USCIS has completed receipting and data entry for all filings of Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, received between May 1 and Sept. 9, 2018. Petitioners should have received receipt notices by Oct. 22, 2018.
On June 13, 2018, USCIS announced that the California Service Center (CSC) was experiencing a delay in initial data entry for Form I-751. After changing the filing location for Form I-751 from the USCIS Service Centers to the USCIS Lockbox facilities in September
U.S. Customs and Border Protection enforces the laws of the United States and U.S. laws will not change following Canada’s legalization of marijuana. Requirements for international travelers wishing to enter the United States are governed by and conducted in accordance with U.S. Federal Law, which supersedes state laws. Although medical and recreational marijuana may be legal in some U.S. States and Canada, the sale, possession, production and distribution of marijuana or the facilitation of
On Oct. 1, USCIS began using digital tablets to administer the English reading and writing tests during naturalization interviews as part of the agency’s ongoing business modernization efforts. Although USCIS applicants already use digital tablets to sign or verify parts of their applications, this new approach expands tablet usage, allowing the device to be used for a greater portion of the application process. USCIS will be able to continue using the paper process on a case-by-case
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin implementing the June 28 Updated Guidance for the Referral of Cases and Issuance of Notices to Appear (NTAs) in Cases Involving Inadmissible and Deportable Aliens Policy Memorandum (PM) (PDF, 140 KB) on Oct. 1, 2018. USCIS will take an incremental approach to implement this memo.
An NTA is a document that instructs an individual to appear before an immigration judge. This is the first step in starting removal proceedings. Starting Oct
USCIS offers immigration services that may help people affected by special situations, including severe storms such as Hurricane Florence and Typhoon Mangkhut.
The following services may be available on a discretionary basis upon request for individuals who have been directly affected by Hurricane Florence or Typhoon Mangkhut, including:
USCIS is extending the previously announced temporary suspension of premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions and, beginning Sept. 11, 2018, will be expanding this temporary suspension to include certain additional H-1B petitions. We expect these suspensions will last until Feb. 19, 2019, and will notify the public via uscis.gov before resuming premium processing for these petitions.
While H-1B premium processing is suspended, we will reject any Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing
USCIS offers immigration services that may help people affected by unforeseen circumstances, including the California wildfires.
The following services may be available on a discretionary basis upon request:
On September 5, 2017, the Trump Administration rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. On September 8, 2017, the University of California filed a complaint challenging the rescission of the DACA program and asking the court to enjoin the implementation of the rescission. On January 9, 2018, the district court issued an order directing the government to partially maintain the DACA program. This practice alert summarizes the provisional relief provided by the
In the United Kingdom, a “caution” may be issued to an offender by police as an expeditious way of dealing with minor offenses that do not require court intervention. As no court is involved and there is no deprivation of liberty or property, cautions have historically not been treated as convictions or as “admissions” for U.S. immigration law purposes. That has now changed.
WASHINGTON —El Servicio de Ciudadanía e Inmigración de Estados Unidos (USCIS, por sus siglas en inglés), emitió una guía de políticas actualizada a fin de clarificar que el voto por representación (proxy vote) debe ser irrevocable para establecer el control requerido de una empresa en una petición de visa L-1.
WASHINGTON— Los actuales beneficiarios del Estatus de Protección Temporal (TPS, por sus siglas en inglés) bajo la designación de Honduras que desean mantener su estatus hasta la fecha de vencimiento actual del 5 de julio de 2018, deben reinscribirse entre el 15 de diciembre de 2017 y el 13 de febrero de 2018. Los procedimientos de reinscripción, incluso cómo renovar la documentación de autorización de empleo, han sido publicados en el Registro Federal y en www.uscis.gov/es/tps.
Todos los
Those interested in applying for parole under the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER) should take note that the instructions to Form I-941, Application for Entrepreneur Parole, contain requirements that are different from the requirements contained in the final rule published in January 2017. Specifically:
TPS Nicaragua Ending in January 2019
WASHINGTON— Current beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under Nicaragua’s designation who want to maintain that status through the program’s termination date of Jan. 5, 2019, must re-register between Dec. 15, 2017 and Feb. 13, 2018. Re-registration procedures, including how to renew employment authorization documentation, have been published in the Federal Register and on www.uscis.gov/tps.
All applicants must submit Form I-821, Application
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today it is taking steps to implement the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER), in accordance with a recent court decision.
Although the IER was published during the previous administration with an effective date of July 17, 2017, it did not take effect because the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a final rule on July 11, 2017, delaying the IER’s effective date until March 14, 2018. This delay rule was meant
Implementación en curso mientras la agencia propone reglamentación para cancelar el programa de permisos IER
El Servicio de Ciudadanía e Inmigración (USCIS, por sus siglas en inglés) anunció hoy que toma medidas para implementar la Regla para Empresarios Internacionales (IER, por sus siglas en inglés), en cumplimiento con una reciente decisión judicial.
Aunque la IER fue publicada durante la administración anterior con una fecha de efectividad del 17 de julio de 2017, no entró efecto debido a
WASHINGTON —El Servicio de Ciudadanía e Inmigración de Estados Unidos (USCIS, por sus siglas en inglés) anunció hoy que ha aclarado la guía de políticas (PDF, 71 KB) sobre las actividades laborales específicas que sus oficiales deben considerar al determinar si una persona cualifica para el estatus de no inmigrante TN en calidad de economista.
El estatus de no inmigrante TN bajo Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte (NAFTA, por sus siglas en inglés) permite que ciudadanos canadienses
WASHINGTON —U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it is clarifying policy guidance on the specific work activities its officers should consider when determining whether an individual qualifies for TN nonimmigrant status as an economist.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) TN nonimmigrant status allows qualified Canadian and Mexican citizens to temporarily enter the U.S. to engage in specific professional activities, including the occupation of
Clients have encountered visa processing delays at consular posts around the world, which are being caused by technical glitches in the visa processing system. The AILA DOS Liaison Committee raised this issue with the Department of State Visa Office, and the Visa Office confirmed that the Bureau of Consular Affairs is in the process of resolving these technical problems with the visa processing systems. They noted that some progress has already been made, but processing has not been fully
On December 4, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two orders staying the preliminary injunctions issued against President Trump’s September 24, 2017 Presidential Proclamation by the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii in the case Hawaii v. Trump and by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in the case IRAP v. Trump, pending the disposition of the administration’s appeals of these District Court rulings to the U.S. Court of the Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Fourth
As the Trump administration looks to curtail the ability of foreigners to live and work in the United States, many of the changes are happening through executive orders and policy memos, not legislation.
The latest shift affects holders of the H-1B visa favored by tech companies, as well as other work visas, who are seeking to extend their stays.
Under a new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services policy issued Monday, foreigners applying for a visa extension will no longer be given
