Immigration - General

A recent non-binding report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found the appointments of Kevin McAleenan and Chad Wolf (both as “acting” DHS Secretaries) and Ken Cuccinelli (senior official performing the duties of the deputy secretary) violated the governing federal and DHS succession ru

With a breakdown in talks on the latest COVID-19 stimulus package and with most senators and representatives out of town (though the House has been recalled from vacation to address the U.S. Postal Service crisis), USCIS has not received the $1.2 billion that it wants and says it needs to

Assuming there is no further stalling or litigation by the government, Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) may finally be on their way to approximately 75,000 foreign nationals who have been waiting for them, in some cases for months, after having approved application notices in hand. In Subra

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a new fee structure that will take effect on October 2, 2020. The final rule , published in the Federal Register on August 3, 2020, announced that there would be adjustments to filing fees for certain immigration and natura

On July 31, 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a final rule that will adjust fees for specific immigration and naturalization benefit requests to “ensure U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services [USCIS] recovers its costs of services.”

New USCIS filing fees will go into effect on October 2, 2020, under a new final rule published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the Federal Register on August 3, 2020 . This rule raises fees by a weighted average of 20% and changes the current fee structure to

Employers need to ready themselves for investigations from the Department of Labor (DOL) into the use of H-1B visas. Without Congressional oversight or legislative changes, the Trump Administration has changed the policies for H-1Bs, resulting in the highest denial rate in history of this legal immi

On July 24, 2020, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) issued updated guidance for international students pursing education programs in the United States. The follow-up guidance states that active students in F-1 and M-1 status, as well as scho

On July 28, 2020, only six weeks after the Supreme Court of the United States blocked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) attempt to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, DHS issued a memorandum announcing plans to limit the scope of the DACA program, pending a

On July 29, 2020, U.S. District Court Judge George B. Daniels of New York issued a nationwide injunction barring the Department of Homeland Security from enforcing the Administration’s Public Charge Rule during the declared national health emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Rule mak

In response to the June 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision that the DACA program had not been properly terminated by the Trump Administration, President Donald Trump has announced he will be instituting a comprehensive review of the program. During that review, current DACA beneficiaries will be able

USCIS confirmed that its planned furlough of 70% of its workforce (13,400 employees) will be postponed at least until the end of August. The ostensible reason for the furlough was a budget shortfall, even though USCIS is a fee-based service that historically has covered costs. The furlough announcem

In a surprise announcement, District Judge Allison D. Burroughs, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, announced a reversal of the government decision that was announced just last week regarding students in F-1 or M-1 nonimmigrant status. Foreign students will now be able to enter t

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has agreed to rescind a proposed rule that would have required international students on F-1 and M-1 visas to either attend in-person classes at U.S. colleges and universities or face having to leave the United States.

National universities and states across the country filed multiple federal lawsuits this week seeking to invalidate and enjoin implementation of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program’s (SEVP)1 Fall 2020 COVID-19 Guidance, which ended flexibility on online learning alternatives for F-1 and M-1 non

Foreign nationals with approved permanent residence applications but no actual permanent resident card (known as Green Cards) are not the only ones dealing with the printing back-up at USCIS . After deciding to bring the printing of Green Cards and all other employment authorization documents in-hou

The reported failure of USCIS to renew its contract with an outside vendor in June, because it planned to bring all printing of Green Cards in-house, may be the reason foreign nationals who have managed to make it through the arduous permanent residency process are not receiving their “Green Cards.”

On July 6, 2020, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) announced plans to update its online study policies for F-1 and M-1 nonimmigrant students for the fall 2020 semester. According to the proposed policies, SEVP intends to prohibit F-1 and

Canadian Border Closure Extended to July 31, 2020 for International Travellers As anticipated, the Government of Canada has extended the restriction on all foreign nationals entering Canada from destinations other than the United States until at least July 31, 2020. The restriction on travel from th

On June 18, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in DHS v. Regents of the University of California , No. 18-587, effectively blocking the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) attempt to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.