On February 18, 2021, President Biden’s immigration reform bill was introduced in Congress this week by Senator Bob Menendez and Congresswoman Linda Sánchez. The legislation is called the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 and it includes the main tenants that...
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Immigration News: Immigration Executive Actions under the Biden Administration after the Confirmation Alejandro Mayorkas as DHS Secretary
On February 2, 2021, Alejandro Mayorkas was confirmed by the US Senate and sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”). Secretary Mayorkas previously served as Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration...
H-1B Immigration News: Registration Period Opens March 9, 2021 @ 12:00 pm Eastern
This year's (Fiscal Year 2022) initial H-1B cap registration will start online at 12:00 pm Eastern (9:00 am Pacific) on March 9, 2021. This registration period will run for 16 days and end at 12:00 pm Eastern (9:00 am Pacific) on March 25, 2021. All H-1B...
Immigration News: H-1B Selection Rule Delayed
DHS has delayed the effective date of the rule that modifies the H-1B selection process to prioritize wages to Dec. 31, 2021. Therefore, the H-1B selection process remains the same as last year. Read more here: ...
Adjustment of Status (AOS) / DS-260 (CP) Processing Times
Here at David Hirson & Partners, LLP (DHP), we share our clients’ frustrations with green card, employment authorization, and travel authorization delays at both USCIS and National Visa Center (NVC)/embassies around the world. Below, we hope to shed some...
IMMIGRATION NEWS: Court Strikes Down Trump’s Attempts to Change H-1B & Other Programs
On December 1, 2020, Northern District of California Judge Jeffrey White granted summary judgement in favor of the plaintiffs, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, top universities and other groups, in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's attempt to...
Immigration News: 2 New Rules for H-1B Visas
This is an update to our earlier post from October 6, 2020: Immigration News: H-1B Visa Overhaul On Thursday, October 8, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published an interim final rule that is effective immediately: Strengthening Wage Protections for the...
Immigration News: Federal Judge’s Order Preserves 9,095 Visas for 2020 Diversity Visa Lottery Winners
On September 30, 2020, Judge Amit P. Mehta of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the U.S. Department of State to preserve 9,095 visas for 2020 Diversity Visa (DV) lottery winners that have been unable to complete their applications...
[CLIENT ALERT] Immigration News: USCIS Issues New Guidance on Inadmissibility Based on Membership in Totalitarian/Communist Party
On October 2, 2020, USCIS issued important new guidance on when a person's membership or affiliation with a totalitarian party rises to the level of inadmissibility. This has a direct impact on all immigrants from countries under Communist rule, including China and...
Immigration News: Relief for H, J, & L Visa Ban
(This post was originally published on October 5, 2020. It was updated on October 6, 2020 and will be updated again as the topic evolves.) On October 1, 2020, a temporary injunction was issued that stopped a June 22, 2020 presidential proclamation which suspended the...