Entries by Cyrus Mehta

The Denial of Adjustment of Status Applications of Derivative Children Who Turn 21 Before the Final Action Date in the Visa Bulletin Became Current is Inconsistent with the Child Status Protection Act: Can More Lawsuits Reverse Erroneous USCIS and DOS Policy?

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By Cyrus D. Mehta Several children who filed I-485 applications as derivatives of their Indian born parents under the October 2020 Visa Bulletin are being denied because they turned 21 years before the Final Action Dates became current. The backlogs for India in the employment-based second and third preferences have already caused untold suffering to […]

The Ineffectiveness of the Latest Omicron Travel Ban From the Perspective of Immigration Lawyers

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By Cyrus D. Mehta & Kaitlyn Box* On November 26, 2021, President Biden issued a Presidential Proclamation entitled “A Proclamation on Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Certain Additional Persons Who Pose a Risk of Transmitting Coronavirus Disease 2019” in response to a report made by the South African government to the World […]

The Legal Basis Underpinning the New Automatic Extension of Work Authorization for H-4, L-2 and E-2 Spouses, and Why It Must Still Be Challenged

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Cyrus D. Mehta The USCIS has been processing employment authorization requests for H-4 and L-2  spouses so slowly that they have been rendered virtually useless. By the time the applicant receives the employment authorization document (EAD) after 10 months, the job offer no longer exists. The experience is even more harrowing when the spouse begins […]

Florida Detox Centers Provides Further Guidance on Resume Review in Labor Certification Recruitment

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By Cyrus D. Mehta & Jessica Paszko* Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), U.S. employers wishing to sponsor a foreign worker for employment and permanent residence must first prove to the Department of Labor (“DOL”) that there are no sufficient workers who are able, willing, qualified and available for the prospective job and that […]

The Facebook Settlement Resolving Claims of Discrimination Against U.S. Workers Only Adds to the Contradictions in the Labor Certification Program

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By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* On October 19, 2021, the U.S. DOJ and DOL announced that they had reached separate settlement agreements with Facebook regarding the company’s purportedly discriminatory PERM labor certification practices. These settlement agreements stem from a December 2020 DOJ complaint, in which the government alleged that Facebook had discriminated against […]

Handling Confidentiality, Adverse Interests, and Settlements in Group Suits

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By Cyrus D. Mehta and Brad Banias* Immigration lawyers have filed lawsuits on behalf of several hundred plaintiffs challenging various immigration policies. These lawsuits have involved demanding that the government  speed up the processing of  work permits, or asking the government to reserve visas before the expiration of the program. Many of the lawsuits have […]

November 2021 Visa Bulletin Seesaw: Frequently Asked Questions

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By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* On Thursday, October 14,  2021, the Department of State released the November 2021 Visa Bulletin, which has brought significant retrogression in employment-based third preference (EB-3) India dates, among other significant changes. The EB-3 India Date for Filing (DFF) retrogressed to January 22, 2012 and the Final Action Date […]

Migration in the Time of COVID-19 Ebook – How Much Has the Pandemic Really Shifted the Immigration Landscape?

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By Kaitlyn Box* Together with my co-author, Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the Samuel Weiss Faculty Scholar, and Founder and Director of the Center for Immigrants’ Rights Clinic (CIRC) at Penn State Law, I recently contributed a chapter to the Frontiers in Human Dynamics e-book “Migration in the Time of […]

Recent Trends in Requests for Evidence on I-140 Petitions

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By Cyrus D. Mehta,  Sung-Min Baik* and Kaitlyn Box** Employers who have filed concurrent “downgrade” I-140 petitions are facing an increasing number of requests for evidence (RFE).  These I-140 petitions were concurrently filed with I-485 applications when the India employment-based third preference (EB-3) date in the October 2020 Visa Bulletin advanced ahead of the India […]