Immigration

On April 22, 2020, President Trump signed a Presidential Proclamation which temporarily suspends the entry into the United States of certain categories of immigrants in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, and to preserve jobs for American workers for a period of at least 60 days, but this may be extended for Read More

Immigration and Naturalization Update: Those who use Medical Marijuana work in the “Legal” Marijuana industry are not of Good Moral Character, may be denied Citizenship One of the requirements for a Lawful Permanent Resident (green card holder) to become a US Citizen is to prove that they are of good moral character (GMC). On Read More

For those employers wishing to employ foreign nationals in a specialty occupation under the H1-B temporary nonimmigrant visa program, applications can be submitted on April 1, 2019 for employees to start on October 1, 2019.  Since there are more applications submitted than available visas, a random selection is made from the eligible applicants received.  Read More

The new academic year is upon us, and for many international students, it is important to remain up to date on all law and policies involving their student visas. There is a new policy memorandum from USCIS regarding unlawful presence in the United States in the event of failure to maintain student status, or Read More

One way for a foreign national to become a lawful permanent resident, and eventually a citizen, is through family-based immigration. US Citizens and lawful permanent residents may file a petition with USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) known as a “Petition for Alien Relative” (I-130) for certain close relatives. Those include spouse, parent, Read More

Consider the following scenario: Jacques is a foreign national and is admitted to a university in the United States. He goes to the US consulate in his home country to apply for the visa. After all the paperwork is in order and he is deemed to be admissible to the US, he is granted Read More

On November 20, 2017, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke announced that Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will be ending for approximately 59,000 nationals of Haiti who entered the US following the devastating effects of the 2010 earthquake on the island nation, and must either gain a different legal immigration status or leave by Read More

DACA Recipients and Employers. It has been over a month since the current administration announced that it would be ending President Obama’s executive order known as DACA- or deferred action for childhood arrivals. President Trump has urged Congress to take action with respect to the “dreamers”- those undocumented immigrants who came to the US Read More

Since taking office in January, President Trump and his administration have announced a “targeted approach” in the investigation of employment-based visa fraud. Therefore, it is important for employers who hire foreign nationals on a temporary basis under the H-1B visa program to comply with the law and regulations of the program. The H-1B visa Read More

What does the change in administration, and potential change in immigration policy mean to my immigration status? Given that a new President is being Inaugurated, many immigration lawyers have been receiving an increased number of inquiries from individuals concerned about whether the new administration’s immigration policies will affect their status, or their plans to Read More