U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) continues to keep spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens in suspense regarding the process and requirements for filings that may be made on Monday, August 19, 2024, for...more
USCIS has issued new policy guidance explaining how it determines whether a beneficiary has met the two-year home residence requirement applicable to nonimmigrant exchange visitors in J status....more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced a new process for lawful permanent residents to receive temporary evidence of their lawful permanent resident status by mail rather than physically visiting...more
On February 14, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) made a small change in the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) that will have a significant impact on the lives of many immigrant families....more
For Americans and other foreign residents, Mexico is a very attractive country to live and work, because of its weather, rich culture, delicious food, friendly locals, and cost of living. And in an increasingly global...more
This week, US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a policy change that allows employers to accept a receipt notice for a naturalization application along with an expired Permanent Resident Card (a/k/a Green...more
The Inadmissibility on Public Charge Ground rule was published in the Federal Register on August 14, 2019 and became effective on October 15, 2019. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a rule interpreting...more
A federal court on July 29 temporarily halted the public charge rule during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, while the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on July 31 released a new proposed schedule with...more
In our continuing series of reports, Charles (“Charlie”) Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, U.S. Department of State, shares his most recent analysis of current trends and future projections for the...more
On January 30, 2020, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it would be implementing the Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds final rule (Final Rule) on February 24, 2020. This implementation...more
As of February 24, 2020, all applications for Adjustment of Status will be subject to the enhanced Public Charge Rule after a rule by the U.S. Supreme Court on January 27, 2020. This rule, originally scheduled to take effect...more
Our wrap-up of immigration news from the month of January continues today as we review the implementation of the new “public charge” rule. Implementation of Public Charge Rule - The Trump Administration proposed a...more
The Public Charge Rule, denying permanent residence status to immigrants who may use public benefits, will be implemented by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on February 24. The Supreme Court has now...more
Today USCIS announced that, except for in the state of Illinois, it will implement its public charge rule as of Monday, February 24, 2020. USCIS is expected to publish updated forms, instructions and guidance on its website...more
There are two main paths to Permanent Residency, or green card, for foreign national physicians. The first is the Physician National Interest Waiver (PNIW), created for those physicians who serve five years in primary care...more
In this series, Partner Danielle Rizzo explores how several small changes to student visa policy by the Trump Administration are having a major impact on the international student population in the United States. These...more
I guess it is not a surprise, there was another information leak. This time the leak was from USCIS, perhaps an accident or perhaps not. Is is true or is it fake news that a regulation would be proposed limiting, at least in...more
There’s an irony in Fortune Magazine’s July 24, 2014, article “The dark, disturbing world of the visa-for-sale program.” The article accuses foreign EB-5 investors of being “ill-equipped (or disinclined) to assess the...more
In mid-March, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a notice including helpful hints for individuals who may have questions regarding their immigration status and how this may or may not affect eligibility for...more
USCIS’ normally reliable status online system (go to uscis.gov then to case status on-line) now has a red warning to expect a 30-45-day delay between when your application or petition is filed and when your information is...more