Immigration Blog

Alexander J. Segal's picture

IJ Susan Beschta Dies At 67

In tragic news, Immigration Judge Susan Beschta died of brain cancer at age 67. I share my thoughts on her life and work.

Melsida Asatrian's picture

DHS OIG Issues Fraud Alert

On May 20, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released an important fraud alert warning individuals about a virulent scam.

Melsida Asatrian's picture

Online Filing Available For Certain Form I-539 Extension Applications

Beginning on May 22, 2019, the certain nonimmigrants may file the Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, online. The change covers certain B1, B2, F1, F2, M1, and M2 extension applications.

Melsida Asatrian's picture

USCIS Accelerates Transition to eProcessing

On May 22, 2019, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) “announced a new strategy known as eProcessing to accelerate USCIS’s transition to a digital business model.”

Alexander J. Segal's picture

Some Cap-Subject H1B Petitions to be Transferred Between Service Centers

The USCIS stated that it may transfer some Form I-129 H1B FY-2020 cap-subject petitions between the Vermont Service Center and the California Service Center for workload management purposes.

Alexander J. Segal's picture

AILA/CBP Q&A Notes From April 2018

On April 8, 2019, the liaison for the NY/NJ branches of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) answered questions from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). In this post, we will briefly examine some of the more interesting questions and answers.

Melsida Asatrian's picture

DHS and DOL Make Available 30,000 Additional H2B Visas for FY 2019

On May 8, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) published a joint rule to make an additional 30,000 H2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas available for FY-2019. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) news release on the matter states that these additional 30,000 H2B visas will only be available “to returning workers who received an H2B visa, or were otherwise granted H2B status, during one of the last three fiscal years (FY 2016, 2017, or 2018), and availability is restricted by prioritizing only those businesses who would suffer irreparable harm without the additional workers.”

Eliza Grinberg's picture

USCIS Selects New Deputy Director

On May 10, 2019, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it had selected Mark Koumans as its new Deputy Director.

Melsida Asatrian's picture

President Trump Nominates Patrick Shanahan to be Secretary of Defense

On May 9, 2019, the White House Press Secretary’s Office announced that President Donald Trump will nominate Patrick M. Shanahan to be the Secretary of Defense. Shanahan has been serving as acting Secretary of Defense since January 1, 2019. Previously, he had been serving as the Deputy Secretary of Defense since July 19, 2017.

Alexander J. Segal's picture

Senate Confirms Two New Second Circuit Judges

On May 8 and May 9, the United States Senate confirmed two new judges to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

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