Immigration Update – April 28, 2025
Headlines: DHS Reverses Course, Restores Student SEVIS Records—But Future Remains Uncertain – Following numerous lawsuits and court orders, DHS suddenly restored many foreign students’ SEVIS records that it had abruptly deleted, but uncertainty remained. Cap Reached for Additional H-2B Returning Workers for Early Second Half of FY 2025 – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has […]
Immigration Update – April 21, 2025
Headlines: CHNV Litigation Update: USCIS Parole Terminations Stayed – Pursuant to a court order, parole termination notices sent to people in the United States from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela “are stayed and therefore not currently in effect. No new requests for CHNV parole will be processed.” Temporary Restraining Order Granted in Case Challenging Terminations […]
Immigration Update – April 14, 2025
Headlines: USCIS Begins Scrutinizing Social Media; Many Student, Faculty, and Researcher Visas Revoked – The Trump administration has recently revoked more than 525 student, faculty, and researcher visas for a variety of reasons, or no reason. Trump Announces Militarization of Southern Border – President Trump announced a “military mission for sealing the southern border of […]
Immigration Update – April 07, 2025
Firm in the News FY 2026 H-1B Initial Registration Selection Process Completed – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough electronic registrations for unique beneficiaries during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year 2026 H-1B numerical allocations (H-1B cap), including the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap). USCIS Announces Work Permit Procedures for […]
Global Immigration Update – April 2025
FEATURE ARTICLE STUDENT VISAS IN ITALY: AN OVERVIEW –This article provides an update on student visas in Italy. COUNTRY UPDATES CANADA – A new Ministerial Instruction eliminates points for job offers with respect to Express Entry. Italy – Italian Town Halls are introducing new fees for Italian citizenship and civil status certificates. UNITED KINGDOM – […]
Immigration Update – March 31, 2025
Headlines: Scrutiny of Visa Applicants, Green Card Holders, Students, Exchange Visitors Heightened Under Trump Administration – The Trump administration is increasingly scrutinizing visa applicants and even permanent residents (green card holders) and has placed a “temporary pause” on certain green card applications “to do more vetting.” ABIL: Tips for International Travelers Entering the United States […]
Immigration Update – March 24, 2025
Headlines: DHS To Terminate Parole Programs for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans – The Department of Homeland Security plans to terminate parole programs for an estimated 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans in the United States and their immediate family members. Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration’s Use of 1798 Law to Justify Deportations of Venezuelans Without Due […]
Immigration Update – March 17, 2025
Headlines: U.S. Arrests and Detains Permanent Resident Protester, Raising First Amendment Concerns – The Trump administration has said it plans to expand arrests and deportations based on foreign policy grounds. DOS Expands Foreign Affairs Functions Exempted From Public Notice Requirements; Significant Effects on Agency Rulemaking and Adjudications Likely – The declaration effectively constitutes an expansion […]
Immigration Update – March 13, 2025
Headlines: Trump Administration Plans to Restart and Expand Travel Bans – The travel ban would likely include Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen, along with Afghanistan, Pakistan, and possibly others. USCIS Changes Many Forms With No Notice, Adds Grace Periods After Complaint Filed – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) […]
Immigration Update – March 03, 2025
Headlines: President Trump Proposes ‘Gold Card’ Visa Program to Replace EB-5 Visa – President Trump said he wants to sell a “gold card” visa for $5 million to noncitizens, including both individuals and companies. The visa would include permanent residence with work authorization and a path to U.S. citizenship. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said […]
Immigration Update – February 24, 2025
Headlines: Trump Administration Roundup: Highlights of Recent Immigration Developments – The Trump administration has been busy. This article provides a non-exhaustive summary of selected immigration-related highlights. DHS Partially Vacates Haitian TPS Notice, Reduces Extension and Redesignation Period – The Department of Homeland Security reduced the period of extension and redesignation of Haiti for TPS from […]
Immigration Update – February 18, 2025
Headlines: March Visa Bulletin Announces Retrogression of EB-4 Category, Religious Workers Expiration – The bulletin announces retrogression of the final action date in the EB-4/SR categories. OFLC Announces Deletion of Older Records in FLAG System – Records more than five years old will be deleted from the Foreign Labor Access Gateway System beginning on March […]
Immigration Update – February 11, 2025
Headlines: FY 2026 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Period Opens March 7 – The initial registration period for the fiscal year 2026 H-1B cap season will open at noon ET on March 7, 2025, and run through noon ET on March 24, 2025. DHS Terminates 2023 But Not 2021 Venezuela TPS Designation – The Department of […]
Global Immigration Update – February 2025
FEATURE ARTICLE CLAWBACK CLAUSES: AN OVERVIEW –This article provides an update on clawback clauses in several countries. COUNTRY UPDATES EUROPEAN UNION – This article takes a look at the European Union’s (EU) stance on citizenship by investment, and temporary protection permits for Ukrainian nationals. ITALY – This article discusses what constitutes a “business” for visa […]
Immigration Update – February 3, 2025
DHS Pauses Humanitarian Parole Programs On January 23, 2025, the top official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reportedly ordered a pause of various humanitarian parole programs while the agency assesses them, following an email order from the acting head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct such a review. The New […]
Immigration Update – January 27, 2025
Headlines: The First Week: Round-Up of Key Trump Immigration Actions – This article summarizes key highlights among the flurry of immigration-related actions since President Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025. Senate Confirms Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary – The U.S. Senate confirmed Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security. She will oversee U.S. Citizenship […]
Immigration Update – January 21, 2025
Headlines: Inauguration Eve: A Nation Holds Its Breath – What will actually happen and when, in the short term and over the long term? Only time will tell. Discussion and preparation on both sides have been wide-ranging. This article summarizes select highlights. USCIS Updates Guidance on EB-2 National Interest Waivers – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration […]
Immigration Update – January 13, 2025
Headlines: USCIS Updates O-1 Guidance on Extraordinary Ability Evidence – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services updated its policy guidance, effective immediately, to clarify how it evaluates evidence to determine eligibility for O-1A nonimmigrants of extraordinary ability, including adding examples of evidence for individuals in critical and emerging technologies. Cap Reached for Additional H-2B Returning Worker […]
Immigration Update – January 06, 2025
Headlines: OFLC Reminds Employers About H-2B Application Filing Timelines for 2025 Peak Filing Season – The filing window to submit an H-2B Application for Temporary Employment Certification (Form ETA-9142B and appendices) requesting work start dates of April 1, 2025, or later, opened on January 1, 2025. VWP Designated Countries List To Be Updated on Website, […]
Immigration Update – December 30, 2024
Headlines: Recent Pro-H-1B Worker Comments by Trump Advisers Spark Public Backlash in Republican Party – Several top advisers to President-elect Trump have expressed support for high-skilled foreign workers coming to the United States on H-1B visas, but many Trump supporters strongly oppose immigration of any kind. New Form I-129 Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker To […]
