USCIS have announced that they have plans to reassign some green card and naturalization cases from local field offices with long backlogs to those with fewer cases. Procedurally, USCIS has…
The State Department announced on June 13, 2019 that, due to high demand, a cutoff date of May 1, 2017 will be applied for Indian EB-5 applications. Every year, Congress…
USCIS announced that starting on June 10, 2019, it will accept premium processing requests for all remaining FY 2020 H-1B Cap cases. Premium processing costs $1410 and guarantees that USCIS will take…
On May 28, 2019, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act. This Act would provide a path to permanent residence and citizenship for current…
The U.S. Embassy in New Zealand announced that starting on June 10, 2019, eligible New Zealand companies and nationals will be able to apply for the E-1 Treaty Trader and…
The Department of Homeland Security have submitted a proposal to charge an unknown amount of fee for companies registering foreign nationals for the upcoming H-1B cap online registration system. Starting…
The U.S. Consulate in Toronto has changed its procedure for renewals of E-2 visas. If the applicant did not receive their initial visa in Toronto, the applicant can no longer…
The White House has issued a memo on May 23 ordering different government departments to enforce a decades-old law (Section 213A of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1183a)) that requires American…
Scott Legal recently consulted with a client who wanted to know if their E-2 application was strong enough to submit to the Consulate and what red flags existed in their…
Many employment based green card applications are processed while an applicant is on an H-1B visa. This usually involves filing an I-140 petition along with an I-485 petition. You can…
USCIS has announced on May 17, 2019 that is has completed all data entry for fiscal year 2020 H-1B cap-subject lottery selection. USCIS has also announced that this year, they…
On May 18, 2018, USCIS issued a memorandum announcing that it will radically revise how unlawful presence is accrued for students and exchange visitors who fail to maintain their F,…
The E-2 treaty investor agreement signed between the United States and Israel came into effect on May 1, 2019. Israeli nationals who are interested in investing in the United States…
If you receive notification from the Electronic Diversity Visa Website that you have been selected in the Diversity Visa Program, you must complete numerous steps before you can get your…
An E-2 visa is a visa category for entrepreneurs who want to either start or buy a business in the United States. When applying for an E-2 visa the applicant…
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency has implemented policy to no longer process L visa renewal applications for Canadian nationals at border and port of entries. The L nonimmigrant…
Starting on June 1, 2019, USCIS forms can no longer be requested on the phone. Previously, by calling USCIS’ client services, individuals can request application forms and instructions to be…
If you are a U.S. citizen and your child was born outside the U.S., your child may acquire U.S. citizenship at birth. However, simply being born to a U.S. citizen…
Let’s analyze the following scenario: You filed your Green Card application with the USCIS and you simultaneously applied for an Employment Authorization Document (“EAD”) card (Form I-765) and for an…
USCIS has received sufficient number of petitions for the congressionally-mandated 20,000 H-1B master cap for FY 2020. The 65,000 regular cap was reached last week. USCIS has also announced that…
If your green card application (such as family based green card, employment green card, or green card through the diversity lottery) was approved at the U.S. Consulate abroad, your Green…
For national security reasons, airlines routinely transmit passenger information to Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) whenever a plane ticket is purchased. This is done at the purchase stage to give…
Form I-130 is an immigration form submitted to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) by a U.S. citizen or Green card holder who wants to get a green…