Announcement: Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks DOS and DHS from Implementing Public Charge Inadmissibility

August 4, 2020

A United States federal judge issued a nationwide injunction temporarily blocking the Department of State (“DOS”) and the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) from enforcing Public Charge inadmissibility in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Judge George McDaniels of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

Announcement: CDC Issues One Month Extension on Immigrant Visa Medical Evaluations

July 29, 2020

The United States Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”) has approved a one-month extension on medical evaluations conducted for immigrant visa applications between January 1, 2020 and June 30, 2020. Immigrant visa applicants who obtained medical clearances as well as those who had their immigrant visas issued but were unable to

Hong Kong Born Nationals Facing Long Wait Times for Immigrant Visas

July 28, 2020

On July 14, 2020 President Trump signed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act of 2020 and at the same time signed The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization. The intent of this Executive Order (“EO”) is to suspend or eliminate different and preferential treatment for Hong Kong, including the treatment

Congratulations to David Enterline – 25 years as an American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”) Member

July 27, 2020

Congratulations to David Enterline who has reached 25 years as an American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”) member. AILA is the 15,000+ association of U.S. and international lawyers who practice U.S. immigration law. During his membership, David has been active as a member in the Asia-Pacific Chapter serving in various roles of

Has Trump Finally Overstepped His Abuse of Executive Authority?

July 22, 2020

Editor’s Note: this article was written after the lawsuit discussed herein but not published before the DHS indicated to the Federal Court judge on July 14th that it would rescind the policy. In a recent American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”) webinar, the esteemed Ira Kurzban, unquestionably regarded as the godfather

Why is Your Case Taking So Long? USCIS Processing Delays Remain at Crisis Levels

October 8, 2021

Why Hasn’t Your Case Been Decided Yet? Nationwide, you and millions of families, businesses, and individuals applying for immigration benefits are waiting longer for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) to process and approve applications and petitions. Based on previously available USCIS data, in Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2014, an average

USCIS Continues Its Additional 60 Days for Responding to Agency Requests

September 28, 2021

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that in response to the ongoing COVID pandemic, it is once again extending flexibility that it announced on March 30, 2020 in responding to agency requests. The USCIS is granting an additional 60 calendar days to respond to following requests: Requests

DOS Authorizes F M and J Academic Visa Interview Waivers Through End of 2021

September 22, 2021

As an additional measure aimed at reducing visa application backlogs and freeing up available resources at U.S. Embassies and Consulates, the United States Department of State (“DOS”) will allow consular officers to waive in-person interviews for F, M, and J academic visas. The new DOS policy, which will run until

USCIS Extends Evidence of Status for Conditional Permanent Residents to 24 Months with Pending Form I-751 or Form I-829

September 14, 2021

Starting Sept. 4, 2021, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“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 filed Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence and Form I-829, Petition

What Vaccinations are Applicants Required to Have to Immigrate to the United States?

September 11, 2021

To protect the health of U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and other people in the United States from communicable diseases, intending immigrants to the United States are required to be vaccinated against certain diseases to receive an immigrant visa. The diseases currently required to be vaccinated against are: Diphtheria Tetanus Pertussis

DOS Updates on Immigrant Visa Processing Delays

September 10, 2021

The United States Department of State (“DOS”) has announced updates to the tiered approach to remove backlogs and resume normal consular operations at embassies and consulates that have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to DOS, Tier 1, which includes immediate relative intercountry adoption visas and age-out cases

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