Mid-October 2017 Immigration Update
Headlines: Kirstjen Nielsen Nominated as Secretary of Homeland Security – On October 12, 2017, President Donald Trump announced the nomination of Kirstjen Nielsen for the position of Secretary of Homeland Security. Lee Cissna Confirmed as Director of USCIS – The U.S. Senate confirmed Lee Francis Cissna as director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on […]
October 2017 Immigration Update
Headlines Trump Administration Implements New Travel Restrictions – The Trump administration has announced travel and visa restrictions with respect to the countries of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen, subject to “categorical exceptions and case-by-case waivers.” Following Mysterious Attacks, United States Suspends Visas for Cubans, Withdraws Most Staff From Havana Embassy, […]
Mid-September 2017 Immigration Update
Headlines: President Orders End of DACA in Six Months, With Mixed Signals About Future for ‘Dreamers’; Two Lawsuits Challenge Program’s Termination –President Trump has ordered the end of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an Obama administration program that allowed certain people who came to the United States as children to continue to live, go to […]
September 2017 Immigration Update
Headlines DHS Cancelled Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) – Trump has rescinded DACA and issued a winding down process. USCIS Denies Pending Advance Parole Applications for H-1B, L Applicants Traveling Outside the United States – Immigration lawyers are advising their H-1B and L clients to avoid traveling internationally while their advance parole applications are […]
Mid-August 2017 Immigration Update
Headlines Labor Dept. Announces Revisions to H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 Forms, Comment Period – Pursuant to a June news release calling for proposed form changes “to better protect American workers, confront fraud, and increase transparency,” the Department of Labor published a notice announcing its intent to revise its information collection for the H-1B, H-1B1 and […]
August 2017 Immigration Update
Headlines: Sens. Graham, Durbin Introduce Bipartisan ‘Dream Act’– On July 20, 2017, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the “Dream Act,” a bipartisan legislative effort that would allow immigrant students who grew up in the United States to earn lawful permanent residence. DHS Increases FY 2017 Limit on H-2B Temporary Nonagricultural Workers […]
July 2017 Global Immigration Update
Feature Article: DATA PROTECTION: AN OVERVIEW – This article provides an overview of recent developments in several countries with respect to data protection.Country Updates Country Updates: GERMANY – Effective August 1, 2017, the German parliament is implementing European Union (EU) Directive 2014/66/EC (Intra-Company Transfer (ICT)). ITALY – The Italian government has reintroduced filing fees for […]
Travel Ban: FAQs – Updated 07/19/2017
These updated FAQs reflect the situation with regard to President Trump’s executive orders entitled “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States,” banning entry to the United States by certain individuals traveling from Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen, as of 3 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on July 19, 2017. […]
Mid-July 2017 Immigration Update
Headlines: State Dept. Issues Guidance on Trump ‘Travel Ban’; Hawaii Motion Denied; More Court Action – The Department of State recently released guidance on President Trump’s “travel ban.” The Department’s guidance was issued following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling partially granting the government’s request to stay lower court injunctions against the travel ban. A federal […]
Travel Ban: FAQs – Updated 07/14/2017
These updated FAQs reflect the situation with regard to President Trump’s executive orders entitled “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States,” banning entry to the United States by certain individuals traveling from Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen, as of 5 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on July 14, 2017. […]
July 2017 Immigration Update
Headlines: Supreme Court Partially Lifts Trump Travel Ban Preliminary Injunctions – The Supreme Court plans to hear arguments in the related cases in October brought against the Trump administration in the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Ninth and Fourth Circuits. USCIS Resumes Premium Processing for H-1B Petitions Filed for Conrad 30 Medical Doctors, Interested […]
Travel Ban FAQs – Updated 06/27/2017
These updated FAQs reflect the situation with regard to President Trump’s executive orders entitled “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States,” banning entry to the United States by certain individuals traveling from Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen, as of 8 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on June 27, 2017. […]
Mid-June 2017 Immigration Update
Headlines: Ninth Circuit Rules Against President Trump’s Revised Travel Ban – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held on June 12, 2017, that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority in issuing the revised executive order banning travel to the United States from certain countries. New State Dept. Form Asks Certain Visa Applicants […]
June 2017 Global Immigration Update
Feature Article: EFFECTS OF INCREASED ENFORCEMENT, SECURITY, NATIONALISM ON IMMIGRATION LAW: AN OVERVIEW – This article provides an overview of recent developments in several countries with respect to increases in enforcement, security measures, and nationalism. Country Updates: AUSTRALIA – This article summarizes significant changes to the 457 visa system that will replace the current 457 […]
June 2017 Immigration Update
Headlines: Fourth Circuit Upholds Rejection of Trump Travel Ban – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has upheld a nationwide preliminary injunction rejecting a substantial portion of the Trump administration’s revised executive order barring entry into the United States of people from certain countries. DHS Extends TPS Designation for Haiti –DHS has […]
Mid-May 2017 Immigration Update
Headlines: Spending Bill Extends EB-5 Investor Visa Program to September 30; No Funding for Wall – The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017 extends the EB-5 immigrant investor visa program through September 30, 2017. The legislation also provides a large border-security funding increase, but no funding for a border wall. USCIS Completes Data Entry of FY […]
May 2017 Immigration Update
Headlines: President Trump Signs ‘Buy American and Hire American’ Executive Order – Among other things, the order calls for the Secretaries of State, Labor, and Homeland Security, along with the Attorney General, to “propose new rules and issue new guidance, to supersede or revise previous rules and guidance if appropriate,” to protect U.S. workers in […]
Mid-April 2017 Immigration Update
Headlines: USCIS Reaches FY 2018 H-1B Cap – On April 7, 2017, USCIS reached the H-1B cap for FY 2018. USCIS also received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to meet the 20,000 visa U.S. advanced degree exemption. USCIS Changes H-1B Specialty Occupation Guidance for Computer Programmers – Attorneys are expecting an increase in requests […]
April 2017 Global Immigration Update
Headlines: INDIA – India has launched an e-Tourist Visa for certain travelers. ITALY – Various developments have been announced. NETHERLANDS – This article offers comments from a Dutch perspective on the new European Union Directive on intracorporate transferees. TURKEY – Regulations on the new Turquoise Card have been published. UNITED KINGDOM – This article discusses […]
April 2017 Immigration Update
Headlines: USCIS To Accept FY 2018 H-1B Petitions Starting April 3 – USCIS will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year 2018 cap on April 3, 2017. State Dept. Cable Calls for U.S. Embassies To Increase Scrutiny of Certain Visa Applicants – The cable orders U.S. embassies to identify “applicant populations warranting increased […]
