In the new legislation signed by President Trump for the year 2020, several immigration-related provisions are included. The ending date for four immigration programs has been extended to September 30, 2020. The programs included are the EB-5 regional center program for certain immigrant investors, the Conrad state 30 program fro foreign doctors in J-1 status, E-Verify, and foreign religious workers. In addition, highlights include: • A new official appointed to investigate Department of Homeland Security personnel misconduct and violations of the rights of migrants in detention; • Provision for unannounced inspections of detention facilities and allowing lawmakers to visit them; •
The Department of State released the Visa bulletin for January 2020. The bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during January for: “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing Applications”. The bulletin includes information on potential monthly movement in the employment-based categories. In addition, the bulletin also explains procedures for various programs set to expire, if not extended by Congress, including the EB-4 non-minister special immigrant religious worker program, the EB-5 regional center immigrant investor pilot program, the Conrad 30 waiver program for foreign medical graduates working in underserved areas, and E-Verify.
The Department of Homeland Security`s (DHS) Office of Immigration Statistics published new immigration data that offers a new portrait of arrivals to the United States. Some of the takeaways are: Fewer Europeans and Asians, more Latin Americans 2018 saw the lowest number of green cards issued to people from Europe and Asia since at least 2010. By contrast, the number of green cards issued to people from the Americas has climbed significantly. The number of green cards issued to Central Americans has risen by almost 34% since 2010. The number of people from Africa who received green cards in 2018 is also up significantly, by about 15% from 2010 levels. Longer wait times for Adjustment of Stat
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced the extension of the validity of employment authorization documents (EADs) issued under TPS designations until January 4, 2021. The previous expiration dates were: January 2, 2020 (for El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan); January 5, 2020 (for Honduras); and March 24, 2020 (for Nepal).
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it is implementing an electronic registration process for the next H-1B lottery. Employers seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions for the fiscal year 2021 cap must first electronically register and pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee. USCIS will open an initial registration period from March 1 through March 20, 2020. Under the new process, USCIS said, employers seeking H-1B workers subject to the cap, or their authorized representatives, will complete a registration process that requires only basic information about their company and each requested worker. After the initial registration period, the H-1B random sele
