On February 11, 2019, USCIS announced that, on March 11, 2019, it will release a new version of the Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant status. The form is commonly used for dependents’ status extensions, among other applications. The form, when released, will have an immediate effective date of March 11, 2019, which means that any applications filed on or after that date must use the new form.
On January 30, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced a final rule effective April 1, 2019 that changes the way cap-subject H-1B petitions will be processed in two ways: first, petitioners seeking to file petitions will have to register electronically with USCIS during a designated registration period; and second, the order in which cap-subject petitions are selected in years when demand exceeds supply (i.e., when a lottery is required) has been reversed. We discussed these changes in depth when they were proposed, in our December 3, 2018 blog post.
News Release from Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC On November 14, 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a revised version of Form I-9, "Employment Eligibility Verification," the form used by employers to verify the identity and employment...
News Release from Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC Dear Clients & Friends - The 2016 presidential election resulted in news that many of us were not expecting: Donald Trump will become the president of the United States when he is sworn into office on...
News Release from Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC On October 26, 2016, a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) found that H-1B-related legal expenditures made by the employer could be deducted from the employee's final paycheck (Administrator v....
News Release from Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) has adopted a new filing fee schedule. This chart lists the old and new fees side by side. The new fees become effective on December 23, 2016 and represent an...
News Release from Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) has announced that the Office of Management & Budget has approved a revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. USCIS must publish a revised form by...
News Release from Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC From November 29, 2016, all People’s Republic of China (PRC) passport holders carrying a 10-year visa will be required to have a valid Electronic Visa Update System (EVUS) enrollment when traveling to the United States....
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has now fully implemented the automation of Form I-94 at all air and sea ports. On entering the United States a foreign national no longer receives a paper copy of Form I-94. Instead, they must visit the CBP website at www.cbp.gov/I94, enter their personal details, and print a copy of their I-94 there. CBP has advised doing this after each entry into the U.S., because their system does not currently store data on any entry other than the most recent one. It does not appear that CBP’s eventual expansion of I-94 data retention will encompass more than five years of entries in any case.
