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Split Supreme Court Decision Blocks President Obama’s Immigration Plan

In a one-sentence 4-4 split decision on June 24, 2016, U.S. v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand lower court rulings that block the Obama administration’s plan, known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA), to allow approximately 4 million parents of U.S. citizen children to remain in the United States and obtain […]

By Morris Deutsch | Published July 6, 2016 | Posted in Immigration, Immigration News | Tagged Barack Obama, Congress on immigration, family-based immigration, Immigration, immigration court decisions, immigration for children, immigration general, immigration reform, undocumented workers, work permits | Comments Off on Split Supreme Court Decision Blocks President Obama’s Immigration Plan

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 […]

By Morris Deutsch | Published June 22, 2016 | Posted in Immigration | Tagged Department of Labor, Department of State's Visa Bulletin, USCIS | Comments Off on Immigration Processing Times

Increased Wait Times for H-1B and L-1 Visas at U.S. Consular Posts in India

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) reports that U.S. Consular Posts in India are currently experiencing extraordinary wait times for nonimmigrant visa (NIV) interview appointments. At the time of this writing, the current wait times for all NIV categories other than B, F, and J are: Chennai – 75 days Hyderabad – 93 days Kolkata […]

By Morris Deutsch | Published June 15, 2016 | Posted in Immigration, Immigration News | Tagged H-1B Visas, L-1 Visas, nonimmigrant visas, Wait Times | Comments Off on Increased Wait Times for H-1B and L-1 Visas at U.S. Consular Posts in India

Effective May 10, 2016, STEM OPT Work Permits Expanded

May 10, 2016 The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has amended its F–1 nonimmigrant student visa regulations on optional practical training (OPT) for students with degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) from U.S. institutions of higher education. Specifically, the final rule allows such F–1 STEM students who have elected to pursue 12 months […]

By Morris Deutsch | Published May 11, 2016 | Posted in Immigration, Immigration News | Tagged applying for immigration, Congress on immigration, employment-based immigration, foreign workers, H-1B, immigration application, OPT, Students F-1, work permits | Leave a comment

USCIS Falls Way Behind on Asylum Interview Scheduling

Until fairly recently, USCIS’s Asylum Office in Arlington, VA, which covers applications from Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Washington, DC, was scheduling interview within 3 months or so of filing. However, due to a huge increase in applications from Central American and Middle East nationals, the Office has fallen behind by 3 years. According to USCIS’ […]

By Morris Deutsch | Published April 27, 2016 | Posted in Immigration, Immigration News, Media and Publications | Tagged applying for immigration, Asylum, Immigration, immigration application, immigration delays, immigration general, work permits | Comments Off on USCIS Falls Way Behind on Asylum Interview Scheduling

USCIS Reaches FY2017 H-1B Cap

On April 7th, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced has reached the congressionally mandated H-1B cap for fiscal year (FY) 2017. USCIS has also received more than the limit of 20,000 H-1B petitions filed under the U.S. advanced degree exemption. USCIS will use a computer-generated process, also known as the lottery, to randomly select the […]

By Morris Deutsch | Published April 8, 2016 | Posted in Immigration, Immigration News, Media and Publications | Tagged H-1B, immigration application, immigration general, nonimmigrant visas, professional workers, Visas, work permits | Leave a comment

USCIS Issues Policy Memorandum on “Same or Similar” Occupations and Job Portability

On March 18, 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services finalized its policy on determining whether a new job is in the “same or similar” occupational classification with respect to job portability. The policy memorandum instructs USCIS employees on how to use the Department of Labor’s Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes and other evidence to determine if […]

By Morris Deutsch | Published April 7, 2016 | Posted in Immigration, Immigration News | Tagged applying for immigration, employment-based immigration, immigration general, labor certification | Leave a comment

H-1B Season is Here Again

On April 1, 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2017 cap. U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in occupations that require highly specialized knowledge in fields such as science, engineering, and computer programming. The congressionally mandated cap on H-1B […]

By Morris Deutsch | Published March 8, 2016 | Posted in Immigration, Immigration News | Tagged Congress on immigration, employment-based immigration, H-1B, H-4 visas, nonimmigrant visas, professional workers, US Visa, Visas, work permits | Leave a comment

Can Toddlers Be Their Own Lawyers in Immigration Court?

Is this ignorance, evil, or just a misstatement? The Boston Globe reports a senior Justice Department official is arguing that 3- and 4-year-olds can learn immigration law well enough to represent themselves in court, staking out an unconventional position in a growing debate over whether immigrant children facing deportation are entitled to taxpayer-funded attorneys. Jack H. Weil, […]

By Morris Deutsch | Published March 5, 2016 | Posted in Immigration | Leave a comment

More Changes Coming to the Visa Waiver Program

February 18, 2016 DHS announced that it is continuing its implementation of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015, by adding Libya, Somalia, and Yemen as countries of concern, and limiting VWP travel for certain individuals who have traveled to these countries since March 1, 2011. At this time, […]

By Morris Deutsch | Published February 22, 2016 | Posted in Immigration, Immigration News, Media and Publications | Tagged applying for immigration, Congress on immigration, Immigration, immigration and crime, immigration general, immigration reform, US Visa, Visa waiver | Leave a comment