U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services resumed premium processing for all H-1B visa petitions on Sept. 18, less than six months after it was suspended. This includes premium processing for H-1B petitions filed by U.S. companies seeking to transfer or extend an existing employee’s status. The highly coveted H-1B visa allows U.S. companies to employ highly…
DetailsPresident Trump and Congress have extended the EB-5 Regional Center visa program through December 8, 2017, without any changes. Legislation hammered out by Trump and Congressional leaders to provide disaster relief, suspend the U.S. debt ceiling, and extend government funding included extending EB-5. Under the EB-5 program, a foreign national and her or his family…
DetailsSilicon Valley immigration attorney Sophie Alcorn will take your questions and discuss the current state of U.S. immigration under President Donald Trump during a free lunchtime webinar on Thursday, September 21, 12:00 – 1:00 pm. Alcorn will focus on how to obtain visas and green cards for startup founders, investors, and employees in Silicon Valley…
DetailsToday the Trump administration announced the end of DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Since 2012, it has enabled Dreamers—undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children—to remain in the U.S. and work here without fear of deportation. The Department of Homeland Security stopped accepting new applications for DACA status after today,…
DetailsThe Trump administration announced that anyone seeking an employment-based visa will have to go through an in-person interview, starting on Oct. 1. Under current law, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has the discretion to interview green card applicants in person. However, until now, USCIS waived interviews for many categories of applicants, including those holding…
DetailsThis month President Trump endorsed legislation known as the RAISE Act, which would cut immigration to the U.S. in half. Just how many temporary and permanent residency visas does the U.S. grant to foreign nationals each year? Each year the U.S. admits more than 77 million immigrants on either temporary or permanent residency visas. Of…
DetailsThe U.S. Supreme Court last month left in place a ruling by a federal district judge in Hawaii that exempts grandparents, grandchildren, and other relatives from President Trump’s travel ban, which remains in effect through Sept. 24. In June, the Supreme Court exempted from the travel ban individuals holding passports from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan,…
DetailsPresident Trump officially endorsed legislation—the so-called RAISE Act—that will cut legal immigration to the U.S. by half and overhaul the current immigration system by focusing on immigrants who would contribute the most to the U.S. economy. Republican Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia initially introduced the RAISE (Reforming American Immigration for…
DetailsThe EB-5 immigrant investor program has been under the microscope due to a surge in demand and controversy, including an incident involving the family business of President Trump’s son-in-law. Still, the EB-5 green card program offers you a relatively quick path to permanent residence in the U.S. Individuals from China face a longer wait due…
DetailsZDNet security editor Zack Whittaker interviewed founding attorney Sophie Alcorn for her insight on how immigration officials evaluate visa applications. Alcorn’s comments were included in Whittaker’s article, “Black Hat speaker denied entry to US in another needless hit to security research.” The article appeared on ZDNet, a business technology news website, on July 25, 2017.…
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