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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta & Isabel Rajabzadeh* One of the many benefits of filing an Adjustment of Status Application (AOS) is the ability to concurrently apply for work authorization (Form I-765/EAD). In addition, the applicant can remain in the United States while the AOS is pending without maintaining status, although most opt to maintain their […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* It is hard to believe that 20 years have gone by since planes hijacked by terrorists crashed into the Twin Towers in New York, the Pentagon in DC and into a field in Pennsylvania instead of Capitol Hill killing just under 3000 people. These cataclysmic events on September […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta Effective October 1, 2021, with few exceptions, those applying for permanent residence (green card) must be vaccinated against COVID-19, now classified as a “Class A inadmissible condition,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced. The CDC explained that the COVID-19 vaccination meets the criteria for required vaccinations and is […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* In a previous blog, we argued that Matter of Castro- Tum, a Trump era decision by then Attorney General Jeff Sessions should be withdrawn. Matter of Castro -Tum held that Immigration Judges (IJs) and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) do not have the authority to administratively close […]
By: Sophia Genovese* In Johnson v. Guzman Chavez, 594 U.S. __ (2021), the Supreme Court held that noncitizens in withholding-only proceedings are not entitled to a custody redetermination, or bond, hearing before the Immigration Court. This holding effectively leaves thousands of asylum seekers at risk of prolonged and indefinite detention. By way of background, individuals […]
Cyrus D. Mehta and Isabel Rajabzadeh* The Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) is a federal statistical standard used by federal agencies to classify workers into occupational categories. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) coordinates the Federal statistical system, including the SOC. The SOC Policy Committee assists the OMB in the SOC revision process, and is […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* On July 9, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued its opinion in Wang v. Blinken, No. 20-5076 (D.C. Cir. 2021), interpreting INA § 203(d) to include the counting of derivatives toward the EB-5 investor cap. The Plaintiffs in the case are a group of EB-5 […]
