On January 22, 2020, USCIS announced that due to the Oct. 3, 2018 termination of the 1955 Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations, and Consular Rights with Iran, Iranian nationals are no longer eligible for E-1 treaty trader and E-2 treaty…
Blog Archives
Important Changes Regarding the H-1B Lottery Process In 2020
The H-1B silly season is upon us! For this year’s H-1B cap season (known as fiscal year (FY) 2021), USCIS will implement a new registration process, such that employers will not have to file the complete H-1B petition on April…
Significant Visa Fee Increases for Australian Nationals
On December 23, 2019, and without any prior notice, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) revised the reciprocity schedule for Australia for certain nonimmigrant visa categories. The changes include dramatically higher fees for E, F, H, L and R visa…
Posted in Updates
E-2 Visas for Israeli Nationals (Finally Here!)
Beginning May 1, 2019, nationals of Israel may submit an E-2 treaty investor visa application with the Tel Aviv Branch of the U.S. Embassy in Israel, or file a change of status application with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services…
Posted in Updates
Supreme Court Upholds “Travel Ban 3.0”
On June 26, 2018, the Supreme Court rendered a decision in Trump v. Hawaii, upholding Travel Ban 3.0 by a vote of 5 to 4, allowing the travel ban to remain in effect. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John…
DV Lottery FY 2019 Results Now Available!
DV-2019 Entrants may enter their confirmation information through the Electronic Diversity Visa Lottery website starting at noon (EDT) on May 15, 2018. The DV-2019 entry period opened on October 18, 2017, and closed on November 22, 2017. Only confirmation information…
State of the Union: Top Issues Affecting Immigration in 2018
By TL Loke Walsh In the last 1½ years, we have heard the never-ending negative rhetoric from the Trump administration with regards to the U.S. immigration system. Most immigration lawyers didn’t think that the rhetoric had a chance of becoming…
BREAKING NEWS: Judge Rules DHS Must Accept Entrepreneur Parole Applications From Foreign Entrepreneurs
On Friday, December 1, Federal Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court ruled in favor of a lawsuit brought by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), entrepreneurs, and startup companies on September 19, 2017 against the U.S. Department…
UPDATE: Mandatory Employment-Based I-485 Adjustment of Status (Green Card) Interviews
On September 28, 2017, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) hosted a stakeholder call to discuss the implementation of the new interview requirement for employment-based adjustment of status (I-485) applicants. During this call, USCIS indicated that all I-485 cases…
Posted in Updates
USCIS Resumes Premium Processing Service For All H-1B Petitions
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it resumed premium processing today for all types of H-1B petitions. The premium processing service was temporarily suspended on April 3, 2017, which was the beginning of the H-1B FY 2018…
Posted in Updates
