New changes to the H-1B work visa program are coming on January 17, 2025. A new final rule published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the Federal Register lays out some of the critical changes that H-1B beneficiaries and U.S. employers can expect. These changes will become effective…
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How Employment-Based Visa Applicants Can Prepare for the Incoming Trump Administration
In this blog post, we discuss how Trump’s return to the White House on January 20th could impact employment-based visa applicants and their employers in the years ahead. While the Trump campaign has been very vocal about their zero-tolerance policy toward illegal immigration, much less has been said about employment-based…
Incoming Trump Administration Poised to Threaten H-1B Worker Visas
The fallout of the 2024 Presidential election has left high-skilled foreign workers asking what the Trump administration may have in store for them in the new year. Perhaps the most vulnerable to attack is the H-1B work visa program, which was previously targeted by the Trump administration. A second term…
BREAKING: Biden Administration Pauses Parole Program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans Due to Fraud and Abuse
In this blog post we bring you some breaking news. On Friday August 2, 2024, the Biden administration announced that it has paused the humanitarian parole program for nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, effective immediately due to concerns regarding fraudulent filings and potential abuse of the program. This…
FY 2025 H-1B Cap Registration Statistics, Eligible Registrations Plunge by almost 40%
New fraud prevention mechanisms applied to the H-1B program in fiscal year 2025 have led to a dramatic decrease in the number of eligible registrations for H-1B cap visas, plunging to almost 40% from the past year. These fraud prevention mechanisms were introduced with the final rule “Improving the H-1B…
USCIS Releases Information Regarding EB-5 Regional Center Audits
If you are an EB-5 investor in a Regional Center project, you may be interested to learn of new information released by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) regarding Regional Center audits. In March 2022, with the passage of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, Congress implemented…
New USCIS Policy Guidance Provides Relief for Certain Applicants Filing I-751 Removal of Conditions
If you are a family-based conditional permanent resident who was issued a two-year green card based on your marriage to a U.S. Citizen, then you may be interested to know that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently updated its policy guidance for Form I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions…
Department of State Vows to Decrease Administrative Processing, but is it an Empty Promise?
The Department of State raised eyebrows earlier this month when it released information that it will be reducing the waiting period for 221(G) “administrative processing,” in an effort to process visas more efficiently. While this is welcome news, in practice it may not mean much. Consulates and Embassies have been…
This Week in Immigration News: USCIS Launches Online Fraud Reporting System, Presidential Proclamation Regarding Coronavirus, H-2B Visa Update, & TPS Re-Registration for Yemen
Welcome back to Visalawyerblog! In this blog post we cover the latest immigration news of the week. USCIS Launches Online Form to Report Fraud On March 3rd USCIS announced the launch of a new online form available on the USCIS website that can be used to report suspected immigration fraud…
White House Issues Presidential Proclamation to Tighten Asylum Process
The White House recently issued a Presidential Memorandum to strengthen asylum procedures and safeguard the asylum system against fraud. The Presidential Proclamation specifically orders the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security to take several measures to enhance the security of the asylum system by July 28, 2019. These measures…