International Travel Update: On November 26th, 2021, the White House issued a proclamation suspending and limiting entry into the United States for certain individuals traveling from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe which are the countries where the COVID-19 Omicron variant has been detected in substantive numbers thus far. Restrictions began
Effective November 8th, Travel Bans are Lifted and COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements Take Effect President Biden has issued a proclamation rescinding the country-by-country travel restrictions previously applied during the COVID-19 pandemic which banned foreign nationals from entering the U.S. if they had been present in any of the following countries within 14 days: China, Iran, the
– United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has agreed to extend the validity period of receipt notices issued to conditional permanent residents with pending Removal of Condition applications. The receipt notices, used by the conditional residents to prove their legal status, employment, and travel eligibility in the U.S. currently are valid for 18 months.
– Applicants that file for lawful permanent resident status using USCIS’s Form I-485, Application to Adjust Status, will now be able to apply for a social security number (SSN) or replacement card as part of the adjustment of status application process. Previously, these individuals had to apply for an SSN at a Social Security office.
In March 2021, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducted the initial lottery round for the electronic H-1B registrations for the fiscal year (FY) 2022 H-1B cap. The petition filing period for the selected registrations was from April 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021. USCIS uses historical data related to H-1B petition approvals, denials
DOS Update The Department of State (DOS) has extended the validity of National Interest Exceptions (NIEs) for travelers subject to restrictions under Presidential Proclamations banning entry into the U.S. due to presence in China, Iran, Brazil, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, India and the Schengen area. Existing NIEs and newly-issued NIEs will be valid
Important Reminder: As we are reaching the end of the H-1B filing season under the annual government-imposed “cap,” be sure to submit your cap-subject H-1B petitions by the June 30, 2021 deadline. Petitions that are not received by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) by the deadline will be rejected. When submitting the petitions,
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced availability of biometric appointments reschedule via telephone. Biometric appointments are habitually required prior to adjudication of multiple immigration proceedings, including those for permanent immigration to the U.S. Since appointment dates are randomly picked by the government, applicants frequently need to reschedule them due to business and personal
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
Department of Homeland Security Update – This update reflects some of the best news from DHS as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it may reopen and/or reconsider its denial decisions of Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, proceedings that were based on three recently rescinded policy memos. USCIS is expected to use