President Donald Trump has made restricting legal immigration and imposing harsher penalties on immigrants hallmarks of his administration. Do any of the 24 presidential candidates—23 Democrats and one Republican—looking to challenge Trump next year have an immigration plan? A handful of Democratic hopefuls have release detailed immigration reform platforms. Other candidates have announced more general…
President Trump announced a new immigration plan last week that seeks to increase high-skilled immigration, overhaul and limit asylum and the diversity visa (green card “lottery”) programs, and restrict family-based immigration. “This could create new immigration pathways for entrepreneurs, Silicon Valley tech companies, and professionals who need greater access to movement to have the freedom…
President Trump issued a memorandum aimed at placing new immigration restrictions on individuals who hold nonimmigrant (temporary stay) visas. The “Presidential Memorandum on Combating High Nonimmigrant Overstay Rates” orders the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to immediately take “all appropriate actions that are within the scope of their respective authorities to…
Yesterday President Trump suggested he might have plans to provide a path to citizenship for H-1B visa holders. Tech employees, young entrepreneurs, startups, and the U.S. economy stand to benefit if this pathway comes to fruition. “H1-B holders in the United States can rest assured that changes are soon coming which will bring both simplicity…
A new policy that began this month makes it easier for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to deny visas and other immigration benefits. USCIS is no longer required to request more evidence that could complete an application or notify the applicant that it intends to deny the application. This policy overturns a 2013 policy that…
Under a new policy, if U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) denies a visa, an extension, or another immigration benefit, the agency will immediately begin deportation proceedings against the foreign national. That means doing it yourself now carries a higher risk of deportation. USCIS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP)…
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…
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…
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) 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…