News

USCIS announced that it is revising the current naturalization test. A working group has been reviewing and updating the test questions, and will also assess potential changes to the speaking portion of the test. USCIS anticipates an implementation date of December 2020 or early 2021.   Source: AILA Doc. No. 19071901.

Companies seeking H-1B workers are being asked to prove they’ll have definite assignments for the full three-year term of the visa, the latest hurdle from the administration in its crackdown on the specialty occupation visa program. In some cases, the USCIS is approving H-1Bs for shorter periods of time, depending on what the employer can […]

  DHS and DOJ interim final rule establishing a mandatory bar to asylum eligibility for individuals who transit through a third country and then enter or attempt to enter the U.S. across the southern border without having applied for protection in at least one of the third countries through which they transited. The rule is […]

  DOS posted the Visa Bulletin for August 2019.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration cannot include a question about citizenship on the 2020 census form that goes to every U.S. household, giving a win to mostly Democratic populous states that said the question would discourage legal and illegal immigrants from responding and make the population count less accurate. […]

Beginning July 1, USCIS will no longer accept Form I-407, Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status at international field offices by mail or in person. Individuals who wish to voluntarily record abandonment of their lawful permanent resident (LPR) status must submit Form I-407 by mail to USCIS Eastern Forms Center in Williston, VT. Processing […]

USCIS will implement a national strategy to decrease differences in processing times based on location for Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, and Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. According to USCIS, there has been an increase in processing times due to higher than expected volumes received during fiscal years (FY) 2016 […]

DOS posted the >>> Visa Bulletin for July 2019 <<< In addition to the final action dates and dates for filing applications, the bulletin includes notes on the diversity immigrant (DV) category, Mexico family– and employment-based preference visa availability, EB-5 preference visa availability, and more.   Source: AILA Doc. No. 19061330.

The House of Representatives passed the Dream and Promise Act, which would significantly expand protections for DACA recipients and other immigrants looking for legal status, including citizenship. The bill would provide protection from deportation and a path to citizenship to over 2 million Dreamers and TPS and DED recipients. Its passage is a landmark win: […]

Certain New Zealand nationals can now request a change of status to the E-1 nonimmigrant trader classification and the E-2 nonimmigrant investor classification under Public Law 115-226. Beginning June 10, eligible New Zealand nationals already in the United States in a lawful nonimmigrant status can file Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, to request […]