Immigration

On October 1, 2013, the U.S. Department of State will begin accepting requests to register for the 2015 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV-2015), also known as the Green Card Lottery.

In recent weeks there have been increased instances of a new telephone scam targeting USCIS applicants and petitioners. Scammers are calling applicants and petitioners using a technique called “Caller ID spoofing” to display an inaccurate phone number on the recipient’s caller ID system.

On April 10, 2013, we reported that USCIS had conducted the lottery process for fiscal year 2014 cap-subject H-1B petitions. Those petitions that were selected and approved will be valid starting October 1, 2013.

In its first decision regarding same-sex immigration benefits since the June 26, 2013, Supreme Court decision United States v. Windsor, which held that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) is unconstitutional, the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) has reversed the denial of an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative filed by Serge Polajenko

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled in United States v. Windsor that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional, same-sex couples who are married have equal access to immigration benefits. We expect government agencies to implement the Windsor decision swiftly.

On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Windsor that Section 3 of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) is unconstitutional. This Section of DOMA prohibited the U.S. government from conferring any federal benefits to same-sex couples who were married in any jurisdiction in the world.

Today the U.S. Senate voted 68-32 to pass a sweeping immigration bill that would put the nation’s 11 million unauthorized immigrants on the path to American citizenship and invest $46 billion to increase border security and overhaul the country’s immigration system.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in United States v. Windsor that the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) is unconstitutional. The decision of the Court applies to same-sex couples who are legally married as defined by their state of residence.

Mintz Levin has published a brief Client Alert today on the Supreme Court's decision holding that DOMA is unconstitutional. We are waiting to see how various federal agencies implement this important decision.

This week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched an initiative to automate the issuance of Forms I-94, Arrival/Departure Records for travelers arriving by sea or air. Records of admission will now be generated by CBP using traveler information captured through electronic means.

Susan Cohen and Bill Weld recently authored an editorial on the need for bipartisan action on immigration reform. The editorial appeared in the April 20, 2013 edition of the Boston Sunday Globe.

On April 7, 2013, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducted the lottery process for fiscal year 2014 cap-subject H-1B petitions. The computer-generated random selection process included approximately 124,000 cap-subject petitions received April 1, 2013 through April 5, 2013.

On April 5, 2013, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it had received more than enough H-1B petitions to meet the numerical limit for fiscal year 2014 cap-subject H-1B visas, which includes both the 65,000 general H-1B cap petitions as well as the 20,000 “U.S. Masters” H-1B petitions filed on behalf of individuals with U.S. advanced degrees.

On March 27, 2013 the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) published an interim rule in the Federal Register that changes the definition of Form I-94 (aka “I-94 card”) in order to allow an I-94 to be issued in electronic format, as well as in its current paper version.

On March 27, 2013 the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) published an interim rule in the Federal Register that changes the definition of Form I-94 (also known as an “I-94 card”) in order to allow an I-94 to be issued in electronic format, as well as in its current paper version.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today published a revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. All employers in the U.S. are required to complete Form I-9 on behalf of every employee hired in the U.S.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today published a revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.  All employers in the U.S. are required to complete Form I-9 on behalf of every employee hired in the U.S.

As of April 1, 2013, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H-1B petitions for Fiscal Year 2014 (FY2014). Petitions for FY2014 will allow foreign nationals to work for petitioning employers as of October 1, 2013. USCIS will continue to accept new H-1B petitions after April 1, 2013, until the H-1B cap has been reached.

The first two months of 2013 have seen a flurry of activity relating to immigration reform. President Obama is pushing for comprehensive reform as are powerful factions within both the Senate and the House.

This alert is a reminder of the rapidly approaching April 1, 2013 “deadline” for the filing of H-1B visa petitions for Fiscal Year 2014. Petitions for the new fiscal year, which starts on October 1, 2013, will be accepted by the government beginning April 1, 2013.