WASHINGTON —U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued updated policy guidance today clarifying that a proxy vote must be irrevocable to establish the requisite control of a company in an L-1 visa petition.

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 y

 Beginning October 2, 2017, all I-140-based adjustment of status applicants will be required to appear for an in-person interview at a USCIS Field Office.  On September 28, 2017, the Office of the CIS Ombudsman held a stakeholder call featuring Daniel Renaud, Associate Director of the USCIS Field Operations Directorate, who explained the purpose of the new requirement and provided information that will be of assistance in preparing clients for interviews.Who will be interviewed?All

On April 23, 2004, USCIS issued a memorandum titled “The Significance of a Prior CIS Approval of a Nonimmigrant Petition in the Context of a Subsequent Determination Regarding Eligibility for Extension of Petition Validity.” This memorandum directed adjudicators, when adjudicating petition extensions involving the same parties and underlying facts as the initial petition, to defer to prior determinations of eligibility, except in certain, limited circumstances.On August 17, 2015, USCIS issued a

El Servicio de Ciudadanía e Inmigración (USCIS, por sus siglas en inglés) reanudó hoy el procesamiento prioritario para todas las peticiones de extensiones de estadía de visas H-1B. El procesamiento prioritario está disponible ahora para todos los tipos de peticiones de H-1B.Las visas H-1B proporcionan trabajadores diestros para una variedad de trabajos especializados, entre los que se incluyen informática, ingeniería, y matemáticas. Cuando un peticionario solicita el servicio de procesamiento

WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) resumed premium processing today for all H-1B visa extension of stay petitions. Premium processing is now available for all types of H-1B petitions.H-1B visas provide skilled workers for a wide range of specialty occupations, including information technology, engineering, and mathematics. When a petitioner requests the agency’s premium processing service, USCIS guarantees a 15-calendar day processing time. If that time is not met

Limiting legal immigration: “Protecting American Jobs and Workers by Strengthening the Integrity of Foreign Worker Visa Programs”On Tuesday, Vox was given six documents that purported to be draft executive orders under consideration by the Trump administration. The source noted that “all of these documents are still going through formal review” in the Executive Office of the President and “have not yet been cleared by the [the Department of Justice or the Office of Legal Counsel].”Read the

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Deferred Inspection sites will correct errors recorded by CBP officers on arrival documents issued at the time of entry to the U.S., such as an improper nonimmigrant classification, inaccurate biographical information, or an incorrect period of admission. See https://www.cbp.gov/document/guidance/deferred-inspection-sites#)

The E-3 visa classification applies only to nationals of Australia as well as their spouses and children. E-3 principal applicants must be going to the United States solely to work in a specialty occupation. The spouse and children need not be Australian citizens. However the U.S. does not recognize De Facto relationships for the purposes of immigration, and to qualify as a spouse you will need a marriage certificate.

Port Parole is a unique authority reserved to U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the port of entry. This authority is given to CBP by INA §212(d)(5), which allows CBP to “parole [individuals] into the United States temporarily and under such conditions as [DHS] may prescribe only on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or a significant public benefit…” This authority is used very sparingly where the applicant for admission is otherwise inadmissible to the United States but

Colombia team Coach Jose Pekerman is being more cautious, making it unlikely Rodriguez will play in Tuesday’s game with Paraguay at the Rose Bowl (7:30 p.m. PDT, FS1, UniMas, UDN). Organizers expect a crowd of more than 40,000.

Colombia assistant manager Nestor Lorenzo says no decision has been made on whether to include captain James Rodriguez in the side to face Paraguay in the Copa America on Tuesday.  James scored his country's second goal before he was forced off by a dislocated shoulder in Colombia's opening game of the tournament, a 2-0 win over host the United States in Santa Clara.

Panama, ranked 56th in the world, and No. 82 Bolivia play their first Copa match at 7 p.m. Monday at Camping World Stadium. It will be the first time in history that Panama will compete in the tournament. "We'll leave everything on the playing field," Bolivia coach Julio César Baldivieso said through a translator. "The Bolivians are something special, they have something inside and when they know how to use it, they can be very successful."

Mexico and Uruguay are set to face off in a Group C match at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. on Sunday night.

Mexico take on Uruguay at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (FS1, 8 p.m. ET). After a long wait, Mexico's Copa America quest begins in earnest Sunday with a tough game against Uruguay. Sunday's clash between Mexico and Uruguay will very much decide Group C. Keep your eyes on Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, this summer is his time to shine and El Tri are a different team with him on the pitch. Need further proof? Look at their 1-0 warm-up win vs. Chile last week. He came on

Panama plays its first-ever Copa America match, while Bolivia looks to replicate their Quarterfinal form in 2015. Bolivia coach Julio Cesar Baldivieso has bemoaned the lack of preparation time with his players going into the tournament.

Modernizing & Streamlining our Legal Immigration System for the 21st Century

 
Attorneys at Guerra & Johnson are participating in a stakeholder engagement on Wednesday, Feb. 10, from 2 to 3 p.m. (Eastern) to discuss the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) final rule, “Enhancing Opportunities.” This is one of the recommendations published in the White House Report for Modernizing & Streamlining our Legal Immigration System for the 21st Century.

USCIS, in coordination with Department of State (DOS), is revising the procedures for determining visa availability for applicants waiting to file for employment-based or family-sponsored preference adjustment of status.

USCIS approved the statutory maximum of 10,000 petitions for U-1 nonimmigrant status for FY2016.

Remember Executive Action in Immigration Reform and the promise of work authorization and EAD cards for all the H-1B Visa Holders on the EB-2 and EB-3 Backlog from India and China, is this finally the answer?