Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program To Begin in 2015 On October 17, 2014, the Department of Homeland Security announced that Haitian beneficiaries of approved family-based immigrant visa petitions may soon be paroled into the United States... Read More
DHS Issues Final Regulations on Sexual Abuse in Detention Centers | On March 7, 2014, the Department of Homeland Security issued a long-awaited set of final regulations applying standards required under the Prison Rape Elimination Act Standards to... Read More
USCIS Issues Policy Memo on International Filings On November 30, 2012, USCIS issued a final policy memorandum outlining the circumstances in which applicants may file Form I-601 (Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility) and any associated... Read More
DHS to Enhance Security for Visa Waiver Program| On August 6, 2015, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced the implementation of new security measures for noncitizens seeking to enter the United States under the Visa Waiver... Read More
By Carrie Rosenbaum On June 15 President Obama announced that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would not deport certain undocumented youth who would otherwise be eligible for the DREAM Act. The administration instituted a policy change, but... Read More
Administration Issues Additional Guidance Following Supreme Court’s DOMA Ruling The State Department and Department of Homeland Security issued further guidance in August on the implementation of the Supreme Court’s ruling in United States... Read More
Attorney General Appoints Three New BIA Members | On February 26, 2016, Attorney General Loretta Lynch appointed three new members to the Board of Immigration Appeals. Two of the new Board members—Molly Kendall Clark and Ellen Liebowitz—previously... Read More
DHS Expands Eligibility for Provisional Waivers | On July 29, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a final rule expanding the class of noncitizens eligible to receive provisional unlawful... Read More
H-1B FY 2017 Cap Season Begins April 1 | USCIS will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2017 cap on April 1, 2016. The congressionally mandated cap on H-1B visas for FY 2017 is 65,000. The first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed... Read More
Administration Faces Criticism, Lawsuit After Revising October Visa Bulletin | The Department of State and Department of Homeland Security faced extensive criticism and a federal lawsuit after revising the October visa bulletin less than a week before... Read More
DHS Weighing Program to Streamline Employment-Based Immigration Requests | On January 15, 2015, the Department of Homeland Security announced the potential launch of a pilot program later this year to streamline adjudications of employment-based immigration... Read More
USCIS Temporarily Suspends Premium Processing for H-1B Extensions | From May 26, 2015 until July 27, 2015, USCIS will suspend premium processing for all H-1B Extension of Stay petitions. During this period, petitioners will not be able to file Form... Read More
EOIR Releases Information Regarding Mandatory Attorney Registration On April 11, the Executive Office for Immigration Review released instructions and a series of frequently asked questions regarding its new mandatory electronic registry for attorneys... Read More
DHS Receives Three-Month Extension on OPT Ruling On January 23, 2016, a federal district judge extended by three months the deadline for the Department of Homeland Security to promulgate a replacement regulation authorizing an extension of the maximum... Read More
H-2B Applications and Prevailing Wage Requests Continue Through May 15; USCIS Resumes Premium Processing | On April 15, 2015, the federal district court for the Northern District of Florida issued a further order in Perez v. Perez, No 3:14-cv-682 ... Read More