Skilled workers caught in the employment-based backlogs face great uncertainty during the COVID-19 crisis. They have to continue to work for employers who have sponsored them green cards while maintaining H-1B status. As explained in my previous FAQ relating to changes in working conditions for H-1B workers, the DOL rules do not provide much flexibility […]
In continuation of my Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) relating to the COVID-19 crisis on immigration issues, I focus on other nonimmigrant visa categories besides the H-1B visa category. Changes in employment at the workplace, especially salary reductions, continue to abound especially for other nonimmigrant visa workers in L, E, O and TN status. There are […]
President Trump’s latest Proclamation is a brazen attempt to rewrite US immigration laws under the guise of protecting Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Proclamation bans most noncitizens who will enter the United States as immigrants for 60 days from April 23, 2020. Confirming the sham, Senior White House adviser Stephen Miller, according to a leaked private […]
I have received inquiries from lawful permanent residents, or green card holders, who are outside the United States and have been unable to return to the United States in the COVID-19 period. They are unable to return either because there are no flights out of the country to the US or they feel vulnerable to […]
The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the disease COVID-19, is a pandemic threatening populations in the United States and worldwide. The US economy has virtually shut down. Many employers who have been forced to shut down or modify their businesses have been severely impacted and may no longer be able to afford to pay H-1B […]
Since USCIS still requires paper submissions by mandated deadlines and the immigration courts in detention centers still function, the COVID-19 crisis has compelled immigration attorneys to take more risks than others, and many are performing essential services on behalf of clients like first responders, medical personnel and delivery people. If some people in certain occupations […]
Although the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is mandated by Congress to grant benefits, it has become an enforcement oriented agency under the Trump administration that has displayed remarkable hostility towards immigrants. During the period when people are mandated to stay confined and practice social distancing in order to prevent the spread of the […]
The Board of Immigration Appeals in Matter of W-E-R-B-, 27 I&N Dec. 795 (BIA 2020) recently ruled that an Interpol Red Notice may constitute reliable evidence of criminality that serves as a bar for asylum and withholding of removal. Giving credence to a Red Notice without more undermines the integrity of our asylum system as […]
In a stunning victory for F, J, and M nonimmigrant students battling unlawful presence policy, a federal district court in North Carolina has granted a permanent injunction preventing USCIS from enforcing its problematic August 9, 2018 policy memo. The Trump Administration’s August 2018 policy would have rendered students in F, J and M status unlawfully present for […]
President Trump has done it again. On January 31, 2020, he used his extraordinary broad powers under INA § 212(f) to expand his travel ban to six additional countries. The affected countries are Nigeria, Eritrea, Sudan, Tanzania, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar. The expanded ban comes about three years after the first ban. Most of the countries […]
