Blog
Recent Blog Posts
DHS Ends Discriminatory Post-9/11 Registration and Tracking Program for Muslim Males in the U.S.
Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officially ended a Bush-era registry created after 9/11 to track men from predominantly Muslim countries who were not U.S. citizens. The registry, known as the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), was shown to be ineffective and had not been used for years. Nonetheless, the NSEERS structure remained […]
USCIS Revises Form I-9 (Verification of Employment Eligibility)
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently published a revised version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. By January 22, 2017, employers must use only the new version, dated 11/14/2016. Until then, they can continue to use either the version dated 03/08/2013 or the new version. Among the changes in the new version, Section 1 […]
How Will a President Trump Change U.S. Immigration Policy?
Donald Trump made immigration restrictions an important part of his campaign platform. Now that he is the President-elect, here are some ways he might change immigration policy, based on statements made during the campaign: He has pledged to immediately reverse President Obama’s executive actions that protect millions of young immigrants from deportation, Deferred Action for […]
USCIS Fees to Increase
Fees for immigration transactions will increase by an average of 21 percent beginning on December 23, 2016. Applications or petitions mailed, postmarked, or otherwise filed on or after December 23, 2016 must include the new fees. While the fees for some petitions will remain the same, others will see significant increases. According to USCIS, the […]
Instructions for 2018 Diversity Lottery
The Department of State has issued detailed instructions for the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV-18). annually. Each year, the Congressionally enacted Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides for a class of immigrants known as “diversity immigrants” from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. For Fiscal Year 2018, 50,000 Diversity Visas (DVs) will […]
Immigration Processing Times
Follow these links to access current processing times of the USCIS Field Offices and Service Centers, the Department of Labor, or the Department of State’s latest Visa Bulletin with the most recent cut-off dates for visa numbers: USCIS Field Office and Service Center processing times online: https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processTimesDisplay.do Department of Labor processing times and information on […]