The USCIS has resumed premium processing for H-1B visa petitions subject to the fiscal year 2018 from September 18, 2017. However, the USCIS has not yet resumed this service for H-1B extensions. As indicated by the USCIS on September 18, 2017, it will resume premium processing for all remaining H-1B petitions as and how their […]

The Union minister of state for Home, Kiren Rijiju stated that the Centre will urge the Supreme Court to modify its 2015 order of granting citizenship to Chakma, Hajong refugees in north east India without diluting the rights of the indigenous people.  The Chakmas and Hajongs were originally residents of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in […]

LawQuest, a leading immigration firm from India, will be participating in Worldwide ERC®’s – Global Workforce Symposium in Chicago, from September 27 – 29, 2017 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.  Worldwide ERC® is an organization, headquartered in Washington D.C., that connects workforce mobility professionals across the globe.  The Global Workforce Symposium is a remarkable think tank for global mobility – one […]

Foreign nationals visiting the U.S. can now be denied entry, or those already in the country can be asked to leave, on the basis of a new ground – if such individuals fail to follow through on their stated plans for three months.  The Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, in a recent cable sent out […]

Recently, the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) has been conducting site visits of U.S. employers using L-1B visas, as has been reported by Bloomberg BNA.  The L-1B visa is used for transferring foreign workers with specialized knowledge from their overseas workplace to a U.S. based work location.   This increased scrutiny could be a […]

Recently at the UNWTO’s (United Nations World Tourism Organization) General Assembly which took place in Chengdu, China, Qatar’s Ministry of Interior (MoI) and Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) announced that the holders of valid visas or Residence permits from the US, Canada, New Zealand, UK, Australia, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) or the Schengen countries are eligible […]

President Trump signed a proclamation on Sunday, September 24, 2017, imposing new restrictions on entry to the U.S. on foreign nationals.  This proclamation will replace his prior travel ban which expired on September 24th. The new travel rules will apply to citizens of Chad, North Korea, Venezuela, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen; and will […]

The number of RFEs (Request for Evidence) being issued by the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) has shot up by 45% this year as compared to the previous year.  An RFE is usually issued when any document or evidence required for adjudicating a visa petition is not provided.   The request for additional documentation […]

Due to increase in the number of foreign nationals seeking economic asylum in Hong Kong, Immigration Department’s Assistant Director, Ma Chi-Ming introduced an online registration platform for all Indian nationals planning to travel to Hong Kong from January 23, 2017. This online platform will require all Indian passport holders to obtain a prior approval from […]

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) constituted a high-level committee headed by retired judge Arvind Kumar Goel to consider the legal challenges faced by women who are harassed or deserted by their Non – Resident Indian (NRI) spouses.  To assist overseas Indian nationals in times of distress and emergency in the most deserving cases, the […]