San Francisco Immigration Law Blog

A reminder regarding the December 9, 2016 expiration date of the non-minister EB-4 special immigrant category and the immigrant investor pilot program (I5 and R5) unless extended by Congress before then.

All individuals traveling on a People’s Republic of China issued passport bearing a 10-year B1/B2, B1, or B2 (visitor) visa are required to have a valid EVUS enrollment when traveling to the U.S. As of 11/29/16 these travelers will not be able to travel to the United States without a valid EVUS enrollment. The EVUS enrollment will be verified when

Employer cannot revoke I-140 after 180 days of approval; New rule Jan-17-2017 Form I-140 petition validity. The final rule clarifies the circumstances under which an approved Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140 petition) remains valid, even after the petitioner withdraws the petition or the petitioner’s business terminates, including for purposes of status extension applications filed on behalf of the

This Washington Post article explores what could happen if President Donald Trump sticks to the immigration pledges that he made during the campaign. AILA President Bill Stock discusses what it would take to deport the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the United States.

https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/whats-new The Revised Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 (dated November 14, 2016) must be used starting January 22, 2017. Until then, employers may continue to use either the version dated March 8, 2013, or the new version.

K-3 Spousal petitions for Muslim spouse abroad. Since Donald Trump won the election will a spousal visa from a Muslim country be harder to get. Will people from Muslim countries have a harder time obtaining a spousal visa if they are married to US citizens since Donald trump is the new president or will it remain the same under his

“When President-Elect Trump takes office what will happen to people with the DACA?” This question is being asked in U.S. immigration forums everywhere. We at Litwin & Smith understand your anxiety and assure you that we advocate to protect persons with DACA. While President-elect Donald Trump put immigration at the forefront of his campaign for the White House. And, Deferred

On 11/7/16, USCIS updated its H-2B cap count for FY2017, stating that it has approved 11,696 beneficiaries and has 1,113 pending beneficiaries towards the 33,000 cap amount. Cap Count for H-2B Nonimmigrants Once the H-2B cap is reached, USCIS may only accept petitions for H-2B workers who are exempt or not subject to the H-2B cap. Fiscal Year 2017 H-2B

USCIS will publish a revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification soon. The revised form is expected by November 22, 2016. Employers may continue using the Form I-9 dated 03/08/2013 through Jan. 21, 2017. Assuming the new Form I-9 is published by Jan. 22, 2017, employers must use the revised form by that date. Employers should continue to retain and store previously

Over the last several months we began receiving reports of denials of I-539 change of status applications from B-2 to F-1 despite the I-539 being timely filed. What was happening is USCIS delays required the school’s DSO to defer the program start date in SEVIS prior to adjudication of the change of status. In these cases the deferred start date