USCIS Temporarily Suspending Premium Processing for H-1B Petitions

USCIS, in an attempt to prioritize the adjudication of its long pending H-1B extension petitions, is temporarily suspending their Premium Processing service for all H-1B petitions. USCIS intends to temporarily suspend Premium Processing for all H1B applications beginning April 3rd and this service could remain suspended for up to 6 months. According to USCIS, the […]

USCIS New Fee Schedule effective December 23rd 2016

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had proposed to increase the filing fees for applications and petitions filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in May of this year. According to DHS, the fee increase is to alleviate their projected annual shortfall of about $550 million that reflects the costs of processing immigration petitions […]

Canadian Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA)

As a U.S. Permanent Resident, you do not need a visitor visa to travel to Canada. However, due to a recent change in the Canadian Laws pertaining to entry requirements, you are expected to have an eTA if you plan to fly to or transit through Canada. The new requirements were introduced in March 2016 […]

USCIS will begin accepting expanded DACA applications on Feb 18th 2015.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service has reported that it will begin accepting application for the newly expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) on February 18, 2015. This announcement comes 40 days after President Obama spoke on the need for executive actions on immigration and is available at http://www.uscis.gov/immigrationaction. Importantly, if you were eligible […]

“U.K. Cautions” could wreak havoc with the US visa process

Transgressions that occur in the United Kingdom are complicated due to the existence of a “caution” process where the “caution” serves as a formal notice, issued by a police officer, for minor offenses as an alternative to costly and time-consuming prosecution. A “caution” is not considered a conviction by U.K. law nor were they considered […]