Tievsky Immigration Law

06/13/2018

Our June 2018 Newsletter is now available!

USCIS issued a policy memorandum on May 10, 2018, proposing to dramatically change its long-standing interpretation of when certain foreign students and exchange visitors are considered to have overstayed their U.S. admission. The effect, if finalized as proposed, would be to cause perhaps thousands...

01/10/2018

Justyna M. Felusiak has just joined our team as an Associate Attorney! She earned her Juris Doctor in 2017 from American University’s Washington College of Law where she was a member of the Administrative Law Review, a Student Attorney for the Immigrant Justice Clinic, a Teaching Fellow for the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project, and a mentor and mentee in ADVANCE for first generation law students. Additionally, Ms. Felusiak completed the Washington College of Law Pro Bono Honors Pledge with Exceptional Service Honors, an honor that requires over 175 hours of pro bono work.

Ms. Felusiak earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Political Science and Geography from The George Washington University, awarded in 2014.

Ms. Felusiak passed the N.Y. Bar in July 2017 and is awaiting admission. She is fluent in Polish.

09/05/2017

The Trump Administration today announced its recision of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, to take final effect on March 5, 2018. The action responds to threatened litigation by Texas and 8 other states challenging the program's constitutionality (Tennessee recently withdrew from the group). Current DACA beneficiaries may apply to extend their employment authorization, at least initially, but from September 5, 2017, USCIS will reject applications for initial DACA registration. Applications by current DACA beneficiaries to extend employment authorization must be filed by October 5, 2017

https://www.dhs.gov/news/2017/09/05/memorandum-rescission-daca

The Trump Administration today announced its recision of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, to take final effect on March 5, 2018. The action responds to threatened litigation by Texas and 8 other states challenging the program's constitutionality (Tennessee recently withdrew...

08/28/2017

Here's our latest newsletter, with items on USCIS' intention to commence interviews for employment based green card applicants; FY2018 H-1b visa processing trends; suspension of US consulates' processing of nonimmigrant visas in Russia; changes to USCIS' adjudication policy for some travel document applicants; possible changes coming in employment authorizing Exchange Visitor programs; and an update on the immigrant visa availability in the coming months.

http://mailchi.mp/tievskylaw/immigration-news-update?e=[UNIQID]

Politico is reporting that USCIS will require in-person interviews for certain employment-based green card cases beginning October 1. The interview requirement, which has been acknowledged by a USCIS spokesperson but not formally announced, apparently stems from the “extreme vetting” policy adopted…

07/11/2017

Homeland Security announced that it will delay implementation of an Obama Administration regulation intended to permit foreign entrepreneurs to come to the US implement their business ideas if successful U.S. investors had already committed substantial investment. The Trump Administration intends to rescind the regulation, and the delay will provide time to do so.

The regulation was implemented in part as a result of legislative gridlock to promote entrepreneurship by non-US persons.

Homeland Security today published a Federal Register notice delaying for 8 months implementation of an Obama Administration regulation seeking to encourage foreign entrepreneurs to come to the U.S. if they can demonstrate that their business has received significant capital investments from U.S. inv...

03/06/2017

USCIS announced March 3 that it will suspend 15 day premium processing of all H-1b petitions for up to six months starting April 3, 2017, for backlog reduction. Why not put assign more staff to premium H-1b cases instead?

https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-will-temporarily-suspend-premium-processing-all-h-1b-petitions

USCIS announced March 3 that it will suspend 15 day premium processing of all H-1b petitions for up to six months starting April 3, 2017. The

02/16/2017

The annual H-1b visa filing season us upon us. Will the Trump Administration's fire and brimstone approach to immigration affect the number of specialty occupation petitions filed this year, and by whom?

USCIS will accept employer petitions for the FY2018 H-1b visa allotment from April 3 to April 7, 2017, for an October 1, 2017, employee start date. In recent years USCIS has received sufficient numbers of petitions during the first week of availability to account for the entire year’s allotment of 8...

01/30/2017

Companies should keep an eye on how the "Extreme Vetting" Executive Order admission ban affects travel of employees from the 7 countries, and be alert for lengthening wait times for visa interviews worldwide.

” remains in effect, and will continue to impact the ability of nonimmigrant nationals of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen (“EO-7 countries”) to travel to the U.S. Although, after a series of Federal court orders, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) is no longer routinely…

01/27/2017

A leaked draft Executive order on employment based immigration programs demonstrate the Trump Administration's intent to gut long standing immigrant and nonimmigrant worker programs.

" appears aimed at gutting many employment based non-immigrant visa programs as we know, them, rescinding the recently adopted entrepreneur parole regulation, ramping up employer enforcement, and generating a stream of new government reports highlighting the number of persons in the US holding immi...