A U.S. federal grand jury in Houston, Texas issued a 206 count indictment involving a massive marriage fraud scheme on April 30, 2019. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a total of 96 individuals were involved in a suspected criminal enterprise designed to create sham marriages between individuals
As of May 6, 2019, the U.S. Department of State’s (DOS) new rules went into effect concerning consular officers recommending a waiver if a nonimmigrant visa applicant is ineligible under Section 212(d)(3)(A)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Under the new rule, consular officers will be required to refer
Quick Answer Summary Question Answer Can you extend a U.S. visa? Partially — you cannot extend the visa stamp in your passport, but you can extend your authorized stay What are you actually extending? Your authorized period of stay as recorded on your I-94 record What form is needed? Form
On April 8, 2019, USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna sent a letter to Senator Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Leahy (D-VT) regarding the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Modernization Rule (RIN 1615-AC07). Among other things, Director Cissna indicated in the letter that “DHS is dedicated to ensuring expeditious implementation of the rule,
Important note: This article provides general legal information based on the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). It is not medical advice. Individual cases may differ depending on health status, visa type and current CDC guidelines. If you are concerned about how a health condition may affect your visa application,
Five years ago, USCIS routinely took three months to issue employment authorization documents (EADs) and advance parole (AP) travel documents. Prior to the pandemic, USCIS was taking approximately six months to issue them. Now, USCIS can take nine months or longer to issue these documents. These delays create huge hardships to organizations
Pursuant to a Biden Administration initiative, on January 21, 2022, the Departments of State (“DOS”) and Homeland Security (“DHS”) announced new actions related to STEM work authorization, J-1 Researchers, National Interest Waivers, and O-1 Extraordinary Ability Workers. You can read the White House Fact Sheet here. “The Biden-Harris Administration believes
On January 5, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), on behalf of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), filed a motion to dismiss its appeal of a U.S. District Court’s ruling in the case Behring Regional Center LLC v. Alejandro N. Mayorkas, et al. (“Behring v. Alejandro”).
Six months have passed since the EB-5 Regional Center Program (“Program”) expired and Congress has still not taken any steps towards its renewal. Originally enacted in 1993, the Program was a pilot, or test, program and was never made permanent. The Program had been extended on a regular basis for
The United States Department of State (“DOS”) has extended the authority of consular officers to waive certain in-person non-immigrant visa interviews through the end of 2022. Along with B-1/ B-2 interview waivers, F, M, and J Academic visa applicant waivers have been extended to the end of 2022 under the
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) is again extending the time period within which applicants, petitioners, and requestors may respond to agency requests. This flexibility applies if the issuance date listed on the request, notice, or decision is on or between March 1, 2020,
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