 5 years and 1 month). By contrast, USCIS had announced earlier this year a […]
DACA Survives Supreme Court
Washington, D.C. , June 19, 2020: The United States Supreme blocked President Trump’s efforts to end the Obama-era program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The DACA program allowed more than 650,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the US unlawfully as children, who completed high school in the US and do not have a criminal […]
USCIS Announces Resumption of 15-day Premium Processing
Washington, D.C., May 29, 2020: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that it will resume premium processing for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, in phases over the next month. Effective June 1, 2020, USCIS will accept Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service for […]
Is the US Planning to Cancel the Visas of Certain Chinese Graduate Students?
Washington, D.C., May 28, 2020: Unconfirmed reports published in the New York Times on Thursday indicate that the White House is considering a measure that would cancel or revoke the visas of thousands of Chinese graduate students who allegedly have links with China’s military. The reports estimate that this new Executive Action could impact 3,000 […]
Court Halts USCIS Changes to Unlawful Presence for F Academic Students
Washington, D.C., May 28, 2020: In February 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina issued a permanent nationwide injunction enjoining USCIS from enforcing the Aug. 9, 2018, policy memorandum titled, ‘Accrual of Unlawful Presence and F, J, and M Nonimmigrants.’ USCIS will continue to apply the prior policy guidance found […]
USCIS Preparing for In-Person Services to the Public on June 4, 2020 (Expect Delays)
Washington, D.C., May 27, 2020: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is readying individual domestic offices to reopen on or after June 4. See our web alert for information on field offices, asylum offices, application support centers and naturalization ceremonies. USCIS is following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guidelines to protect our workforce […]
Quebec Suspends Re-Start of Immigrant Investor Program
May 26, 2020: The government of the Province of Quebec (Canada) today announced that it would suspend and postpone the intake of new applications for the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program until the Spring of 2021. The Quebec Immigrant Investor Program allows foreign investors to obtain Canadian permanent residence based on an investment of C$1.2 million […]