On August 21, 2017, the U.S. Department of State announced a temporary suspension of nonimmigrant visa services in Russia. The move comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on July 30th, 2017, that he was expelling 755 employees of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Russia from the country, effective September…
On July 19, 2017, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), along with the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”), published a final rule increasing the number of H-2B visas available for the 2017 fiscal year by 15,000 visas. H-2B visas are non-immigrant visas which allow United States businesses to hire non-agricultural workers…
President Trump ran his presidential campaign on a pledge to protect the jobs of American workers. As part of this pledge, President Trump routinely on the campaign trail said that he wanted to limit legal immigration to the United States. President Trump further, routinely stated that he wanted to make…
On January 27, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order banning individuals from seven predominantly Muslim countries (Sudan, Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, and Syria) from entering the United States. On February 3, 2017, a federal judge in Washington issued a temporary restraining banning the Federal Government from enforcing the…
On January 27, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order, “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States”. On February 3, 2017, a federal court in the State of Washington, issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the federal government from enforcing the executive order. The temporary restraining…
On March 3, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that it will temporarily suspend its premium processing service for H-1B petitions. The suspension of premium processing takes effect for all H-1B petitions filed on or after April 3, 2017. At the present time, USCIS expects the suspension to…
On February 20, 2017, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary, John Kelly, issued two memoranda dramatically changing how DHS treats foreign nationals illegally in the United States. Touching on numerous immigration issues, the memoranda will make it easier for foreign nationals to be quickly removed from the United States without…
On October, 26, 2016, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Jeh Johnson, announced the extension of Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) for certain Nepalese nationals in the United States through June 24, 2018. Prior to Secretary Johnson’s announcement, TPS was only available to Nepalese nationals through December 24, 2016. On April…
On October 4, 2016, Hurricane Mathews, a category 4 hurricane, devastated southern Haiti. To date, close to 1,000 Haitians have been confirmed dead. In addition, much of the crops and buildings in the southern part of the country have been destroyed. Based on the large scale humanitarian crisis, on October…
On September 30, 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), announced the publication of a new form, Form I-131A, Application for Travel Document (Carrier Document). The purpose of the new form, is to make it easier for lawful permanent residents whose travel documents are lost, stolen or destroyed, to obtain…