In this blog post we would like to report on a new executive order recently signed by President Donald Trump on August 3, 2020, entitled “Executive Order on Aligning Federal Contracting and Hiring Practices With the Interests of American Workers,” which carries implications for temporary foreign workers, especially those whose…
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UPDATE: USCIS Increases Filing Fees for Certain Petitions to Stay Afloat
During the past year, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been facing a financial crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. As early as May of this year, a USCIS spokesperson informed the United States government that it needed a cash bailout of $1.2 billion by summertime in…
BREAKING NEWS: DHS Announces It Will Reject New DACA and Advance Parole Requests, and Limit DACA Renewals to 1 Year
In complete defiance of a recent federal court order, mandating acceptance of initial requests for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the Department of Homeland Security today issued a memorandum that states that effective immediately, the agency will reject all pending and future initial requests for DACA including…
Impact of the Maryland Decision on DACA Filings. Can I apply for DACA for the first time?
In response to a high number of questions regarding the recent Maryland court decision ordering the government to reinstate Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) for first time applicants, we have prepared this helpful guide. First, let’s briefly discuss the Maryland decision. As our readers will know on July 17th…
BREAKING NEWS: Federal Judge Hands Victory to First Time DACA Applicants
This afternoon, a federal judge in Maryland quietly handed down a victory for new DACA applicants. The judge in the case, Casa de Maryland v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has ordered the government to restore the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to its pre-September 2017 status, meaning…
UPDATE: Trump Administration Rescinds Policy Requiring International Students to Attend In-Person Classes
We are very happy to announce that yesterday July 14, 2020, the Trump administration backed down and agreed to cancel a new set of federal guidelines that would have required international students to attend classes in-person during the upcoming Fall 2020 semester. As you may be aware, on Monday July…
Harvard and MIT Lead the Fight for International Students: Lawsuit Filed Challenging New Guidelines Prohibiting Online Instruction
We have news that may be some relief to international students across the United States. Today, Wednesday, July 8, 2020, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) filed a lawsuit in District Court in Boston against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),…
BREAKING NEWS: SEVP Changes F-1 and M-1 Rules – Online Instruction for the Upcoming Fall 2020 Semester is Prohibited
Today, Monday, July 6, 2020, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a news release introducing new modifications taken by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) that will apply to all international students in F-1 and M-1 status taking courses during this upcoming Fall 2020 semester. The…
BREAKING: Supreme Court Rejects Trump Administration’s Efforts to end DACA
Today is a historic day for Dreamers from all walks of life. By a vote of 5-4, Supreme Court Justices Roberts, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan, and Breyer rallied together in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, finding that the Trump administration’s 2017 efforts to dismantle the DACA…
USCIS Prepares to Reopen Some Offices on June 4
We have very exciting news for our readers. Yesterday, May 27th the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed that it is preparing to reopen some domestic offices and resume services to the public on or after June 4th. As you know, on March 18th USCIS made the difficult…