With the holidays rapidly approaching, international travelers using the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) for travel to the United States are reminded to apply as soon as possible but not less than 72 hours before their international flight is scheduled to depart. Due to changes in the ESTA application processing, real-time approvals will no […]
Palmer Polaski Blog
Palmer Polaski Immigration Alerts
Now is a good time for foreign nationals who will be departing the United States for travel abroad over the holidays to review their travel documents to ensure that their reentry into the U.S. is as seamless as possible. Depending on an individual’s current status and whether he or she is “in process” for another […]
On October 10, 2018, USCIS published a proposed rule that would expand the definition of “Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds,” which is intended to determine whether a foreign national is inadmissible because he or she is likely at any time to become a public charge. Having received cash benefits from the United State is currently […]
According to a news article in the New York Times, dozens of doctors – USCIS civil surgeons – tapped by the federal government to screen immigrants applying for green cards have a history of “egregious infractions.” The report conducted by a federal watchdog agency looked at more than 5,500 doctors across the U.S., and found […]
On October 3, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen issued a preliminary injunction against the government from terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan. The judge ruled that the government must maintain TPS, and employment authorizations for TPS beneficiaries from those countries, while a lawsuit challenging the government’s decision […]
On October 10, 2018, USCIS published a proposed rule that would expand the definition of “Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds,” which is intended to determine whether a foreign national is inadmissible because he or she is likely at any time to become a public charge. Having received cash benefits from the United State is currently […]
USCIS has announced a revision to the policy guidance for the validity period of Form I-693 Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, effective November 1, 2018. The revised policy will require applicants to submit a Form I-693 with a civil surgeon signature and date that is no more than 60 days before the filing […]
The following additional items may be of interest to our readers: Latest News on Using Premium Processing: The fee to premium process those cases that are eligible increased to $1,410 effective October 1, DHS has announced. USICS also announced that it was suspending premium processing for all H-1B cases until February 19, 2019, except renewals […]
Effective October 1, USCIS began implementing its policy of referring cases to the immigration court through the issuance of a Notice to Appear (NTA) on denied status-impacting applications, thus increasing its enforcement actions to a whole host of cases that normally are not automatically referred for proceedings. Service of the NTA provides a foreign national […]
The EB-1-1 (employment-based first preference) became oversubscribed during the summer. While this is normal because the summer is the end of the U.S. fiscal year, visas in this category historically always have become available again October 1, the beginning of the new fiscal year, and green cards would be issued. Not so this year. According […]
