On January 24, 2024, USCIS issued updated policy guidance to address when USCIS may excuse untimely filed extensions of stay and change of status requests.
The guidance reminds employers and employees that USCIS generally does not approve an extension of…
On December 21, the State Department released the long-awaited details of a previously announced pilot program that will allow qualified noncitizens to renew their H-1B nonimmigrant visas within the United States. This program aims to assess the technical and operational…
On October 30, 2023, in a recent executive order titled “Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence,” the President of the United States emphasized the importance of responsible AI development and outlined various…
On April 28, 2023, USCIS announced that for Fiscal Year 2024 (begins October 1, 2023), it received 758,994 eligible H1B registrations. This is an astonishing number compared to the 474,421 registrations received in Fiscal Year 2023, and even more astonishing…
On February 14, 2023 United States (US) Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced an important change regarding when an immigrant visa “becomes available” for the purpose of calculating the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) age for noncitizens seeking lawful permanent…
Following up on their commitment to improving efficiency and reducing processing times within the immigration system, USCIS will now start accepting premium processing requests for students applying for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) under their Optional Practical Training (OPT) or Science,…
The H-1B visa program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign national workers for specialty occupation jobs. U.S. Congress has established an annual numerical limit or “cap” of 65,000 visas for individuals in the general H-1B category and 20,000 for individuals…
USCIS has announced that it will expand the Premium Processing Program. Effective January 30, 2023, Multi-National Executives and Managers, as well as applicants for National Interest Waivers can use the program, which guarantees review of petitions within 15 days of…
On December 23, 2022, President Biden signed into law the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Pursuant to the NDAA, Portuguese nationals may apply for E nonimmigrant visas but only if Portugal provides similar nonimmigrant status to National…
Effective January 6, US Citizenship and Immigration Services has extended and implemented a new parole program previously only available for Ukrainians and Venezuelans to include nationals of Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua. As with the Venezuelan parole program, it is intended…
