On July 24, 2019, Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy, announced the postponement of furloughs for an estimated 13,000 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) workers until September 1, 2020. Earlier this month, USCIS...
Serving Clients Across The U.S. And Around The World
Month: July 2020
F-1 Student Visa Update: Online Studies
On July 6, 2020, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) announced a policy banning F-1 students from exclusively taking online classes in response to COVID-19. This policy was completely retracted on July 14, 2020 following litigation filed by Harvard...
[DHP Client Alert] USCIS Issues New Guidance Clarifying Acceptable Redeployment of EB-5 Funds
On July 24, 2020, USCIS issued a new policy memo clarifying its guidance on acceptable deployment and redeployment of EB-5 capital. This new guidance is effective immediately and affects all pending I-526 and I-829 petitions. Below we discuss USCIS new restrictive...
Immigration News: U.S. Department of State Announces National Interest Exceptions for Certain Travelers from the Schengen Area, United Kingdom, and Ireland
On July 16, 2020, the U.S. Department of State published specific national interest exceptions to Presidential Proclamations 9993 and 9996, which bans entry to the United States if the traveler has been in the Schengen Area, United Kingdom, or Ireland in the last 14...
USCIS Ordered to Resume Accepting Requests to Renew DACA Applications
Last month, the Supreme Court of the United States rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to end the program protecting undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as child – Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). However, despite the Supreme...
David Hirson & Partners, LLP Immigration Attorney Speaks at GRACE Live – Focus USA
On July 15, 2020, Mr. Niral Patel, immigration attorney and partner at David Hirson & Partners, LLP moderated and spoke on a panel of experts who discussed EB-5 and other investment immigration options at the 2nd Edition GRACE Live – Focus USA webinar. This...
Breaking Immigration News: Trump administration rescinds F-1 student visa policy
On July 14, 2020, the Trump Administration settled its lawsuit with Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) by rescinding the F-1 student visa policy announced by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) on July 6, 2020. This policy...
Immigration issues in flux as nation emerges from pandemic lockdown
The COVID-19 pandemic has restricted the movement of people across the U.S., both by state restrictions and voluntarily. The Trump administration’s first step was to prohibit all incoming travel from China, where the novel coronavirus originated. Subsequent steps have...
Positive impact of EB-5s on the U.S. economy in general and U.S. workers in particular
When Congress authorized the EB-5 investor visa program in 1990, the idea was to attract capital investments to the U.S. economy while encouraging foreign investors to create employment and jobs for U.S. workers. The program’s highest priorities are to facilitate the...
Immigration News – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Changes Policy for Foreign Students Taking Online Courses During the Fall 2020 Semester
On July 6, 2020, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) announced changes to temporary exemptions for international students taking online courses due to COVID-19 for the fall 2020 semester. SEVP previously...