President-elect Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025, is expected to usher in immigration-related actions of various kinds. What will actually happen and when, in the short term and over the long term? Only time will tell. Discussion and preparation on both sides have been wide-ranging. According to reports, highlights include: Deportations. The incoming “border czar,” […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* On January 8, 2025, USCIS issued updated guidance in its Policy Manual clarifying how entrepreneurs may qualify for O visas. The guidance states that: “O beneficiaries may not petition for themselves. However, a separate legal entity owned by the beneficiary, such as a corporation or limited liability company, […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta & Jessica Paszko* In 2024, we stayed true to our name, offering insightful commentary on immigration policy, cases, and trends. We celebrated positive policy changes, such as the removal of countries like China and India from the Exchange Visitors Skills List. At the same time, we highlighted discrepancies, like the CSPA […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a final rule, effective January 17, 2025, that will “significantly enhance U.S. companies’ ability to fill job vacancies in critical fields, strengthening our economy.” The new rule “modernizes the H-1B program by streamlining the approvals process, increasing [DHS’s] flexibility to better allow employers to […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta & Jessica Paszko* The Department of State (DOS) announced an update of the countries on the Exchange Visitors Skills List, effective December 9, 2024. This update supersedes the most recent update in 2009. DOS has removed China and India, among 34 countries, from the list. This means that J nonimmigrant exchange […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* The recent reelection of Donald Trump is likely to usher in a new era of enhanced immigration scrutiny and enforcement. This shift raises a number of ethical questions and concerns for immigration lawyers. One such issue is whether immigration lawyers would be required to provide law enforcement or […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* On November 5, 2024, Donald Trump was once again elected president. Although Trump’s campaign has been marked by anti-immigrant rhetoric, some hope that a second Trump administration will prove favorable to employment-based immigration. Trump once promised to “staple a green card to every diploma” of graduates of U.S. […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* In a previous blog, we analyzed Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly, 25 I&N Dec. 771 (BIA 2012), a seminal Board of Immigration Appeals case which held that a departure under advance parole does not trigger the 10 year bar provision under § 212(a)(9)(B)(i)(I). The BIA reasoned that travel […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box On September 25, 2024, USCIS announced that it had updated guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) age for noncitizens who demonstrate extraordinary circumstances. The new guidance: “Clarifies that the CSPA age calculation of an applicant who established extraordinary circumstances and is excused from […]
When the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) designated Matter of Z-A- Inc. as an “Adopted Decision” in 2016 it was seen as a breakthrough as it recognized that a US company can rely on its resources outside the United States to produce products or provide services. Matter of Z-A-, Inc. held that an L-1A intracompany manager who […]
