USCIS Proposes Changes to Advance Parole Adjudication
On November 16, 2018, USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna suggested that the agency will discontinue its current policy of denying pending advance parole applications, Forms I-131, Application for Travel Document, when an applicant travels internationally. The comments on the advance parole adjudications came during the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman’s Annual Conference. While USCIS did not indicate when the change would be implemented, it did sugg
USCIS Clarifies the L-1 One-Year Foreign Employment Requirement
On November 15, 2018, USCIS published a policy memorandum clarifying the requirement that a qualifying organization employ a principal L-1 beneficiary abroad for one (1) continuous year out of the three (3) years before the time of petition filing. The clarification was intended to ensure consistent adjudication of L-1 petitions by providing a standard basis for calculating time for the one-year foreign employment requirement. Specifically, this PM explains that: The L-1 bene
Simone Williams Elected as the Best Immigration Lawyer of 2018!
Simone Williams, Managing Attorney at Williams Global Law, has been awarded the honor of the Best Immigration Lawyer of the Year 2018 by the U.S. Minority Chamber of Commerce. The recognition will be awarded on December 21, 2018 during the U.S Minority Chamber’s XXII year Gala Awards Banquet in Washington D.C. “The Best Immigration Lawyer of the Year 2018” is an award presented to immigration lawyers to recognize their outstanding leadership and effectiveness, exceptional cli
DHS Proposes Merit-Based Rule for H-1B Visa Program
On December 3, 2018, DHS announced that for the FY2020 H-1B Cap filings, USCIS would reverse the order by which the agency selects H-1B petitions under the H-1B cap and the advanced degree exemption, likely increasing the number of beneficiaries with a master’s or higher degree from a U.S. institution of higher education to be selected for an H-1B cap number, and introducing a more meritorious selection of beneficiaries. Currently, in years when the H-1B cap and the advanced
USCIS Moves Forward with Adjusting H-1B Cap Procedures
As stated in our previous newsletter, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed a rule that would require all H-1B petitioners to pre-register online for the H-1B lottery prior to submitting its H-1B filings. According to the proposed rule, only those H-1B petitions that have been selected in the lottery could then be submitted for the adjudication by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. On November 21, 2018, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) appro
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