A brief federal government shutdown ended this morning as the House and the Senate passed a Continuing Resolution (the “CR”) which provides a bipartisan budget bill that raises spending caps for two years and funds the federal government through March 23, 2018.  The President signed the bill this morning.  This new short-term extension has the effect of extending the EB-5 Regional Center Program in its existing form, meaning individual investors may continue to file I-526 petitions until this date. It is still highly probable that the Federal government’s Office of Management and Bud ..read more

The U.S. State Department has temporarily suspended the issuance of non-immigrant visas at all U.S. government diplomatic facilities in Turkey on October 8, 2017. “Recent events have forced the United States government to reassess the commitment of government of Turkey to the security of U.S mission and personnel,” the statement by the U.S mission in Ankara said. The Turkish government in a reciprocal move also suspended the issuance of non-immigrant visas for U.S Citizens both at their consular posts, border posts (including their international airport) and the e-visa service, which is availa ..read more

A brief federal government shutdown ended this morning as the House and the Senate passed a Continuing Resolution (the “CR”) which provides a bipartisan budget bill that raises spending caps for two years and funds the federal government through March 23, 2018.  The President signed the bill this morning.  This new short-term extension has the effect of extending the EB-5 Regional Center Program in its existing form, meaning individual investors may continue to file I-526 petitions until this date. It is still highly probable that the Federal government’s Office of Management and Budget (“OMB ..read more

On January 5, 2018, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) kicked off two new “traveler compliance initiatives” aimed at assisting those travelers to the US on the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). These newly added features to the I-94 website (https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home) under the “View Compliance” tab, allows travelers to check the status of their admission to the United States. This check alerts travelers of the number of days remaining in their lawful period of admission or the number of days they have remained beyond that period. In addition, CBP says it will now send an email notifi ..read more

The beginning of the calendar year is the perfect time for employers to begin planning for the FY2019 H-1B cap filing season, which will begin on Monday, April 2, 2018. Due to continued high demand, it is expected that the quota will be filled within the first 5 business days. The H-1B quotas for FY2019 are again expected to be capped at 65,000 petitions in addition to 20,000 petitions for those beneficiaries with advanced degrees from a U.S. college or university. As in the past few years, H-1B cases received during the first week of filing (beginning April 1) are expected to be treated equa ..read more

Anyone flying within the United States on or after January 22, 2018 will have to ensure that their state-issued driver’s license or identification card is compliant with the Real ID Act and its standards or has received an extension in which to comply.  If the traveler has a license or identification from a State that is not compliant he/she must present a valid passport or other acceptable form of documentation for air travel after January 22, 2018. Acceptable forms of identification include a valid U.S. or foreign passport or a USCIS employment authorization document. The list of compliant S ..read more

The federal government shutdown came to an end last night as the House and the Senate passed a Continuing Resolution (the “CR”) last night which extended the Federal budget until February 8, 2018.  The President signed the bill late last night.  This new short-term extension made no changes to any federal programs, and as a result, the EB-5 Regional Center Program has been extended in its existing form, meaning individual investors may continue to file I-526 petitions until this date. The Federal government’s Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) is still on track to roll out new EB-5 regula ..read more

As expected, the House and the Senate passed a Continuing Resolution (the “CR”) last night which extended the Federal budget until January 19, 2018.  It is expected that the President will sign the CR today. This new short-term extension made no changes to any federal programs, and as a result, the EB-5 Regional Center Program has been extended in its existing form, meaning individual investors may continue to file I-526 petitions until this date. It is important to mention that the Department of Homeland Security has indicated that the regulations proposed last year increasing the amount of i ..read more

USCIS has issued new guidance on the TN nonimmigrant classification for economists. Following a Policy Memorandum dated November 20, 2017, USCIS will no longer classify financial analysts, market research analysts, and marketing specialists in the TN economist category. Effectively immediately, these restrictions apply to new applications for TN status, extensions of previously approved applications, and international travel of employees presently in TN economist status. The new guidance clarifies what types of occupations qualify under the economist profession, as USCIS had seen inconsistent ..read more

On Friday, December 8, 2017, President Trump signed House Joint Resolution 123, the “Continuing Appropriations Act”, which prevented a U.S. federal government shutdown.  The Act provided a short-term extension which will keep the U.S. federal government open through December 22, 2017.  Within this continuing resolution, no changes were made to any federal programs.  As a result, the EB-5 Regional Center Program has been extended in its existing form, meaning individual investors may continue to file I-526 petitions until this date.  As members of Congress agree on a formal piece of legislation ..read more