Immigration and Firm News

In light of the terrible devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey in Texas and elsewhere, USCIS has posted a list of options available to preserve immigration status. These include: Using the "extraordinary circumstances beyond your control" regulation for delayed filings of change of status or extensions of nonimmigrant stay for an individual currently in the United States; Seeking re-parole of individuals previously granted parole by USCIS; Requesting expedited processing of advance … [Read more...]

USCIS has announced it will now require interviews of applicants for permanent residence (I-485 applicants)  in the employment based categories. Until now, most of these cases have been decided by mail. Some people are interviewed when there are issues in a case, where there is a recent spouse tagging along as a dependent applicant, or for quality control. Now, it looks like everyone will be interviewed, grinding the process to a very slow trickle unless USCIS also staffs up for these … [Read more...]

Today, 5/4/16, USCIS issued a proposed notice of application fee increases in the Federal Register. The notice will have a 60-day comment period and then review and issuance of a final rule some time thereafter. The average proposed fee increase is 21%. That's an average, as in some applications are going up less and others are going up more - way more. If you have been holding back filing an application for fee reasons, you might consider filing sooner rather than later.   Here are a … [Read more...]

USCIS has released a new website page called "MyE-Verify" where employees can check their database records to verify work authorization. MyE-Verify is presently available in Arizona, Idaho, Colorado, Mississippi, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.  This should be useful for all job seekers when looking for work, as more employers use E-Verify to document the work permission of their new hires.  The website includes the ability to do Self-checks, which includes instructions on what to do if … [Read more...]

I am honored to report that I will be serving on the American Immigration Lawyers Association US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) International Operations Committee.  This part of USCIS deals with issues related to I-130 family petitions and waivers of inadmissibility filed abroad, adoption, and humanitarian parole. The committee monitors trends in these areas.  From time to time, the committee also prepares practice advisories for AILA members. The USCIS international Operations … [Read more...]