Headlines: 1. Congress Averts Government Shutdown, Extends Immigration Programs to December -The immigration-related programs extended by the bill include E-Verify, EB-5 regional centers, EB-4 non-ministerial religious workers, and Conrad 30 for J-1 medical workers. 2. USCIS No Longer Requires 2 Photos With Naturalization Application -All Form N-400 (Application for Naturalization) applicants, except those who reside […]

Headlines: 1. USCIS Proposes Rule on Parole for Certain International Entrepreneurs -has published a proposed rule to allow certain international entrepreneurs to be considered for parole (temporary permission to be in the United States) so they may start or scale their businesses in the United States. 2. ETA Announces iCERT Enhancement to Streamline H-2A, H-2B […]

Headlines: 1. Various Categories Oversubscribed for August, State Dept. Reports -High demand in various employment-based visa categories has required the establishment of cut-off dates in August. 2. USCIS Has Returned Unselected FY 2017 H-1B Cap-Subject Petitions -Those who submitted an H-1B cap-subject petition between April 1 and April 7, 2016, and do not receive a […]

Headlines: 1. House Holds Hearing on H-2B Temporary Foreign Worker Program -Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) noted, among other things, that according to USCIS statistics, as of June 2, 2016, the agency had already approved petitions for 12,727 returning H-2B workers, “with 1,171 potential additional returning workers in the pipeline.” 2. State Dept. Releases DV-2017 Results […]

Headlines: 1. USCIS Proposes Fee Increases, New Fee for Annual Certification of EB-5 Regional Centers -Among other things, USCIS proposes a new fee of $3,035 to recover the full cost of processing the EB-5 Annual Certification of Regional Center, Form I-924A. 2. USCIS Completes Data Entry of FY 2017 H-1B Cap-Subject Petitions, Begins Rejections -USCIS […]