U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) recently announced several updates to Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”), which clarify immigration issues for nationals of qualifying countries. These announcements highlight the fluid nature of immigration status for countries in crisis and the power of the Department of Homeland Security to respond to urgent humanitarian needs. What is TPS? TPS is a temporary immigration status created by Congress under the Immigration READ MORE READ MORE

The L-1B nonimmigrant visa program is regularly utilized by companies to transfer employees with specialized knowledge from foreign countries to the United States. According to a recent analysis, the program continues to experience significant denial rates, raising questions about the underlying causes of the phenomenon.  L1-B Visa Program The L1-B Visa Program allows employers to transfer certain nonimmigrant employees from foreign offices to offices within the United READ MORE READ MORE

While a labor shortage continues to affect critical industries in the United States, over one million noncitizens eagerly await the U.S. government to issue their work permits. Despite many already losing their jobs, U.S. immigration officials continue to struggle to address the significant backlog of immigration cases.  The Labor Shortage In the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted nearly everything in our lives. Among those disruptions READ MORE READ MORE

Federal Government Will Extend Length of Work Authorization for Some Immigrants The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has announced plans to increase the validity length of work authorization cards for certain immigrant classifications. This is an effort to reduce the times that immigrant workers would need to file the applications. USCIS is currently facing an enormous backlog of nearly 4 million applications, leading to inordinately long delays READ MORE READ MORE

The Biden Administration recently proposed a price increase for nearly all nonimmigrant visas. Government officials say the increase is necessary to fund immigration services, which are already stretched to their limit, but critics suggest it could be a financial barrier to noncitizens seeking to enter this country. Proposed Rule in the Federal Register According to the proposed rule by the Department of State (“DOS”), the U.S. government READ MORE READ MORE