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USCIS Raising Filing Fees Effective October 2, 2020
*Update: On September 29, 2020, a federal judge blocked the filing fees from increasing at this time. USCIS is raising its fees by an average of 20%, but some fees will increase by much more than that. If you have an immigration case that can be filed before that date, you should do so. Below is a table of the new fees. You can also find the final rule here.
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President Trump Issues Proclamation Suspending Entry of H-1B, H-2B, L, and J Visas
On June 22, 2020, President Trump issued a proclamation that suspends issuance of H-1B, H-2B, J and L visas until at least December 31, 2020. The suspension could be extended depending on the circumstances at that time. This proclamation also extends the proclamation from April 22, 2020, that bans certain immigrants from coming into the U.S. until the end of the year, which was originally set to expire sixty days later. I had written a blog post about that proclamation here. This current proclamation only affects people who are currently outside the U.S. who want to get one of those types of visas to come into the U.S. If a…
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President Trump Signs Executive Order Banning Entry of Certain Individuals Into the U.S. Amid COVID-19 Outbreak
*UPDATE* On December 31, 2020, a proclamation was issued that extends this ban until March 31, 2021. On April 22, 2020, The president’s proclamation was signed that will temporarily not allow certain people to come to the U.S. for at least 60 days, but it can be extended if needed. This applies to people who are NOT in the U.S., do not have an immigrant visa that was effective on 4/22/2020, and do not have any official travel documents other than a visa that was effective 4/22/2020. An example of this would be a person who is a green card holder and has petitioned for a spouse or child, that…
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Important Information on the Public Charge Rule Effective 2/24/2020
On January 27, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it would allow the public charge rule that was supposed to go into effect on October 11, 2019, but was stopped, to now go into effect. USCIS recently issued a news alert stating that it would start implementing this rule on February 24, 2020. Any files that are postmarked on or after February 24, 2020, will be subject to this rule. I had written blog post about this last year when it was set to go into effect on October 14, 2019. See my blog post here where I discussed this public charge rule, and what applicants applying for green…
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The U.S. Supreme Court Will Determine the Fate of DACA With A Decision By June 2020
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments about whether or not the DACA program should remain in place. California, with the largest number of DACA recipients, was a leading player in the legal battle in support of the DACA program. After yesterday’s arguments, it is likely that the Court will lean toward ending the program based on the conservative majority of the court. You can read more about it in this New York Times article here. Many DACA recipients are wondering what will happen next. A decision on this case will likely be released in June 2020. Until then, DACA recipients can apply for renewals. However, those who have never…
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What You Need to Know About the New Public Charge Rule Effective 10/14/2019
**UPDATE: On October 11, 2019, federal judges in New York and California ordered a nationwide block, which prevented the rule from going into effect. On January 27, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that this rule can go into effect. USCIS announced that they will begin implementing this rule starting February 24, 2020. A major change is happening starting on October 14, 2019, for those applying or adjustment of status (green card), change of status, and extension of status. Applicants will have to prove that they are self-sufficient and will not become a public charge. In other words, people who are applying for a green card, change of status,…
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Department of Homeland Security Announces Final Rule For H-1B Processing for FY 2020
With H-1B season just around the corner, the new rule for H-1B processing is something that I’ve gotten many questions on. I had written a blog post about the proposed changes to the H-1B process this past December. On January 30, 2019, DHS announced that the new rule governing the H-1B process would become final and will be effective April 1, 2019. The actual announcement of the new rule can be found by clicking here. My last blog post gives a short summary of the changes that were being proposed. Now, those procedures will become effective on April 1, 2019. However, given the short time frame from now until the…
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New Policy for the I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions
On November 30, 2018, USCIS published new guidance on interviews at the I-751 stage (you can read more about what the I-751 is here). This policy went into effect on December 10, 2018, and applies to all I-751s received on or after that date. The significant change that is occurring is that if the principal petitioner was not interviewed at the stage of when the beneficiary first received the two-year conditional residency, then there will be an interview at the I-751 stage with USCIS. The type of situation this would apply to is where the principal petitioner petitioned for a spouse, and the spouse goes through the U.S. consulate abroad…
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DHS Proposes Some Major Changes to the H-1B Process
A possible policy change in the H-1B process could be coming. On November 30, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a proposed rule that would require petitioning employers who want to file H-1B cap-subject petitions to register electronically with USCIS during a designated period. The proposed rule would also reverse the order of how H-1B cap-subject petitions would be selected in the lottery. On December 3, 2018, the proposed regulation was published, and public feedback will be allowed until January 2, 2019. Under this potential new regulations, employers would have to register electronically with USCIS during a designated time period. It would begin at least 14 calendar days before…
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A Summary of What You Should Know About the Proposed “Public Charge” Policy
On October 10, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposed policy to change the “public charge” rules. I’ve received a lot of questions from people about how the proposed policy change regarding the public charge definition could affect their immigration cases. One important thing I would like to mention is that this rule would not be retroactive. This means that public benefits a person has received prior to the start of the new rule, will not be counted against them. Another thing worth mentioning is that this public charge test would not look at U.S. citizen children or other family members who are eligible to receive public…