On April 26, 2017, Dana Milbank, a left-wing pundit at the Washington Post, reported that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights in Geneva sent a letter to the Trump administration suggesting that repealing the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) would potentially violate “international law.” In this post, I discuss the absurd development from the U.N.
On April 11, 2017, the Department of State (DOS) released the May 2017 Visa Bulletin, containing dates for filing and application final action dates for the family-sponsored and employment-based immigrant visa preference categories. One day later, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) determined that both family-sponsored and employment-based adjustment of status applicants must use the Final Action dates for filing in May of 2017. In this article, we will examine the relevant charts from both the May 2017 Visa Bulletin for individuals waiting to adjust status on the basis of an approved family-sponsored or employment-based immigrant visa petition.
On April 17, 2017, the USCIS announced that it had completed its H1B cap random selection process for FY 2018. On April 11, 2017, the USCIS used its computer-generated random selection process, commonly known as the H1B lottery, to select petitions to meet both the 65,000 H1B cap for general-category petitions and the 20,000 H1B cap under the advanced degree exemption. The USCIS first conducted the H1B lottery for advanced degree exemption petitions. All unselected advanced degree exemption petitions were then placed in the general-category pool.
In the news release, the USCIS announced a redesign to the Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card (commonly known as the “Green Card”). The USCIS also announced that it will begin issuing a redesigned Employment Authorization Document (EAD). The redesigned Green Cards and EADs, which were created as part of the Next Generation Secure Identification Document Project, will be issued beginning on May 1, 2017. In this article, we will explain the features of the redesigned Green Cards and EADs, and what their adoption will entail for permanent residents and EAD-holders going forward.
Belarus moved recently to enforce its annual $250 tax on individuals who work for less than 183 days per year. The tax, colloquially called “the tax on social parasites,” triggered a new wave of protests beginning in February. Lukashenko partially backed down in the face of the initial wave of protests, agreeing to suspend the implementation of the “social parasite tax” for one year. However, many Belarusians are continuing to take to the streets to demand the resignation of Lukashenko. In this post, I discuss the developments.
On April 8, 2017, President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Lee Francis Cissna as the new Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The Senate will likely consider Cissna’s nomination in the coming weeks. If confirmed, he will replace Leon Rodriguez, who left office on January 20, 2017.
On April 10, 2017, the website of Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota released a press release titled: “Kloubachar, Collins, Heitkamp Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Increase Number of Doctors in Rural and Other Medically Underserved Areas.” The proposed legislation would extend the Conrad 30 Waiver Program until 2021 and would provide for the expansion of the Conrad 30 Waiver program beyond 30 slots “if certain thresholds are met.” The proposed legislation would also provide for employment authorization for the spouses of Conrad 30 Waiver beneficiaries.
On April 5, 2017, the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published its border apprehension statistics along the Southwest border for March of 2017. In this post, we will look at some of the specific numbers and charts provided by the DHS.
On April 10, 2017, the Department of Labor (DOL) posted an alert stating that the iCERT and PERM systems will be unavailable from 8:00 pm EDT on Friday, April 21, 2017 until 6:00 am EDT on Monday, April 24, 2017. The unavailability will be due to system maintenance.
On April 10, 2017, the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) announced that it had sworn in 14 new Immigration Judges. Chief Immigration Judge MaryBeth Keller presided over the investiture, which took place on April 7, 2017. The 14 new Immigration Judges were appointed by former Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch.
