Starting on October 1, 2021, most permanent residence (green card) applicants will be required to show proof of having received a complete series of COVID-19 vaccinations to be eligible to receive permanent residence, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC added COVID-19 to the list of vaccines already required for green Read More »
USCIS updates
Travel and USCIS Updates
**UPDATE** On October 20, 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) indicated that it will continue to implement the ban on non-essential travel across U.S. land borders with Canada and Mexico through January 21, 2022. However, these restrictions will be lifted on November 8, 2021 for fully COVID-19-vaccinated foreign nationals only, to align with the Read More »
Premium Processing Update
**UPDATE** On October 19, 2020, USCIS raised the premium processing fee to $2,500 for Forms I-140 and I-129. The law that increased this fee also expanded premium processing to other types of cases and benefits, but as of December 21, 2020, USCIS has not indicated when it plans to implement this expansion. **UPDATE** On Read More »
USCIS Offices Reopening Starting June 4
**UPDATE** On May 27, USCIS announced that it is preparing to reopen some local offices om June 4. According to USCIS, it “is following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines to protect our workforce and the public. For the latest information on the status of individual offices, check our office closures page. While certain Read More »
UPDATE to Implementation of New DHS Public Charge Rule
**UPDATE** On March 9, 2021, DHS rescinded implementation of the new public charge rule that went into effect last year, because the Biden Administration withdrew the prior Administration’s appeal of a pending federal lawsuit, which had the effect of reinstating a lower court decision which invalidated the 2019 Public Charge rule. As of March 9, Read More »
Certain new USCIS forms required on October 15, 2019! – POSTPONED!
**UPDATE** October 11, 2019: Today, a federal district court temporarily stopped the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from implementing new “public charge” requirements for certain nonimmigrant and immigrant petitions and applications. This means that the new versions of forms mentioned in the October 9, 2019 post below will NOT go into effect, and have Read More »
Validity period of Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record
November 15, 2018: Effective November 1, 2018, USCIS revised its policy guidance on the validity period of Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, commonly referred to as the “medical exam.” According to the updated policy, USCIS will require applicants to submit this form (signed by a USCIS-approved civil surgeon) no more than Read More »
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Injunction Requiring Acceptance of DACA Renewals
November 9, 2018: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a District Court’s nationwide injunction requiring the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to continue to accept DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) application renewals while a lawsuit challenging the Administration’s termination of DACA continues. In affirming the lower court’s ruling and injunction, the Ninth Read More »
TPS Status Preserved and Extended due to October 2018 Court Order
October 31, 2018: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice in the Federal Register that temporarily preserves Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan. All were countries whose nationals were set to lose their TPS status over the course of the next year: Sudan on November Read More »
Premium Processing Fee to Increase on October 1, 2018
September 4, 2018: USCIS has announced that effective October 1, 2018, it will raise the Premium Processing fee to $1,410 (from the current amount of $1,225). All eligible petitions and applications received by USCIS on or after that date requesting this expedited service must include the higher fee. Premium Processing is a service offered by USCIS in Read More »