Immigration

On March 26, 2018, Massachusetts adopted a new system for driver’s licenses and identification (Mass ID) cards to comply with the REAL ID federal standards.

On Tuesday, March 20, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will temporarily suspend premium processing for Fiscal Year 2019 H-1B cap petitions starting April 2, 2018, the same date that USCIS will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the cap.

It appears that the Republican controlled Congress and the Trump Administration cannot get anything done on the contentious issues of immigration.

The term "chain migration" is currently being used to describe a process in which one legal immigrant can generate many new admissions by sponsoring his or her relatives — each of whom, in turn, leads to even more immigrants.

Historically, H-1B visas have been the U.S. employment visa of choice due to their flexibility for professionals to work in “specialty occupations.” Lately, however, for those employers and prospective employees who are subject to the annual numerical “cap” on H-1Bs, the demand far outstrips the quota.

As of 4 pm on Friday, January 19, 2018, the US Senate had not reached an agreement on the terms of a continuing resolution to keep the US government running. The US House passed a 30-day resolution on Thursday, but this must also pass the Senate and President Trump must sign it before midnight, January 19, 2018 to avoid a shutdown.

On January 8, 2018, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for El Salvador. TPS provides a temporary legal basis to remain in the U.S. and employment authorization to individuals from countries deemed to be unsafe due to natural disaster, civil war, and other conditions.

On December 1, 2017 Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted summary judgment to the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) in its challenge to a regulation published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) delaying the implementation of the International Entrepreneur Parole (IEP) Rule.

On Monday, December 4, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two separate, but related, orders staying lower courts’ preliminary injunctions against President Trump’s most recent travel ban (see our previous alert). The practical impact of these Supreme Court orders is that the latest travel ban reinstates President Trump’s Presidential Proclamation of September 24, 2017.

On December 1st, 2017 Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted summary judgment to the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) in its challenge to a regulation published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) delaying the implementation of the International Entrepreneur Parole (IEP) Rule. 

In early October, we reported that U.S. visa processing in Turkey had been suspended amid security concerns, and that the government of Turkey had responded with a suspension of visa processing for U.S. citizens.

On November 13, 2017, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco partially granted an emergency request by the United States government to allow the travel ban issued by President Trump on September 24, 2017 to go into effect.

On November 13, 2017, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco partially granted an emergency request by the United States government to allow the travel ban issued by President Trump on September 24, 2017 (see our previous alert) to go into effect.

Effective Monday, October 30th, Mintz Levin’s Immigration Practice will upgrade its case management database. The security-enhanced, cloud-based system is provided by LawLogix. This new software will streamline our practice, allowing for more immediate, transparent, and effective client service.

On October 16, 2017, the US Department of State (DOS) shut down registration for the FY 2019 Diversity Lottery due to a technical problem and will restart the registration period on October 18, 2017. All entries submitted online prior to October 18, 2017 are not valid and have been excluded from the system. 

On Tuesday, October 17, 2017 Hawaii Federal District Court Judge Derrick K. Watson issued a ruling applicable to the entire United States, blocking most of President Trump’s latest travel ban that was scheduled to go into effect tomorrow, October 18, 2017.

The U.S. Mission to Turkey has announced that it has suspended all nonimmigrant (temporary) visa processing at posts in Turkey. This includes all nonimmigrant visa services at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara and the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that as of today, October 3, 2017, it has resumed the premium processing option for all H-1B petitions including for the conversion of pending petitions. USCIS reinstated the premium processing service for H-1B Cap-subject cases on September 18, 2017.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a new version of its Application for Employment Authorization Form I-765 to allow applicants to simultaneously apply for a Social Security Number (SSN). 

The chances of a stand-alone EB-5 bill gaining consensus with lawmakers on Capitol Hill are low. With the GOP failing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, lawmakers may be spending time readjusting priorities in unexpected ways for the remainder of 2017.