Beginning April 1, 2016, travelers to the U.S. for business or leisure who are eligible for visa-free travel under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) must have an electronically readable passport in order to be admitted under the VWP. Electronic passports, or e-Passports, are enhanced with an embedded security chip that […]
DHS Proposes New Fee Increases in the Midst of Lengthy CIS Service Delays
11 May
by Foster, on Immigration Updates
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently published a proposed rule to increase the fees for immigration benefits by a weighted average of 21%. The proposed fee increase comes in the midst of some of the longest CIS adjudication times in recent memory, with H-1B extensions often taking 7 […]
June 2016 Visa Bulletin – Significant Retrogression for EB-2 India and EB-2 and EB-3 China
10 May
by Foster, on Immigration Updates
The U.S. Department of State recently published the Monthly Visa Bulletin for June 2016, reporting significant “retrogression” in the “final action cutoff dates” for applicants in the EB-2 India and EB-2 and EB-3 China employment-based categories. Other categories show either no progress or only modest progression in the final action […]
by Stephen A. Nuño The Supreme Court seems divided over President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), giving a temporary reprieve to young undocumented immigrants, and Congress has made little progress in ending the gridlock over immigration reform. Despite the standstill in Washington D.C., some states, especially California, […]