2/14/18 DACA Update
Last week, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services department announced that they will not be accepting applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals from individuals who have never been accepted under DACA before. There were federal court orders issued on both January 9, 2018, and February 13, 2018, indicating that individuals that need to... Read More
Increased Screening for Refugee Family Members
The Department of State, together with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services have announced that new procedures will be put into effect when it comes to screening refugees as they enter the United States. The changes went into effect on February 1. The goal of these changes is to ensure that all categories of... Read More
Citizenship Certificate Redesign Tested
Last week, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services department announced that it was launching a pilot program that intended to test a new design for certain legal certificates. The pilot program began on January 22, 2018, and is expected to finish up tomorrow, February 1, 2018. The purpose of the pilot program was to... Read More
TPS Re-Registration for Haiti Begins
When Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake in 2010, the United States granted Haitian nationals with Temporary Protected Status that allows them to live and work in the country. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security in combination with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services were initially planning on ending Temporary Protected Status for Haiti on January 22,... Read More
DACA Update: Renewal Requests Now Accepted
Over the last several months, there have been several changes made to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. In September of 2016, the USCIS and Department of Homeland Security rescinded DACA and made it so no more applications will be accepted. In addition, September’s changes included that no renewal requests would be permitted as well.... Read More
H-2B cap reached for first half of FY 2018
Each year, there is a congressionally mandated cap for H-2B visa workers. December 15, 2017, was the final date for new H-2B worker petitions that want an employment start date prior to April 1, 2018 to submit their forms. Any submissions after December 15 will not have an employment start date before April 1, 2018.... Read More
TN Status for Economists Clarified
An announcement came this week from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services giving some clarity on the specific work activities that should be considered for those who are applying for TN nonimmigrant status as an economist. The reason for this comes after inconsistencies were found in whether economic analysts and certain financial professions fall... Read More
Penalties for employers who discriminate based on immigration status
Employers are not permitted to discriminate against employees for matters related to their national origin or immigration status. Employers that are found to take part in unlawful discrimination will face serious penalties. They may find themselves involved in a settlement or a lawsuit and face civil consequences. As noted in the Immigration and Nationality Act,... Read More
How can I determine employment eligibility?
One question that many people have is whether their immigration status or visa status allows them to be eligible to obtain employment in the United States. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has established an online program known as SelfCheck that allows individuals to enter information and find out whether they are eligible to... Read More
Update regarding Central American Minors Program
Earlier this month, the Department of State announced that beginning November 9, 2017, it would no longer accept applications for the Central American Minors refugee program. This impacts minors seeking refugee resettlement from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. In addition to the Department of State putting an end to accepting applications, those with pending applications... Read More