On March 12, 2019 the termination of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Nepal and Honduras has been temporarily stayed by a federal district court in California in the Bhattarai v. Nielsen case. TPS for Nepal was scheduled to expire on June 24, 2019 while TPS for Honduras was set to expire on January 5, 2020. This Court order is linked to the preliminary injunction in the Ramos v. Nielsen case, in which the Department of Homeland Security was ordered to continue TPS for El Salvador, Haiti, Sudan, and Nicaragua. TPS now temporarily remains in place for all of the six countries that received termination decisions...
USCIS will resume premium processing on Tuesday, March 12, for all H-1B petitions including pending petitions that have been issued a request for evidence (RFE). Premium processing service can be requested for pending H-1B petitions that have been issued a transfer notice. The premium processing request must be submitted with a copy of the transfer notice to the service center now handling the petition.
DOS announced on February 26, 2019 that in light of the suspension of routine visa services at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, has been designated as the primary site to process immigrant visas for residents of Venezuela. The NVC will begin scheduling immigrant visa appointments in Bogota starting April 2019. Nonimmigrant visa applications may be submitted at an embassy or consulate outside of Venezuela.
USCIS has resumed premium processing effective Monday, Jan. 28, for all fiscal year (FY) 2019 H-1B cap petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption (the “master’s cap”). USCIS guarantees a 15-day processing time upon request of premium processing. If USCIS does not take adjudicative action within the 15‑calendar day processing time, USCIS refunds the petitioner’s premium processing service fee and continues with expedited processing of the petition. This service will only be available for pending FY 2019 petitions, not new submissions. The previously announced temporary suspension of premium processing remains in effect for all other categories of H-1B petitions to which it applied.
The EB-5 Regional Center Program expired at the end of the day on Dec. 21, 2018, due to a lapse in congressional authorization to continue the program. However, USCIS will continue to receive regional center-affiliated FORMs I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur, and FORMs I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, after the close of business on Dec. 22, 2018. After that date USCIS will put unadjudicated regional center-affiliated FORMs I-526 and I-485 (whether filed before or after the expiration date) on hold for an undetermined length of time. FORMs I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions on...
From our family to yours, we wish you a wonderful holiday season filled with endless opportunities for peace, joy and happiness. We look forward to more GREAT things in 2019 as we move into our 40th year! We thank you for your support through all these past years and we hope to serve you in the upcoming year! Our law offices will be closed December 24th through the 25th for the Christmas holiday. In addition, we will be closed from December 31st through January 1st for the New Year holiday. We want to make sure our staff members can enjoy...
A national day of mourning has been declared for Wednesday, Dec. 5 , 2018 to remember the life and legacy of George H.W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States. Accordingly, all U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offices will be closed Wednesday. USCIS will reschedule all naturalization ceremonies, interviews, and appointments set for that day.
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Trump formally signed their new trade agreement Friday (November 30, 2018) on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The signing shifts the onus onto each country’s legislatures to approve the agreement before it can actually take effect. In the U.S. the pact must now be approved by Congress
President Trump signed a proclamation on 9 November 2018 saying that anyone who wants to claim asylum in the US has to come in through official points of entry - and their cases will not be heard if they enter illegally. This week a 9th Circuit Court federal judge blocked the recent immigration proclamation. Mr Trump on Tuesday (20 November 2018) called the jurist who ruled against his asylum policy an "Obama judge". The president's gibe provoked a stern statement from US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, the head of America's highest court, Chief Justice Roberts has taken the extraordinary step...
This Thanksgiving we are thankful to have worked with and served all of our clients who needed our help in 2018. Finding ways to help and assist them has been a true pleasure, and we can only hope to continue our service in the years to come. We wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by those they love most. Please enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday safely. “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a...
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