If you have received a negative decision on an immigration petition, you may wonder if you have any right to appeal. Generally, you do have the right to appeal. There are several levels of appeal available: The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)...
Bachelor’s degree or higher? Consider an H-1B visa
If you are interested in coming to the U.S. for three to six years on a non-immigrant basis, you may wish to consider the H-1B visa. The H-1B is for “specialty occupation” workers, people hired for research and development projects by the Department of Defense, and...
What are President Biden’s recent executive orders on immigration?
With a change in president, we see new executive orders. President Joe Biden has issued orders on issues ranging from DACA to the “Muslim ban.” Here are the highlights: President Biden has fortified the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. He has...
9th Circuit: Immigrants with no health coverage can be barred
Under a 2019 presidential proclamation, immigration authorities can deny entry to any immigrant who lacks health insurance or the ability to pay for medical bills. U.S. citizens fought the rule in court because it kept their relatives from coming to America. A...
What is the current status of the DACA program?
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program protects approximately 640,000 young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. without visas as children. It protects these young people, known as “dreamers,” from deportation and gives them work authorizations...
USCIS releases new, more difficult US citizenship civics test
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is responsible for the English and civics tests immigrants must take to become U.S. citizens. It has recently released a new version of the civics test. The new version is longer, and many consider it more...
USCIS updates processes for getting green cards, naturalization
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently updated its policies on awarding green cards (lawful permanent residency) and granting citizenship to green card holders. The updates to the policy manual also changed every instance of the phrase “foreign...
You don’t have to be a woman to get VAWA protection
Battered spouses, children or parents of U.S. citizens, along with spouses and children of lawful permanent residents, can all be eligible for immigration protections under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). VAWA is part of the Immigration and Naturalization Act....
USCIS increases premium processing fees for most visas
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provides fast processing for Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. If your petitioner pays for premium processing, the USCIS guarantees that it will...
Administration announces significant changes to H-1B visa program
Every year, the U.S. government issues 85,000 H-1B visas by using a lottery system. These visas are heavily used in the tech sector to employ computer engineers and software developers. However, many others in “specialty occupations” are eligible for H-1B visas. Now,...