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Mechelle Zarou, partner in the Toledo office and co-chair of the firm’s Immigration and Labor & Employment practice groups, will be speaking at the American Bar Association (ABA) Young Lawyers Division’s webinar “Business Immigration Issues and COVID-19: Addressing Central Concerns for Employers, Employees and Their Families” on Wednesday, April 8 from 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET.
Join this free webinar if you are interested in learning more about how the coronavirus can impact nonimmigrant workers.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) now allows travelers admitted under the Visa Waiver Program (“VWP”)/ Electronic System for Travel Authorization (“ESTA”) to make Satisfactory Departure requests at some airports and other ports of entry. Continue reading “CBP Updates Satisfactory Departure Process for Travelers Unable to Depart the Country due to COVID-19”
• In response to significant worldwide challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of State is temporarily suspending routine visa services at all U.S. Embassies and Consulates. Embassies and consulates will cancel all routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments as of March 20, 2020. As resources allow, embassies and consulates will continue to provide urgent and emergency visa services. Our overseas missions will resume routine visa services as soon as possible but are unable to provide a specific date at this time.
• Services to U.S. citizens continue to be available. More information is available on each Embassy’s website.
• This does not affect the Visa Waiver Program. See https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/faq?focusedTopic=Schengen%20Travel%20Proclamation for more information.
• Although all routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments are cancelled, the Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fee is valid and may be used for a visa appointment in the country where it was purchased within one year of the date of payment.
• Applicants with an urgent matter and need to travel immediately should follow the guidance provided at the Embassy’s website to request an emergency appointment.
Click here for the U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) website.
Due to the Russian government’s personnel cap imposed on the U.S. Mission, all nonimmigrant visa (“NIV”) operations across Russia will be suspended beginning August 23, 2017. Beginning September 1, visa processing will resume on a greatly reduced scale at the U.S. Embassy Moscow, while NIV interviews at the U.S. Consulates in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, and Vladistok are suspended until further notice. Beginning August 21, the U.S. Mission will be canceling current nonimmigrant visa appointments countrywide. Continue reading “The U.S. State Department Announces Suspension of Non-Immigrant Visa Operations Across Russia”
On Monday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) resumed premium processing for all H-1B petitions filed for physicians under the Conrad Waiver program, as well as interested government interagency waivers. Continue reading “USCIS Resumes H-1B Premium Processing for Conrad Waiver Program Physicians”
In an effort to reduce the growing backlog of pending H-1B petitions, including those H-1B extensions nearing the 240 day limit when continued work authorization would end, USCIS announced today that it would temporarily suspend the use of premium processing in ALL H-1B cases, whether filed under the upcoming H-1B cap, or whether the filing is exempt from the H-1B cap, beginning April 3, 2017. Continue reading “Breaking News: USCIS will Temporarily Suspend Premium Processing of H-1B Petitions”
Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services advised on its website that adjudications will continue regardless of your country of origin. Continue to check back with us for updates. For more information, please contact Mechelle Zarou at mzarou@slk-law.com.
On May 12, 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin premium processing cap-subject H-1B petitions requesting premium processing, including petitions seeking an exemption for individuals with a U.S. master’s degree or higher. Continue reading “Alert: Premium Processing for FY 2017 H-1B Cap Petitions to Begin May 12”
The new “two-pronged” priority date system announced recently by the U.S. State Department appears, thus far, to promise more of the same for foreign nationals in historically over-subscribed visa categories. Continue reading “New System, Same Result”
If Congress is unable to arrive at an agreement on the 2016 federal budget, the Federal government may shut down, resulting in the suspension of some immigration services. Continue reading “Government Shutdown Possible: Immigration Delays”