Washington, DC. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is going to propose a merit-based rule to benefit graduates (master’s and PhDs) of U.S. institutions of higher education and a mandatory online pre-registration requirement for cap-subject H-1B programs. In November, USCIS Director had said they were proposing this new rule. On December 3rd, USCIS published a notice[Read More]
News & Alerts
USCIS Clarifies the STEM OPT Extension Reporting Responsibilities and Training Obligations allowing off-site placement so long as long as all of the training obligations are met
Adhikari Law PLLC, Washington, DC, August 17, 2018. USCIS has said it is going to update the Optional Practical Training Extension for STEM Students (STEM OPT) page of their website to clarify the reporting responsibilities for participating in the STEM OPT program. STEM OPT participants may engage in a training experience that takes place at[Read More]
House Committee passed FY 2019 DHS Appropriations bill that included elimination of per country caps for all employment-based immigrant visa categories
Washington, D.C. Adhikari Law PLLC sees a silver lining in a much needed reform in skilled immigration programs under Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. On July 25th the House Appropriations Committee passed the Fiscal Year 2019 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations bill that included an amendment from Kansas Congressman Kevin Yoder that proposes to[Read More]
USCIS Issues Revised Final Guidance on Unlawful Presence for Students and Exchange Visitors
Washington, D.C. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published a revised final Policy Memorandum related to unlawful presence after considering feedback received during a 30-day public comment period that ended June 11, 2018. F, J, or M nonimmigrants who failed to maintain their nonimmigrant status before August 9, 2018 start accruing unlawful presence based on that failure[Read More]
News flash: USCIS updates Policy Memorandum which provides guidance to USCIS adjudicators regarding their discretion to deny an application, petition without first issuing a RFE or NOID
Washington, D.C. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today posted a policy memorandum (PM) that provides guidance to USCIS adjudicators regarding their discretion to deny an application, petition, or request without first issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) when required initial evidence was not submitted or the evidence of record fails[Read More]
USCIS Updates Notice to Appear Policy Guidance to Support DHS Enforcement Priorities
Washington, DC. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued updated Guidance today that aligns its policy for issuing Form I-862, Notice to Appear, with the immigration enforcement priorities of the Department of Homeland Security. A Notice to Appear (NTA) is a document given to an alien (non-nationals) that instructs them to appear before an immigration judge on a[Read More]
Practice Alert: STEM OPT at a Third-Party Location by a consulting company
In April 2018, USCIS updated the page on its website relating to Optional Practical Training Extension for STEM Students (STEM OPT) which seems to indicate its view that F-1 students in the STEM OPT program are not permitted to engage in OPT at third-party locations. Of particular concern is the following statement: “For instance, the training[Read More]
DHS Proposes to Remove the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER) which availed a temporary work authorization and lawful stay for foreign-born entrepreneurs
WASHINGTON, DC – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is proposing a rule to end a program that allowed certain foreign entrepreneurs to be considered for parole to temporarily come to the United States to develop and build start-up businesses here, known as the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER Final Rule). Earlier a court decision had vacated USCIS’ final rule[Read More]
USCIS has completed data entry for all fiscal year 2019 H-1B cap-subject petitions
Washington, D.C. USCIS has completed data entry for all fiscal year 2019 H-1B cap-subject petitions selected in our computer-generated random selection process. USCIS will now begin returning all H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected. Due to the high volume of filings, USCIS cannot provide a definite time frame for returning unselected petitions. USCIS asks[Read More]
USCIS to Begin Using More Secure Mail Delivery Service (signature confirmation)
April 27, 2018, Adhikari Law, WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that the agency will begin phasing in use of the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) Signature Confirmation Restricted Delivery service to mail Green Cards and other secure documents beginning April 30, 2018. The first phase will affect documents that need to be[Read More]