Reuters News reports that Trump Administration has issued a new Presidential Proclamations extending the duration of the temporarily suspending the entry of immigrants and nonimmigrant workers (H-1B, L-1, J-1, H-2B and their dependents) who are outside the U.S. without a valid visa. The suspension will last until March 31, 2020. Proclamation reads: Section 1. Continuation of Proclamation 10014. [Read More]
News & Insights
Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness (LRIF) filing deadline Extended
The filing period for certain Liberian nationals and certain family members to apply for adjustment of status under the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness (LRIF) provision has been extended from one year to two years (see Sec. 901. Extension of Period for Adjustment of Status for Certain Liberian Nationals of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021). If[Read More]
USCIS proposes a rule to favor Applicants with higher wage in selecting H-1B lottery
Washington, D.C. Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the transmission to the Federal Register of a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would prioritize the selection of H-1B registrations (or petitions, if the registration process is suspended) based on corresponding wage levels. If finalized as proposed, this new selection process would incentivize employers to offer[Read More]
17 individual and organizational plaintiffs, including institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, and businesses brought lawsuit challenging Department of Labor’s Rule changing Prevailing Wage Determinations
Washington, D.C. Adhikari Law PLLC. Today, 17 individual and organizational plaintiffs, including institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, and businesses, brought a federal lawsuit to enjoin, in its entirety, the Department of Labor Interim Final Rule, “Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States.” The poorly-drafted, improperly-issued[Read More]
Court orders Class Certification of FY 2020 DV Winners and orders to reserve visa for them
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C. has ordered the Class Certification of the FY 2020 DV Winners and orders the U.S. State Department to reserve visa for them so that the Class can get immigrant visa even after September 30, 2020– end date of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. Otherwise[Read More]
Unused Family-based Visa Numbers from 2020 will likely make FY 2021 Employment-based Visa Number Current for many applicants
Washington, D.C. October 1, 2020 will mark the beginning of the federal fiscal year (FY) 2021, and with it, the infusion of a new allocation of immigrant visa (IV) numbers. This infusion typically results in some forward movement in Final Action Dates in the month of October, 2021. We anticipate that these dates will move[Read More]
A win for the Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery Winners and a loss for H, L, J visa applicants abroad: A federal Court in DC orders Trump Administration to process DV visa applications
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia orders the State Department to process all 2020 DV visa applications in a preliminary injunction order. The court orders that the State Department (U.S. Embassies and Consulates) may not interpret or apply the President’s Proclamations in any way that forecloses or prohibits embassy personnel, consular officers, or[Read More]
USCIS Selects Additional Registrations for the FY 2021 H-1B Cap
We received alerts from USCIS stating that “we have taken action on your case”. When we signed into USCIS account, we learned that there were some H-1B registrations which were selected in the lottery on August 14, 2020. This is a 2nd lottery draw by USCIS. See the sample notice as shown below. We received[Read More]
National Interest Exceptions to Executive Orders which suspended the Entry of Immigrants and Nonimmigrants
On June 22, the President signed Presidential Proclamation (P.P.) 10052, which extends P.P. 10014, which suspended the entry to the United States of certain immigrant visa applicants, through December 31, 2020. Reuters News reports that the President has issued Proclamation on Dec 31, 2020 extending suspension till March 31, 2020. P.P. 10052 also suspends the[Read More]
SEVP Online Course Guidance for new F-1 and M-1 Students for the Fall 2020
On July 24, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that nonimmigrant students and schools certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) should abide by SEVP guidance originally issued in March 2020, which allowed some distance learning in excess of regulatory limits due to the public health emergency[Read More]