The U.S. Department of State recently announced that it is developing the capability to issue digital visa authorizations (DVA) instead of the traditional visas that are printed and placed in applicants’ passports. This...more
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed that a new visa foil design is being released for all nonimmigrant and immigrant visas. The current Lincoln visa foil will soon be replaced with a Bridge visa foil....more
On June 15, 2022, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) ombudsman published formal recommendations on how the federal agency can address certain systemic issues. According to the report, the COVID-19 pandemic...more
The Government of Canada has announced the first phase of its plan to ease border restrictions for travelers entering Canada. Under the new policy, travelers whose vaccination status meets the criteria of “fully vaccinated”...more
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in numerous presidential proclamations restricting travel and entry into the United States. Likewise, since the pandemic began, the criteria for “national interest exceptions” (NIEs)...more
4/8/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
International Travel ,
Ireland ,
National Interest Waiver ,
Presidential Proclamations ,
Travel Restrictions ,
UK ,
US Department of State ,
Visas
On January 8, 2021, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule that significantly alters the longstanding randomized lottery process that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has...more
On November 30, 2020, a federal district judge in the matter of Washington Alliance of Technology Workers v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, et al., No. 16-1170, issued an order to uphold the Obama-era program...more
Through its latest policy memorandum, issued on February 22, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has formalized additional requirements for H-1B petitions involving off-site employment. While USCIS states...more
In his first State of the Union address on Tuesday January 30, 2018, President Donald Trump highlighted his plan for immigration reform, which consists of four pillars: (1) creating a path to citizenship for DREAMers, (2)...more
On January 8, 2018, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that temporary protected status (TPS) will end for approximately 200,000 Salvadorans, effective September 9, 2019. El Salvador was initially...more
Perhaps in response to the recent presidential election, the demand for immigrant visas has noticeably surged across most employment-based immigrant visa preference categories. While the final action dates for most preference...more
As the U.S. government begins its new fiscal year on October 1, 2016, the recently published October 2016 visa bulletin brings welcome news for many employees who are patiently waiting for their priority dates to become...more
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the preliminary injunction against President Barack Obama’s executive action that would potentially have shielded approximately 4.4 million undocumented immigrants from...more
In response to Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle’s ruling in Washington Alliance of Technology Workers v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security et al., No. 14-529 (August 12, 2015) that vacated the previous regulations on STEM...more
10/17/2015
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Federal Register ,
Foreign Students ,
Form F-1 ,
H-1B ,
Notice and Comment ,
OMB ,
OPT ,
Order to Stay ,
Popular ,
Proposed Regulation ,
STEM ,
Time Extensions ,
Vacated ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas ,
Work Permits