Current Events

What You Need to Know About Employment-Based Green Card Interviews

Effective October 1, 2017 nationwide, USCIS will begin contacting those who filed their employment-based petitions after March 6th for interviews when they have also applied for Adjustment of Status to Permanent Residence.  The USCIS Ombudsman provided an informative Q and A session last Thursday. Here is what applicants need to know: Derivatives: Under 14 years old…

Delay for Parole for International Entrepreneurs Rule Vacated, Applications Can Be Submitted!

On December 1, 2017, the US District Court in DC ruled in favor of the entrepreneurs and venture capitals and vacated the rule (“Delay Rule”) delaying the effective date of the Parole for International Entrepreneurs Rule (PIER) until March 14, 2018. In the Delay Rule, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also stated that the…

SCOTUS: Muslim Ban Allowed for Those With No Bona Fide Relationship to US

History In March, President Trump issued a new version to Executive Order #13780 (EO), which banned individuals from 6 countries – Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen – from entering the US for 90 days.  This had been dubbed in the media as the Muslim Ban. Suits were filed to halt the enforcement of…

June 2016 Visa Bulletin Fluctuations: Why Retrogression?

Background Every month, the Department of State (DOS) receives information from the National Visa Center (NVC) about the total of visa applicants in the queue. From there, they predict the number of visas that would be available next month.  Every year, the US makes available a total of approximately 226,000 family-based visas, 140,000 employment-based visas,…

USCIS Proposes Increased Fees for Certain Petitions and to Maintain Reduced Fees for Others

The Department of Homeland Security released the Proposed Rule of the USCIS Fee Schedule yesterday.  According to the Proposal, the increase in fees are intended to cover shortages in the Immigration Examination Fee Account (IEFA).  The fees are used to meet certain national security, customer service, and adjudicative processing goals.  The Proposal details how they…