Effective August 6, 2020, the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (B.C. PNP) has increased the fees for Skills Immigration (SI) applications and requests for review submissions. The new fee for the Skills Immigration application is $1,150 (increased from $700), and the new fee for a request...

Washington, D.C., August 11, 2020: According to several sources close to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, USCIS may reopen the FY 2021 H-1B Lottery due to an unexpected decline in H-1B petition filings. If this occurs, USCIS will select additional candidates from initial H-1B...

Washington, D.C., August 10, 2020: Starting August 3, 2020, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and the U.S. Consulates in Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana and Hermosillo will resume limited operations for student visa processing for Mexican citizens and residents. We will accept applications in the F,...

On August 5,2020, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued 3,900 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) in its most recent all-program draw. The minimum score in the August 5th draw was 476, 2 points lower than the previous all-program draw. In the July 8 invitation round held...

Washington, D.C., August 4, 2020: The Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a prior injunction on the DHS Public Charge rule that the Supreme Court had stayed, but limited its applicability to NY, CT, and VT. As of now, the nationwide injunction issued last week remains...

Washington, D.C., August 3, 2020: Unexpectedly, the Department of State’s (DOS) visa reciprocity schedule appears to indicates that E1 and E2 visas for Mexican citizens may now be granted for up to 4 years at a time: https://travel.state.gov. No public announcement has been made by the DOS...

Washington D.C., August 3, 2020: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is going to increase visa application fees on October 2, 2020 by significant amounts. Employers seeking work visas, families seeking reunification visas, and even asylum seekers will be impacted. Among the most notable changes: The basic...

Washington, D.C., August 3, 2020: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) once again announced plans to increase the cost of investing in the U.S. as an immigrant investor that creating jobs for local workers. Under USCIS plans, fees for EB-5 visas will increase starting October 2,...

On July 29, 2020, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) issued 1,288 targeted Notifications of Interest (NOIs) to candidates who may qualify for Ontario’s Human Capital Priorities (HCP) Stream and have specific work experience. The OINP in its latest tech draw targeted candidates with a (Comprehensive...