August 28, 2017. WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a statement that it will begin expanding in-person interviews for certain immigration benefit applicants whose benefit, if granted, would allow them to permanently reside in the United States. This changed policy is adopted in line with President’s Executive Order 13780, “Protecting the[Read More]
News & Alerts
U.S. is still the major destination for the best and brightest students from around the world
U.S. is still the major destination for the best and brightest students from around the world. Nepal saw the largest growth (18%) of students coming to the United States to study while Saudi Arabia saw the steepest decline (19%). China and India is still the largest number of students to the United States (362,368 students[Read More]
International currency transfer using Bitcoin
Roland Sennholz, Esq. There has been much discussion lately of cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, the first and best-known of all such currencies. Investors and futurists alike hail the beginning of a new era, an era where decentralized digital money can be sent around the world in the blink of an eye. But, while large institutions have[Read More]
USCIS to Resume H-1B Premium Processing for Certain Cap-Exempt Petitions
USCIS Release Date: July 24, 2017, WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will resume premium processing for certain cap-exempt H-1B petitions effective immediately. The H-1B visa has an annual cap of 65,000 visas each fiscal year. Additionally, there is an annual “master’s cap” of 20,000 petitions filed for beneficiaries with a U.S. master’s degree or[Read More]
USCIS released the revised version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, on July 17, 2017
USCIS released a revised version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, on July 17. Employers can use this revised version or continue using Form I-9 with a revision date of 11/14/16 N through Sept. 17, 2017. On Sept. 18, 2017 employers must use the revised form with a revision date of 07/17/17 N. Employers must continue following existing storage[Read More]
Mexican Lawful Immigrants Among the Least Likely to Become U.S. Citizens: Pew Research Center
Among Mexicans, desire is high, but about half cite language, cost barriers (original piece appears at http://www.pewresearch.org/about/use-policy/) BY ANA GONZALEZ-BARRERA The overall percentage of lawful immigrants to the United States choosing to apply for and gaining citizenship is at its highest level in more than two decades. Yet in terms of naturalization rate, Mexicans – the single[Read More]
Supreme Court limits the government’s ability to strip citizenship from immigrants: AP
Washington DC (Associated Press). The Supreme Court on Thursday limited the government’s ability to strip U.S. citizenship from immigrants for lying during the naturalization process. The justices ruled unanimously in favor of an ethnic Serb from Bosnia who lied about her husband’s military service. Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the court that false statements can lead[Read More]
How to select a better Immigrant Investor Program, also known as the EB-5 program
The Immigrant Investor Program, also known as the EB-5 program, allows certain foreign investors who can demonstrate that their investments are creating jobs in the United States to obtain lawful permanent residency. Business owners apply to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to be designated as “regional centers” for the EB-5 program, offering opportunities[Read More]
USCIS clarifies about the eligible educational degree for H-1B U.S. Master’s CAP
May 23, 2017, Washington D.C. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued an internal policy guidance to its personnel that in order to qualify for an H-1B numerical cap exemption based upon a master’s or higher degree, the degree conferring institution must have qualified as a “United States institution of higher education” at the time[Read More]
Increased global mobility of talent could present more opportunities than the challenges
Key Finding: Creating the innovations of tomorrow More than three out of every four patents at the top 10 patent-producing US universities (76%) had at least one foreign-born inventor. More than half of the patents (54%) were awarded to the group of foreign-born inventors most likely to face visa hurdles: students, postdoctoral fellows, or staff[Read More]