The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that effective October 1, 2017, applicants of employment based green cards will be required to attend an in-person interview during the I-485 (adjustment of status) stage of the green card process.  The adjustment of status application is the final stage of the green card (permanent residence) process where […]

On September 5, 2017, the Trump administration announced that it will end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program after six months – on March 5, 2018.  The six-month period is intended to give the Congress time to come up with legislation to provide a solution for the 800,000 foreigners living in America who […]

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The U.S. Department of State, in August 2017, made revisions to the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) pursuant to President Trump’s “Buy American Hire American” Executive Order (EO) of April 2017.    The FAM provides policy and procedure guidance to consular officers adjudicating U.S. visa applications worldwide.  These recent revisions to FAM pertain to certain non-immigrant […]

With the Deferred Action for Children Arrivals (DACA) program being wound down by March 2018, the U.S. Congress is under increased pressure to pass federal legislations to safeguard the interests of DACA recipients– the DREAMers – who could be subject to deportation upon expiration of their DACA benefits.  Under DACA, certain DREAMers who were brought […]

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 […]