Department of Homeland SecurityDepartment of State

Department of Homeland Security & Department of State Updates: March 7, 2023

Department of Homeland Security On January 30, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) began issuing newly redesigned U.S. Permanent Resident Cards (i.e., Green Cards) and Employment Authorization Documents (“EADs”) as part of its fraud prevention program. The new cards are equipped with updated technologies including holographic images, tactile printing, and optically variable ink,

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Department of StateH-1BImmigration

Department of State Update

As U.S. immigrant and nonimmigrant visa issuance bans imposed by the Trump administration have lapsed and U.S. consulates abroad have restarted routine visa appointments, most applicants for popular work visas, such as H-1B and L-1, and their U.S. employers do not realize that the current visa backlog includes nearly half a million applicants who meet

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COVID-19Department of StateH-1BImmigration

H-1B Cap Lottery, Expiration of PP 10052 + DOS Update

USCIS Announces Completion of H-1B Cap Lottery U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that they have received enough electronic registrations during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year (FY) 2022 H-1B numerical allocations (H-1B cap) including the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap), and that they have now notified all prospective petitioners with

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Department of State

Department of State Update

The big news at the start of the holiday season pertains to the preliminary injunction in the Doe v. Trump matter that enjoins President Trump from implementing a ban on visa applicants unable to prove their ability to obtain health insurance upon entry into the U.S. for the duration of the case litigation.  On October

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Department of State

Department of State Update

Importantly, effective November 3, 2019, Department of State (DOS) offices abroad were going to start implementing the new health insurance requirement for permanent immigration (Green Card) applicants undergoing Consular Processing at U.S. consulates.  Under this new adjudication criteria, a U.S. consular officer would be able to deny an immigrant visa benefit to an individual without

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Department of State

Department of State Update

Entering the second month of the 2020 government fiscal year, the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) will again use the Dates for Filing chart (Chart B), which will have no change from the prior month, to file employment-based preference cases during November. The Final Action chart (Chart A) shows some modest movement.  EB-1 Priority

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Department of State

Department of State Update

Entering the first month of the 2020 government fiscal year has brought an influx of immigrant visa numbers. The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has also advised that the agency will be using the Dates for Filing chart (Chart B) to file employment-based preference cases during October, which generally has more favorable priority dates

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Department of State

Department of State Update

The September visa bulletin reflects important movement in several preference classifications. EB-1 Priority Workers for All Chargeability areas, El Salvador/Guatemala/Honduras, Mexico, Philippines and Vietnam advance 15 months to October 1, 2017. EB-1 China retrogresses another two and a half years to January 1, 2014, while EB-1 India becomes “U”navailable. EB-2 “Members of the Professions Holding

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Department of State

DOS Visa Bulletin

The August visa bulletin reflects important movement in several preference classifications. EB-1 Priority Workers for All Chargeability areas, El Salvador/Guatemala/Honduras, Mexico, Philippines and Vietnam retrogresses almost two years to July 1, 2016. EB-1 China also retrogresses nearly a year to July 1, 2016, while EB-1 India has no movement and holds at January 1, 2015.

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Department of State

DOS Visa Bulletin

The July visa bulletin reflects important movement in several preference classifications. EB-1 Priority Workers for All Chargeability areas, El Salvador/Guatemala/Honduras, Mexico, Philippines and Vietnam remains at April 22, 2018. EB-1 China advances 2 weeks to May 8, 2017, while EB-1 India has no progress and holds at January 1, 2015. DOS expects EB-1 India to

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