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USCIS Travel Documents: Advance Parole
Recently, unpredictable changes to Immigration Law has made travel outside of the US extremely risky for foreign nationals. Lawful non-immigrants with pending Adjustment of Status (AOS) or refugees/asylees with pending immigration applications may face circumstances that demand travel outside the United States. Upon return to the US, foreign nationals with pending immigration applications, who previously…
Read MoreNew USCIS Requirements: Valid Signature
Last week, USCIS released a memo outlining stricter requirements for petitioners and applicants seeking immigration benefits. The memo outlines that a petitioner or applicant must provide a “valid signature” to receive approval from a USCIS. A valid signature is defined by USCIS as any handwritten mark or sign by an individual to signify his or…
Read MorePublic Charges Must Go: Changes to FAM
While the debate over immigration continues in Washington, a lot of questions have emerged regarding “public charge” non-citizens. Last week, the White House released proposed guidance for DACA recipients in which “Status is subject to revocation for criminal conduct or public safety and national security concerns, public charge, fraud, etc.” The announcement comes in addition…
Read MoreTravel during Administrative Processing
If your visa application is held by a consulate office for administrative processing, your case could be delayed for up to 60 days. Typically, the US consulate reviewing an application in administrative processing will not reveal the estimated period of delay nor will a consular officer reveal the reasons for the delay. For those with…
Read MoreGovernment Shutdown: What it means for your visa application
In the early morning of January 20th, officials in Congress and the White House announced that the federal government would shut down. The shutdown came after the Senate failed to pass legislation approving federal spending for the next year. To enable the operations of the federal government, including major bureaucratic agencies like the Department of…
Read MoreBuilding Walls: Canadian Immigration in Trump Era (BAHA)
Over the last couple of days, news of President Trump’s disparaging comments about immigration from Caribbean and African nations has swept through the country. The justified outrage over the racist comments follows a year of anti-immigration sentiments from the executive and members of the Republican Party. Although the Trump Administration failed largely over the last…
Read MoreDistrict Court Reinstates “Start-up Visa”
On December 1st, United States district judge James Boasberg ruled the Trump Administration’s delay of the Obama-Era International Entrepreneur Rule an unlawful use of administrative power. The ruling effectively reinstates the “start-up visa” program until further response from the administration. Ruling In NVCA v. Duke, the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), a group of entrepreneurs…
Read MoreAdministrative Processing for Visa Applications
Visa applications are sometimes held for so called “administrative processing.” If your application is delayed for administrative processing, it could mean additional wait time for your case decision. What is Administrative Processing? According to the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM), Administrative Processing refers to “clearance procedure of the submission of a case to the Department”, or…
Read MoreNo Deference by USCIS to Prior Employment-Based Petition Approvals
On October 23rd, USCIS released a memorandum overturning previous policy on deference of eligibility in the adjudication of petitions for extension of nonimmigrant status. This new memo will affect most non-immigrant workers, as extensions of visas are quite common. The memo comes in response to the Executive order, “Buy American Hire American,” which has impacted…
Read MoreTSA to Enforce Real-ID Standards
If you have traveled domestically in recent months, you probably noticed signs posted by the Transportation and Security Agency (TSA). The posting notifies passengers of new regulations for acceptable state identification requirements for travel within the US. Due to the REAL-ID Act (2005), TSA security agents will no longer accept IDs, or driver’s licenses from…
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