US Immigration Blog by former INS Trial Attorney Carl Shusterman. How to get a temporary working visa, a green card and U.S. citizenship.
On May 5, 2020, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced a bill to recapture 40,000 lost green cards, and give them to much needed doctors and nurses. The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act (S.3599) would speed the ability of foreign-born healthcare workers to become lawful permanent residents of the United States and allow them to […]
On April 27, 2020, the USCIS released an updated version of the Handbook for Employers – Guidance for Completing Form I-9. The update of the I-9 handbook was timely because on May 1, 2020, employers are required to use the latest revision of form I-9. Changes in the I-9 Handbook The update lists […]
With the exponential rise in H-1B denials, we recommend that employers challenge erroneous USCIS decisions in Federal Court. Three recent decisions by Federal Judges pave the road to success. H-1B denial rates increased from 6% in fiscal year 2015 to 21% in fiscal year 2019. The denial rate for H-1B extensions increased to 12%. The […]
On December 10, 2019, USCIS issued policy guidance regarding what constitutes good moral character for naturalization purposes. However, it is clear that this guidance will affect not only applicants for naturalization, but also those applying for adjustment of status and other types of immigration benefits including cancellation of removal. Specifically, the new guidance incorporates the […]
The Administration’s policies are punishing not only the undocumented, but are restricting the rules for legal immigration. Never in my 40 years of practicing immigration law both as an INS Attorney and in private practice have I seen so many restrictions being placed upon foreign-born individuals and often upon employers who are sponsoring them for […]
Recently, a foreign-born physician scheduled a consultation with me. She had an interview coming up, and for some reason, her attorney was unable to accompany her. She was super-nervous because her case had been going on for years, and the facts were quite complex. I let her know that she was right to be concerned. […]
The H-1B online registration system will go into effect on March 1, 2020. Employers must submit the required information online for each H-1B beneficiary whom they wish to sponsor between March 1 and March 20. However, the details of the system have yet to be released by the USCIS. The fact that the current […]
Supreme Court DACA oral arguments regarding whether the Trump Administration acted correctly in attempting to terminate the program took place on November 12, 2019. DACA is short for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which was announced in 2012. DACA allows some persons with unlawful presence in the US after being brought to the country […]
In September 2019, Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) asked their colleagues to support a unanimous consent resolution to approve S386, the Senate version of H.R. 1044, the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019. H.R. 1044 was passed by the House of Representatives last July. The Act would abolish the 7% per-country […]
As part of the Department’s technology modernization initiative, the FLAG System has been developed to replace the legacy iCERT System, improve customer service, and modernize the administration of foreign labor certification programs through the Employment and Training Administration’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC). OFLC is making this public service announcement to alert employers and […]
