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On October 29, 2014, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule that amends it regulations governing when USCIS will issue correspondence, notices of decisions, and documents evidencing lawful status in the United States to an applicant, petitioner, attorney, or accredited representative. Continue reading “DHS Publishes Final Rule on Notices of Decisions and Documents Evidencing Lawful Status And Revises Forms G-28 & G-28I”
No one can really predict the future. But as analysts will tell you, we can learn a lot from the past and watching current trends. This is especially true when it comes to immigration, which is in a state of constant flux. Continue reading “More EB-5 Predictions”
The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (“USCIS”) and the Department of State (“DOS”) have exercised their shared authority and collaborated in the development of a policy expanding the definitions of “mother” and “parent” under the Immigration & Nationality Act (“INA”) to include gestational mothers using Assisted Reproductive Technology (“ART”), regardless of whether they are also the genetic mother. Continue reading “USCIS Expands Definition of “Mother” and “Parent” Under the INA”
During the 2013 Fiscal Year, USCIS notified more than 50 EB-5 regional centers on its intent to terminate their designation for one of the two following reasons: (i) not filing the required Form I-924A, or (ii) failing to promote economic growth as required under the EB-5 regulations. Continue reading “Failure to file Form I-924A Can Lead to a Notice of Intent to Terminate”
On October 17, 2014, USCIS announced its intent to implement a Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program in early 2015. Last Wednesday, during a stakeholders teleconference, USCIS officials provided a broad overview regarding how the program would work. Continue reading “Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program Announced for 2015”
On October 24, 2014, USCIS released an updated EB-5 Processing Report reflecting average processing times for the Immigrant Investor Program Office as of August 31, 2014. Continue reading “USCIS Publishes Updated EB-5 Processing Time Information”
In September 2014, we predicted the EB-5 visa category would retrogress sometime in the 2015 fiscal year. After all, Form I-526 filings have increased by over 500% over the last five years. And the EB-5 category for Chinese nationals became unavailable at the end of the 2014 fiscal year. Our hunch was confirmed by the Department of State (DOS) recently, when Charles Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division at the DOS, predicted that the EB-5 immigrant visa category would retrogress as early as May 2015, but definitely sometime during the 2014-2015 fiscal year. Continue reading “Retrogression Alert Issued for EB-5 Category”
On September 12, 2014, the Department of State (DOS) announced fee changes for nonimmigrant and immigrant visa application fees for certain visa categories.
As background, all visa applicants must pay the fee amounts in effect on the day they pay, with the exception of Immigrant Visa application processing fees paid domestically to the National Visa Center (NVC). Continue reading “Department of State Announces Visa Fee Changes”
On October 17, 2014, the Secretary of Homeland Security announced that he would be extending the Temporary Protected Status for eligible nationals from Honduras and Nicaragua for an additional 18 months, effective January 6, 2015 through July 5, 2016. Continue reading “Temporary Protected Status Extended for Honduras and Nicaragua”
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced this month that it will begin disposing of E-Verify Records that are 10 years old and older beginning January 1, 2015. In an effort to minimize security and privacy risks associated with the retention of Personal Identifiable Information (PII), USCIS will begin disposing of E-Verify case records whose last transaction occurred on or before December 31, 2014. Continue reading “USCIS Will Begin Disposing of E-Verify Records 10 Years Old and Older”