Headlines: 1. SEC Charges Immigration Attorneys With Defrauding Investors Seeking U.S. Residence; SEC-USCIS Issue Joint Alert – SEC and USCIS caution potential EB-5 investors about phony regional centers posing as legitimate investment opportunities. 2. Justice Dept. Settles Lawsuit Against Texas Bus Company for Discrimination – The lawsuit alleged that the company discriminated against U.S. workers […]
Headlines: 1. State Dept. Releases Instructions on Applying for DV-2016 Program – Entries for the DV-2016 DV program must be submitted electronically by noon EST (GMT-5), Monday, November 3, 2014. 2. USCIS Announces New Secure Blue Ink for Many Stamps – USCIS said employers should be aware of this recent change in secure ink color […]
Headlines: 1. Practitioners Warn About Immigration Scams – Scammers use a variety of methods. A call demanding money and threatening negative immigration consequences if it’s not coughed up immediately is a scam, and those receiving such calls should hang up immediately and not provide any information. 2. China EB-5 Category Unavailable Through September; Current in […]
Headlines: 1. DOS Announces Major Developments in Availability of China EB-5 Visa Numbers – Effective immediately, the EB-5 category is “unavailable” for investors born in China. Visa numbers will become available again when the new federal fiscal year starts on October 1, 2014. 2. DOS Changes Fees for Visa and Citizenship Services – DOS is […]
Headlines: 1. DOS Makes ‘Significant Progress’ in Bringing Visa Processing Back Online and Clearing Backlogs – DOS said it has caught up with issuances for most of the worldwide backlog of nonimmigrant visa cases and is working to bring the system back to full operational capacity. 2. CBP Announces New Mobile Passport Control App – […]
Headlines: 1. Consular Visa/Passport System Crashes – The Department of State’s Consular Consolidated Database, used to print and approve visas and passports, has been having significant problems, including outages. Backlogs have ensued. 2. August Visa Bulletin Shows Advances in China and ‘Other Workers’ EB-3 Preference Categories, India EB-2 Preference – Cut-off dates for the China-mainland […]
Headlines: 1. White House Requests $3.7 Billion for Border Crisis – As the United States continues to grapple with an influx of undocumented children and others along the southern border, President Obama has requested a $3.7 billion supplemental appropriation to fund related activities. 2. EOIR Interim Rule Addresses ‘Largest Caseload’ in U.S. History With Temporary […]
Headlines: 1. White House Announces Response to Increase in Unaccompanied Children, Families – On June 20, 2014, President Obama announced that he will take administrative action to correct parts of our broken immigration system. In the meantime the President directed the start of a government-wide response to an increase in unaccompanied children entering the United […]
Headlines: 1. Comprehensive Immigration Reform Prospects Appear Dim Following Cantor’s Defeat – House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s historic defeat in Virginia in favor of the vocally anti-“amnesty” David Brat suggests that Congress will not enact comprehensive immigration reform this year, although not everyone agrees. 2. DHS Announces DACA Renewal Process – The first Deferred Action […]
Headlines: 1. OCAHO Launches E-Filing Pilot, Rules That E-Verify Participation Does Not Provide Blanket Protection – OCAHO has launched a voluntary pilot program to test an electronic filing system in certain cases. Also, an employer argued that participation in E-Verify entitled it to a presumption that it had not violated the law, but OCAHO ruled […]