Although the end is near for entrepreneur parole under the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER), startup founders have alternatives to build amazing companies in the U.S. After nearly a year of threatening to terminate the IER program, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made good on that threat last week: It published a proposal in the…
This green-cards-for-parents story is part of an ongoing series of posts I’m writing to showcase some of the Alcorn Immigration Law team’s client success stories.* To maintain confidentiality, the name of the client has been changed, and some details of the case may have been omitted or slightly altered. A few years after the Alcorn…
The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) has filed a motion in federal court designed to determine whether the Trump administration is complying with a court order to implement the International Entrepreneur Rule. Last September, NVCA along with entrepreneurs and startups sued the federal government for illegally delaying implementation of the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER). The…
The volume of H-1B applications submitted to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and subject to the annual cap dropped for the second consecutive year under the Trump administration. Cap-subject H-1B filings have dropped nearly 20% since 2016. Each year since 2014, the number of cap-subject H-1B petitions submitted had steadily risen, reaching a high…
President Trump recently threatened to “close up the country” if Congress fails to fund a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. “You can’t allow people to pour into our country the way they’re doing,” he said. By “close up the country,” it’s unclear whether Trump meant he would halt immigration entirely or refuse to…
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division have expanded their collaboration to share information and scrutinize employers who sponsor employees for visas and green cards. On a monthly basis, USCIS’ Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS) and DOJ’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) will share: Employer…
The State Bar of California has peer-reviewed and certified our founding attorney Sophie Alcorn as a specialist in immigration and nationality law. Sophie is the only immigration specialist practicing in Santa Clara County recognized and certified by the State Bar for her expertise. “I’m honored to be accredited as an immigration specialist by judges and…
Are you a well-known international gamer or team looking to compete at EVO 2018 in August in Las Vegas or another eSports tournament in the U.S.? If so, you, your teammates, or your support staff may be eligible for a P-1A visa for internationally recognized professional athletes to train and compete in the U.S. …
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) plans to impose new restrictions making it more difficult to attract and retain highly-skilled foreign nationals and international students who attend a U.S. university. In a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley last month, USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna outlined a series of measures that the agency…
As graduation season nears, the Alcorn Immigration Law team has been fielding inquiries from established companies, startups, and investors asking about options for promising foreign students to remain in the U.S. Unfortunately, U.S. immigration policy often runs counter to retaining the best and the brightest college graduates in the U.S. Limited options exist for international…