Immigration Updates

On September 10, 2015, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (‘CBP’) launched a redesigned website for VISA WAIVER PROGRAM (VWP) visitors to apply for Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior to traveling to the United States. The VWP is administrated by the Department of Homeland Security (‘DHS’) and enables citizens or nationals of 38…

Opinion: Yes, It’s America and I Speak Spanish Because I Can Whenever I’m in a situation where I pick up that someone has a Spanish accent, I’ll switch to speaking Spanish. I also make the effort with French or Italian, though I’m not nearly as fluent. Speaking to somebody in their first language forges an…

Brazilian Congress recently approved a legislation-for the first time- authorizing the use of binding arbitration clause to resolve individual labor disputes. Until recently, the Brazilian legislators were silent on the use of arbitration clause in cases involving individual disputes, while the Brazilian courts did allow arbitration clause in disputes involving labor unions against companies, but…

The U.S. District Court for the District of Colombia significantly curtailed immigration benefits for foreign students in the United States on F-1 visas. In her opinion in the case Washington Alliance of Technology Workers vs. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Hovelled invalidated USCIS’s 2008 17-month Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension…

On July 14, 2015, the Secretary signed the following proposed rule, the Department of Homeland Security sent it to the Federal Register for publication. See the proposal below. “The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to expand eligibility for provisional waivers of certain grounds of inadmissibility based on the accrual of unlawful presence to all…

Special Immigrant Juvenile Status is for foster youth; it allows undocumented youth immigrant to stay in the country, work, and eventually get a green card. A Special Immigrant Juvenile is an unmarried person under the age of twenty-one who is in the United States; who has been declared dependent on a juvenile court located in…

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) invites you to participate in a stakeholder teleconference on Thursday, July 2, from 1 to 2 p.m. (Eastern) to discuss the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations and registration extension for Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended the deadline for initial registration from…

Technological Systems Issues with US Passports and Visas Q: Is this the same issue as last year? Was it not fixed? Q: What is going on? Why can’t the Department issue visas, passports, and other travel documents? Q: How is this affecting consular operations? Passports Visas Q: Can you print a visa without using the…

Starting May 26, 2015, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will temporarily suspend premium processing for all H-1B Extension of Stay petitions until July 27, 2015. During this time frame, 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, requesting an…

The U.S. Government is currently adjudicating intercountry adoption petitions filed on behalf of Nepali children who have been relinquished by a known birth parent(s) whose identity and relationship can be confirmed. The U.S. Government is not adjudicating adoption petitions filed for Nepali children who are described as having been abandoned. On August 6, 2010, the…