A change in calculating the availability of immigrant numbers means some foreign national ministers who are in the United States on temporary R-1 religious worker visas and waiting in lines for green cards will have to wait even longer, it seems. Some may even have to leave their congregations. Ministers entering the United States solely to work in the ministry for a bona fide non-profit religious organization fall into a specific green card category: employment-based fourth preference. The fourth preference category includes religious workers and minors in Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (S ..read more

USCIS has launched a new Enterprise Change of Address (E-COA) self-service tool to make it easier for foreign nationals to update their addresses. All foreign nationals, even green card holders, are required to notify USCIS of a change of address within 10 days of the move. Beyond that regulation, it is important to notify USCIS of an address change especially if you have pending cases where USCIS might need to contact you or send you information – such as an Employment Authorization Document or a green card. It is not sufficient to simply notify the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) of the new addre ..read more

Diversity Visa (DV) Electronic Registration for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 opens at noon ET on October 4, 2023, and closes at noon ET on November 7, 2023. There will be 55,000 Diversity Visas available for FY 2025. There is no cost to register, but, if selected, applicants must pay the visa application or I-485 Adjustment of Status fees. Filing more than one application will lead to disqualification for the program. Individuals born in certain countries are not eligible to apply because more than 50,000 nationals of those countries have immigrated to the United States in the past five years. The li ..read more

This is the first of a two-part series on the three factors to consider when evaluating the possible impact a job change could have on a certified PERM labor certification and a foreign national’s green card process. Typically, unless the foreign worker qualifies for an exception, employers sponsoring a foreign national for permanent residency (a “green card”) under the employment-based second-preference and third-preference categories must conduct a labor market test (prevailing wage determination and recruitment) to show there are no U.S. workers able, willing, qualified, and available to pe ..read more

Green card holders who seek naturalization are required to pass a civics test and demonstrate English proficiency. The test used for this was developed in 2008, and the Biden Administration has announced it is updating the test. The changes are going to be tested in the coming months, and USCIS plans to implement them in late-2024. While some immigrant advocates believe that the changes can be a hurdle to immigrants, others contend the test should be standardized. Currently: Applicants’ spoken English is tested during the naturalization interview by asking them questions about themselves from ..read more

On July 21, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a final rule, which will be officially published on July 25, 2023, that will provide eligible employers filling out the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 an optional alternative to the in-person physical document examination method that employers have followed as part of the Form I-9 process. DHS explained, “This rule responds to lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, which demonstrated the substantial practical benefits of an optional alternative to the physical documentation examination procedures require ..read more

The Immigration and Nationality Act delegates authority to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to decide whether to parole a foreign person into the United States. Parole is a discretionary remedy decided on a case-by-case basis, evaluating the totality of evidence to determine if the foreign person’s presence in the United States will provide a significant public benefit and otherwise merits favorable discretion. The previous parts of this series on the International Entrepreneur Parole (IEP) program have reviewed the program requirements — who is eligible and what documentation is requ ..read more

Calling the USCIS Contact Center to reschedule most biometrics appointments is no longer necessary. As part of its effort to streamline services, USCIS launched a new self-service biometrics appointment rescheduling tool. The new tool can be used for both paper-filed and on-line-filed benefit requests. To use the service, an individual must first create a USCIS online account, if they do not already have one. Further, the rescheduling request must be made before the date of the scheduled appointment. Acceptable reasons for rescheduling include: Illness, medical appointment, or hospitalization ..read more

The first installment in this series discussing the International Entrepreneur Parole (IEP) program identified the challenge and a potential solution for foreign entrepreneurs to legally enter the United States to develop a business concept and outlined the detailed program requirements. This part of the series will examine the specific documentary requirements necessary to satisfy those requirements. Assembling Documents The IEP program imposes significant documentary requirements. The governing regulations require assembling documents not only from the foreign entrepreneur applying for parol ..read more

Certain foreign entrepreneurs have a new pathway available to enter the United States to develop a business concept through a start-up company. Entrepreneurs who will have a central and active role in a start-up company that has attracted private investment or government funding may benefit from the International Entrepreneur Parole (IEP) program. While complex and imperfect, the IEP program creates a remedy for certain foreign entrepreneurs who can demonstrate potential for rapid business growth and job creation. This is the first of a series of three commentaries examining the legal basis fo ..read more