Qatar Added to United States Visa Waiver Program
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the United States Department of States (DOS) announced today that Qatar has been designated as a participant in the United States Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which allows visa-free travel to the United States...
The Potential Federal Shutdown and its Effect on the U.S. Immigration Process
What is Happening? The deadline for Congress to pass a new budget to keep funding the federal government agencies is midnight on Monday, September 30th. The federal agencies responsible for administering the United States immigration process are United States...
USCIS Automatically Extends Green Card Validity to 36 Months for Permanent Residents With Pending Renewal Applications
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that, effective September 10, 2024, the agency has automatically extended the validity of I-551 Permanent Resident or “Green” Cards to 36 months for lawful permanent residents (LPRs) who have...
October 2024 Visa Bulletin Issued: Dates for Filing EB Cut-Off Dates Will Apply; Retrogression in China EB-3; Moderate Forward Movement in All Other EB-3 Categories and All EB-2 Categories; and EB-2 Exhaustion for FY 2024
The U.S. Department of State has released its October 2024 Visa Bulletin imposing per-country cut-off dates that regulate immigrant visa availability and the flow of Adjustment of Status (AOS) applications and consular Immigrant Visa application filings and approvals....
Canada Announces Restrictions on Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Hiring
On August 26, 2024, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced further restrictions to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). These restrictions will be on the segment of the TFWP that is used for hiring "low-wage" workers. These changes aim to reduce...
Department of State Announces That the FY 2024 EB-1 Immigrant Visa Limit Has Been Reached
The United States Department of State (DOS) has announced the exhaustion of all available immigrant visas in the Employment-Based First Preference (EB-1) category for the 2024 fiscal year, which runs from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024. DOS and United States...
DHS Issues Instructions for Parole-in-Place Program for Undocumented Spouses and Stepchildren of US Citizens
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published today a Federal Register notice that provides instructions on how certain undocumented spouses and stepchildren of US citizens may apply for Parole-in-Place (PIP) under the Keeping Families Together initiative...
State Department and USCIS Announce That the FY 2024 EB-3, EW, and EB-5 Unreserved Immigrant Visa Limits Have Been Reached
The United States State Department (DOS) and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have announced the exhaustion of all available immigrant visas in the Employment-Based Third Preference Professional and Skilled Worker category (EB-3) and the...
USCIS Completes the Second Round of Selections for FY 2025 H-1B Cap-Subject Petitions; Also Provides Updated Information on Number of Registration Applications Selected
As we noted in our Alert of August 5, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced last week that it had completed its second random selection process, or lottery, for the Fiscal Year 2025 65,000 H-1B quota or cap. The USCIS further announced...
September 2024 Visa Bulletin Issued: Final Action EB Cut-Off Dates Will Apply; One-Year Retrogression in Rest of the World, Mexico and Philippines EB-3; No Movement in Any Other Categories
The U.S. Department of State has released its September 2024 Visa Bulletin imposing per-country cut-off dates that regulate immigrant visa availability and the flow of Adjustment of Status (AOS) applications and consular Immigrant Visa application filings and...