Processing times for immigration cases have dramatically increased in the last few years to “crisis levels under the Trump Administration,” according to an American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) policy brief. These delays in some cases have caused gaps in work authorization and loss of employment, and the same AILA brief notes that the “ballooning delays leave families—including families with US citizen spouses and children—in financial distress, expose protection-seekers to potential harm by bad actors, and threaten the viability of American companies facing workforce gaps.”
Read moreOPINION: USCIS Updates Policy for Adjudicating Nonimmigrant Worker Extension Petitions
For over a decade, filing an extension of nonimmigrant status has been fairly routine in most cases. On Monday, October 23, 2017, US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a new policy memorandum that instructs its officers to apply the “same level of scrutiny to both initial petitions and extension requests for certain nonimmigrant visa categories.”
Read moreUSCIS Will Temporarily Suspend Premium Processing for All H-1B Petitions
US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) will temporarily suspend premium processing for all H-1B petitions effective April 3, 2017, the beginning of the filing period for H-1B “cap” cases. During the premium processing suspension, which may last up to six months, petitioners will not be able to file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service for a Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, which requests the H-1B nonimmigrant classification, for either H-1B “cap” or “cap exempt” petitions. USCIS will notify the public before resuming premium processing for H-1B petitions. All Form I-129 H-1B petitions properly filed before April 3, 2017, will continue to be premium processed within the required fifteen-day calendar frame. Note that the temporary suspension of premium processing for H-1B cases does not apply to other eligible nonimmigrant classifications.
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