Changing Cut Off Dates Leave India EB-3 Applicants in an Immigration Limbo

Changing Cut Off Dates Leave India EB-3 Applicants in an Immigration Limbo

By Leslie Dellon, Immigration Impact Annual limits on immigrant visa numbers, combined with processing delays and wasted numbers, mean even longer waits for people to become U.S. permanent residents. In November, the “cut off” date for visa eligibility retrogressed (moved backward in time) for people born in India who are in the employment-based (EB) third […]

USCIS Reaches H-2B Cap for First Half of FY 2022

USCIS Reaches H-2B Cap for First Half of FY 2022

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated cap on H-2B visas for temporary nonagricultural workers for the first half of fiscal year 2022. Sept. 30 was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before April 1, 2022. USCIS will reject […]

USCIS Again Extends Temporary Final Rule Providing Interpreters at Asylum Interviews

USCIS Again Extends Temporary Final Rule Providing Interpreters at Asylum Interviews

To continue to keep our workforce and applicants safe during the COVID-19 global pandemic while maintaining efficiency and providing access to the asylum process, USCIS is again extending the temporary rule requiring use of a USCIS interpreter at asylum interviews, to March 16, 2022. On Sept. 17, 2021, USCIS published another extension, which includes a modification, […]

USCIS Extends Evidence of Status for Conditional Permanent Residents to 24 Months

USCIS Extends Evidence of Status for Conditional Permanent Residents to 24 Months

Starting Sept. 4, 2021, USCIS is extending the time that receipt notices can be used to show evidence of status from 18 months to 24 months for petitioners who properly file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, or Form I-829, Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status. We are making the change […]

USCIS Has Been Busy Expanding Access to Legal Immigration and Restoring Some Humanitarian Protections

USCIS Has Been Busy Expanding Access to Legal Immigration and Restoring Some Humanitarian Protections

By Walter Ewing, Immigration Impact U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun implementing policies in recent weeks which expand access to lawful immigration status, employment, and humanitarian protections for people who were previously under assault by the Trump administration. ‘ These latest developments include a redesignation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians, a […]

EB-5 Visa. A Permanent Residency by Investing in the US

EB-5 Visa. A Permanent Residency by Investing in the US

By Documented NY This explanation is part of Documented’s Glossary that will help readers understand the U.S. immigration system. What is the EB-5 visa and how investing in the US can get you one The EB-5 is an employment-based visa available to non-American investors who wish to open a business in the United States. Congress […]

USCIS Issues Policy Providing Further Protections for Victims of Crime

USCIS Issues Policy Providing Further Protections for Victims of Crime

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is updating the USCIS Policy Manual to implement a new process, referred to as Bona Fide Determination, which will give victims of crime in the United States access to employment authorization sooner, providing them with stability and better equipping them to cooperate with and assist law enforcement investigations and prosecutions. […]

Problems at USCIS Persist, Despite Biden’s Progress on Immigration in His First 100 Days

Problems at USCIS Persist, Despite Biden’s Progress on Immigration in His First 100 Days

By Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, Immigration Impact When President Biden took office, he inherited a legal immigration system that was teetering on the brink of collapse. Delays within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have reached historic levels and some work permit applications are taking so long to process that thousands are losing their jobs. A new […]

USCIS May Reopen H-1B Petitions Denied Under Three Rescinded Policy Memos

USCIS May Reopen H-1B Petitions Denied Under Three Rescinded Policy Memos

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office located in Silicon Valley; USCIS is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – Nov 20, 2019 Santa Clara / CA / USA (Shutterstock) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced it may reopen and/or reconsider adverse decisions on Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant […]