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DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

23 04, 2020

The New Executive Order on Immigration: 6 Essential Insights

By |2020-11-14T12:44:58-06:00April 23rd, 2020|Categories: Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S., DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, Foreign Exchange Student Visas to the U.S., Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, United States Embassies Abroad|

Published April 22, 2020 By: Richard Hanus, Esq. 1. It was the evening of April 20, 2020 and President Trump tweeted an ominous new policy on immigration - a measure as sweeping and extreme as it gets: “In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!”  To “temporarily suspend immigration” is no small undertaking, and the news came as a big surprise, including for many top governmental officials working in the immigration [...]

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14 04, 2020

US CIS Rolls Out New H-1B Visa Registration: A Story of Success and Glitches

By |2020-11-14T12:45:31-06:00April 14th, 2020|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B|

Published April 14, 2020 By: Richard Hanus, Esq. By the end of last March, US Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services completed its selection of 85,000 lucky registrants for the H-1B visa lottery.  Employers submitted a total of 275,000 electronic registrations during a 3 week period last month to claim from the supply of 85,000 visas.  Except for a very small percentage of registrations now in question, the process was mainly a success.  Selected registrants now have the go ahead, and a 90 day window, to file H-1B visa petitions, for workers to commence employment on October 1, 2020, the [...]

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1 04, 2020

Covid-19 and the Latest on Immigration-Related Government Office Operations and Policies

By |2020-11-14T12:45:57-06:00April 1st, 2020|Categories: Asylum in the United States, Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S., DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings|

Published April 1, 2020 By: Richard Hanus, Esq. I will start with the most recent events.  The first concerns removal/deportation proceedings against detained (in custody) immigrants.   Just yesterday, a variety of immigration lawyer advocacy groups, on behalf of several detained foreign nationals, filed suit against the U.S. Department of Justice and the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) to put a halt to the policy of requiring attorneys and their detained clients appear in person for removal proceedings.  According to the lawsuit, the dangers associated with the outbreak of the Covid-19, especially at detention facilities and immigration court locations, put the health of [...]

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19 03, 2020

U.S. Immigration Offices and Courts – Confusion, Delay and Finally Some Definite News

By |2020-11-14T12:46:22-06:00March 19th, 2020|Categories: Asylum in the United States, Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S., DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings|

Published March 19, 2020 By: Richard Hanus, Esq. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind, even a hailstorm, of information, misinformation, panic and confusion. On the most basic level, the lack of definite information about the extent of the coronavirus in general has been alarming. Of course there was and is so much we do not and could not know. On the other hand, the amount of knowable, concrete information that was not disseminated or acted upon when this crisis started to unfold was far from insignificant. Consistent with this state of affairs, the manner with which our federal government [...]

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5 03, 2020

U.S. Supreme Court: Providing False Information on Form I-9 Can Lead to State Criminal ID Theft Charges

By |2020-11-14T12:46:54-06:00March 5th, 2020|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., General, Immigration and Criminal Law / Detainees, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

Published March 5, 2020 By: Richard Hanus, Esq. Form I-9 is the document employers and employees complete and sign to confirm an employee’s eligibility to be lawfully employed in the U.S.  For foreign nationals residing and working in the U.S. without immigration status, completion of the  I-9 often involves a complicated and perilous set of decisions, especially when the worker is submitting a job application under an assumed name and/or social security number.  Now, according to the U.S. Supreme Court in Kansas v. Ramiro Garcia, individual states have legal authority to use false information contained in I-9’s to support criminal, identification [...]

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20 02, 2020

Health Care Staffing Company Sues DHS Due to Inaction on Long Pending H-1B Visa Filings

By |2020-11-14T12:47:50-06:00February 20th, 2020|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment-Based Immigration Law, Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B, Uncategorized|

Published February 20, 2020 By: Richard Hanus, Esq. When a U.S. company seeks to have a qualified foreign national fill a professional type position in the U.S., an H-1B visa petition is the typical go-to route, although obtaining approval these days can be tricky.  Whether because of the limited yearly supply of H-1B visas available or due to the recent trend toward heightened, even unlawfully high, scrutiny, getting an H-1B visa issued for a qualified foreign national is getting increasingly more difficult.  When it comes to the list of reasons H-1B visas are getting harder to come by these days, we [...]

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8 02, 2020

The New Public Charge Rule

By |2020-11-14T12:48:28-06:00February 8th, 2020|Categories: Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

Published February 8, 2020 By: Richard Hanus, Esq. With the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent green light, U.S. immigration authorities have announced it will start applying new “public charge” restrictions on February 24, 2020.  The new set of public charge rules expand the discretionary authority of agency officials to deny green card applications and allow for more factors to be considered in determining whether an applicant is likely to be become dependent on welfare benefits and thus have their application denied. The new set of restrictions were initially set to be implemented on October 15, 2019 but various lawsuits and federal court [...]

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16 01, 2020

California Immigration Lawyer Goes to Prison

By |2020-11-14T12:49:12-06:00January 16th, 2020|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Family-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Immigration and Criminal Law / Detainees, Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B|

Published January 16, 2020 By: Richard Hanus, Esq. A California immigration lawyer was recently sentenced to 18 months in federal prison and ordered to pay back taxes for her participation in an extensive and highly profitable visa fraud scheme. The scheme involved the preparation and filing of hundreds of fraudulent work visa applications and failure to pay income tax over a 17 year period.  Mihae Park, a 54 year old attorney practicing in Laguna Beach, is due to return to court in the coming month to learn the amount of restitution she will be required to pay. From 2000 to 2017, [...]

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31 12, 2019

2 or More DUI Convictions Are Now a Greater Obstacle for Immigration Applicants

By |2020-05-01T13:52:10-05:00December 31st, 2019|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Immigration and Criminal Law / Detainees, Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

Published December 31, 2019 In a recent ruling, the Attorney General of the United States announced a policy that will make it more difficult for foreign nationals with 2 or more driving under the influence of alcohol convictions to defend against deportation proceedings or ever become a U.S. citizen. The directive arose in the context of defining “good moral character” for purposes of undocumented foreign nationals fighting removal proceedings (also known as deportation proceedings) and seeking the relief of “cancellation of removal”. This defense, if successfully presented, serves to not only terminate removal proceedings but also lead to green card issuance. [...]

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8 12, 2019

Trump Administration Seeking Massive Increases in Immigration Filing Fees

By |2020-05-01T13:56:14-05:00December 8th, 2019|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S.|

Published December 8, 2019 Many prospective applicants for immigration related benefits are looking to stay a step ahead and submit their filings before a massive increase in application fees may be taking effect in coming months. More specifically, an increase in filing fees has been proposed for a wide array of applications submitted for consideration by U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Citizenship and Immigration Services or “USCIS” (DHS’ immigration benefits division), including N-400 Application for Naturalization as well as for continued protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. According to Acting USCIS Director Ken Cuccinelli, increases are required [...]

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