A federal judge has granted a motion for preliminary injunction against changes, mostly large increases in USCIS fees that was scheduled to take effect on Friday, October 2nd. This preliminary injunction is Nationwide and the USCIS cannot raise fees, until this injunction is removed!
Please visit the Forbes news article for more detailed information: Judge Blocks USCIS Fee Increases: Here’s Why It Happened
The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.
Click the link to view the October 2020 Visa Bulletin
The monthly Visa Bulletin has changed. The bulletin now summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during the reported month for: “Application Final Action Dates” (consistent with prior Visa Bulletins) and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa Center using Consular Processing (outside of the US) or file on their own with USCIS Form I-485 (within the US).
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Question #1 – Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)
What is the Child Status Protection Act?
USCIS announced on Friday, September 18th, that they have updated the policy guidance concerning residency requirements under section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)! These changes were made to comply with the newly enacted Citizenship for Children of Military Members and Civil Servants Act.
*Under the new law, a child born outside of the United States acquires automatic citizenship under INA 320, even if the child is residing outside the United States, in cases where the child is a lawful permanent resident (LPR) and is in the legal and physical custody of his or her U.S. citizen parent who is:
The H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs. There is a cap limit of 33,000 for the first half of the fiscal year and 33,000 for the second half for a total of 66,000 per year. If the cap is not reached during the first half of the fiscal year, the extra numbers are then made available for the second half.
The H-2B cap limit for first half of FY 2021 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (9/14/20); 10,424 beneficiaries have been approved and 3,418 are pending for a total of 13,842.
The H-2B cap limit for second half of FY 2021 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (9/14/20); 0 beneficiaries have been approved and 0 are pending for a total of 0.
We wanted to find a new way to engage our reader base. Every other Friday, we will post the ten (10) best/most frequently asked questions received during the week from our h1bvisalawyerblog, Facebook, and Twitter readers. We will answer those questions and provide the Q&A on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.
If you have a burning question, are seeking assistance with a difficult immigration related case, wish to discuss your views on Comprehensive Immigration Reform, DREAMers, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, priority dates, the monthly visa bulletin, adjustment applications, etc., please contact us by submitting your question/comment/viewpoint in our comment box provided on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.
Our next “Q & A Forum” will take place this Friday, September 25, 2020. Act now and submit your questions!
The American Immigration Council (AIC) has released all fifty states and the District of Columbia, for a total of fifty-one updated state-by-state fact sheets highlighting immigration data and facts. These fact sheets highlight the demographic and economic impact of Immigrants in each state.
With national immigration policy being discussed, we thought that it would be a good time to provide some statistics on the Immigrant population in the United States as provided by this AIC research. Once a week we will be posting a blog with information on three states at a time. This week we will highlight; Alabama, Alaska and Arizona!
The AIC has compiled research which shows that Immigrants are an essential part of each of these states’ economy, labor force and tax base. As our economy continues to grow, Immigrants and their children are a growing economic and political force as consumers, taxpayers and entrepreneurs. As United States economic continues to grow, immigrants and their children will continue to play a key role in shaping the economic and political future of each of these states.
I have listed the general COVID safety guidelines for entering a USCIS facilities below. Remember to check for the specific guidelines that you must follow for any building that you may personally need to enter for official USCIS related business.
Guidelines for Entering USCIS Facilities
– Visitors may not enter a USCIS facility if they:
List of some of the Top News Stories related to Trump and Biden on Immigration:
American Action Forum, 9/8/20:
USCIS announced on Friday, September 11th, that they were extending the flexibilities that they originally announced on March 30th. These flexibilities are for responding to certain requests from the USCIS, some are listed below:
H1B Visa Lawyer Blog