EAH Immigration Blog

On January 25, 2019, the Department of State announced that the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, suspended routine visa services due to the ordered departure of nonemergency personnel. The consular section advised that it is focused on providing emergency services for U.S. citizens. The State Department has not yet designated...

According to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times , the administration’s plan to shrink the ballooning backlog of immigration cases by mandating that immigration judges hear more cases has failed, according to the latest data, with the average wait for an immigration hearing now more than two years....

Most foreign nationals who apply for advance parole (travel permit) (Form I-131) in conjunction with an adjustment of status application must wait for the travel document to be issued before traveling abroad; otherwise, their adjustment case will be considered abandoned and the travel permit denied. But what happens when that...

USCIS announced that it has revised Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, and that starting March 11, 2019, it will only accept the new version of the form. A new Form I-539A, also effective March 11, replaces the amendment pages normally used for children. (Parents or guardians may sign...

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) recently analyzed published USCIS data for fiscal years 2014 through 2018 and found a crisis-level of delays in the agency’s processing of applications and petitions for immigration benefits under the Trump Administration. While perhaps no real surprise to foreign nationals and their lawyers waiting...

The following additional items may be of interest to our readers: Marriage to U.S. Citizen and Naturalization: Naturalization applicants filing on the basis of marriage to a U.S. citizen – filed after three years of obtaining permanent residency – must continue to be married from the time of filing for...

The city of Baltimore filed a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s efforts to curtail legal immigration by penalizing people who use public benefits, alleging that the Administration’s expanded definition of “public charges” has had a chilling effect on the city’s immigrant community, which Baltimore officials see as key to its revival....

Guilford College filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of an 8/9/18 USCIS policy memorandum, “ Accrual of Unlawful Presence and F, J, and M Nonimmigrants ,” as contrary to the statutory unlawful presence provisions, and violative of the Administrative Procedure Act and the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution....

With only modest movement in the employment-based preference categories for the first quarter of the fiscal year (Oct.–Dec.), the Visa Office had hoped that more dramatic forward movement in some of these categories would start in January. Unfortunately, the Visa Office does not have sufficient data to evaluate visa demand,...

Partner Camila Palmer to speak at the February 13th, 2019, local chapter AILA meeting, on Trial Tactics.

On November 9, 2018, President Trump issued a proclamation barring anyone who entered between ports of entry from seeking asylum. This proclamation was to be valid for 90 days or until the creation of a “safe third country” agreement with Mexico, whichever occurred first. Of course, such an agreement would...

The legal landscape regarding the use and cultivation of marijuana is changing in the United States, Canada, and many other countries. Many questions are arising as to the impact of marijuana-related activities on one’s admissibility to the United States. As a matter of U.S. federal law, marijuana is still a...

Are you compliant? The law requires employers to review documents from each worker they hire to verify that the worker is legally present in the United States and authorized to be employed. This is done on Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. While the Obama Administration had made worksite enforcement a...

Denver, Colorado, January 14, 2019 – Our esteemed attorneys, Senior Partner David Harston and Philip Alterman, have been selected as 5280 Denver Mile High Magazine’s 2019 Top Lawyers in Immigration Law Practice. Our year is off to a great start! http://www.5280.com/lawyers/david-harston http://www.5280.com/lawyers/philip-alterman About EAH Immigration Elkind Alterman Harston PC is...

USCIS wants to eliminate the way in which customers can use InfoPass. Currently, in most jurisdictions, an individual who wants to discuss his or her case with an immigration representative can make an appointment online through the InfoPass system, assuming an appointment is available. But appointments have become harder and...

Given the suspension of premium processing for many H-1B filings, employers who have an urgent need that demands prompt adjudication of their H-1B petitions can request an expedite. USCIS, however, will only expedite a petition if it meets one or more of the following expedite criteria: Severe financial loss to...

In early December, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposed rule to implement a pre-filing registration system for U.S. employers seeking to file cap-subject H-1B petitions. The new system would require that employers electronically pre-register their intent to petition for an H-1B beneficiary during a two-week registration period....

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...

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...

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...