Covid-19 Stimulus Checks and Immigration

Washington D.C., March 31, 2020: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act provides a one-time payment of $1,200 per eligible adult ($2,400 for married couples filing taxes jointly) plus $500 per child under age 17. Who is Eligible? Persons eligible for the $1,200 stimulus check include U.S. citizens and non-citizens with a valid Social […]

USCIS Holds EB-5 Teleconference on New Processing Methodology

On March 13, 2020, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) held a public engagement via teleconference to provide information and answer questions about operational changes to the management of I-526 visa petitions and discussed the agency’s change from a first-in, first-out case-processing approach to a new “visa availability” approach for I-526 processing. USCIS’ Investor Program […]

Dept. Of State Updates Forms and Guidance to Expand Public Charge Questions

WASHINGTON DC, MARCH 4, 2020: The US Department of State (DOS) has revised the Foreign Affairs Manual’s section on Public Charge to bring it into line with what the Department of Homeland Security has done with USCIS regulations. The DOS has also finalized Form DS-5540 which is akin to USCIS’ Form I-944 (although much shorter). […]

USCIS to Change Process for Managing Pending EB-5 Petitions

Who Wins from the USCIS EB-5 Adjudications Change? Washington, D.C. – February 24, 2020 – On January 29, 2020, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it will no longer process EB-5 visas on a first-come-first-served basis. What Does This Policy Change Mean? The new USCIS adjudications policy means that the agency will move away […]

March 2020 Visa Bulletin: EB-5 China Waiting List Jumps Forward

Washington, D.C. – February 20, 2020: The March 2020 Visa Bulletin was released in the evening of February 18, 2020 by the U.S. Department of State (“DOS”). It brought welcome news to anxious EB-5 investors: the waiting list for Chinese-born EB-5 investors moved forward significantly. The EB-5 China visa waiting list jumped from December 1, […]

H-1B Lottery News: Online Registration Opens March 1

Washington, D.C. – February 21, 2020: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is using a new online registration system to allocate new H-1B visas. This is the first time that USCIS has adopted an online tool for employers to register and participate in the annual H-1B visa lottery for new visas. Prospective petitioners seeking to […]

EB-5 Investor Visa Program Grinds to a Halt

Washington, D.C., January 16, 2020: The EB-5 Immigrant Investor visa program has unofficially ground to a halt. This did not happen overnight. Data released this week by USCIS clearly demonstrates that the popularity of the EB-5 immigrant investor visa program peaked in 2015 and 2016, with approximately 14,000 new visa petitions filed each year (primarily […]

Are H-1B Visa Workers Good for Start-Up Businesses?

Washington, D.C., January 14, 2020: Do domestic U.S. start-up businesses benefit from hiring foreign skilled workers? The answer is “yes”, according to recent research. H-1B Visas Help Start-Ups to Grow A team of researchers comprised of Stephen Dimmock, Jiekun Huang and Scott Weisbenner, recently published these novel findings at the National Bureau of Economic Research […]

USCIS Opens New Online H-1B Registrations on March 1, 2020

Washington, D.C., January 9, 2020: SUMMARY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today through a Federal Register notice that it is implementing the online H-1B registration process for H-1B cap-subject petitions. Registration Dates The H-1B petition registration period begins on March 1, 2020 and is expected to end on March 20, 2020. USCIS expects […]

Appeals Court Maintains Injunction on Public Charge Rule

Washington, D.C., January 8, 2020: The Second U.S. Circuit of Appeals in Manhattan, NY, decided today to maintain an injunction preventing the Department of Homeland Security from enforcing its new public charge rule. The new public charge rule dates from October, 2019. The public charge rule would bar persons seeking temporary visas to the U.S. […]