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A recent analysis of immigration data by Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University in New York has raised questions about the effectiveness of the Trump Administration’s zero tolerance approach to illegal border entries into the United States. On April 6, 2018, the government announced a new zero tolerance policy that called for the …
An April, 2018 update to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website has raised questions about third party placements of F-1 graduates under the STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) program. The agency appears to place additional limits on STEM OPT employment by barring student workers from participating in placements at offsite locations. The USCIS …
On May 11, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a policy change regarding when nonimmigrant exchange visitors and students will start to accrue unlawful presence. As background, a nonimmigrant who remains in the United States longer than the stated date on their Form I-94 by more than 180 days is barred from obtaining …
President Trump issued a memorandum on April 4, 2018 announcing his decision to deploy the military to the United States-Mexico border to help fight illegal immigration as well as to combat drug trafficking and gang activity. He directed the Attorney General and the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security to mobilize the National Guard to …
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on April 6, 2018 that it has reached its 65,000 annual cap for H-1B visas for upcoming FY2019, just five days after the H-1B filing season began on April 2, 2018. USCIS received approximately 190,000 FY2019 H-1B petitions, down only 9,000 from FY2018. USCIS also received enough …
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a new policy memorandum on February 22, 2018, that requires U.S. employers filing H-1B petitions for employees at third-party work sites to submit additional documents and evidence. The new restrictions mean H-1B petitioners will now have to show that the H-1B beneficiary has “specific and non-speculative qualifying …
In an announcement dated March 20, 2018, and less than 2 weeks before the major FY2019 H-1B filing season begins on April 2, 2018, USCIS has announced that it is suspending H-1B premium processing for cap subject H-1B filings for FY2019. This is the second H-1B season in a row where USCIS has suspended its …
President Trump signed an order February 6, 2017, establishing a National Vetting Center to investigate new immigrants’ admissibility to the United States. The National Vetting Center’s mission is to collect, share and use information about people entering the United States, with the objective of identifying individuals who may be a security threat. The center will …
The Department of Homeland Security announced January 8, 2018 that El Salvador’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation will terminate September 9, 2019. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen said that the decision was made after reviewing whether the disaster-related conditions that the designation was based on continue to exist. Nielsen said that the TPS designation …
Following a December 4, 2017 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court allowing the third form of the Trump administration’s travel ban to take effect while legal challenges continue, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) has published guidance regarding the implementation of the ban. The Trump travel ban imposes restrictions on eight countries: Chad, Libya, Iran, …