Entries by Cyrus Mehta

USCIS’ Change in CSPA Policy Can Help Aged Out Children Who Missed Out During the October 2020 Visa Bulletin EB-3 Advance for India

/0 Comments/in /by

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 […]

237(a)(1)(H) Waiver After Denial of Naturalization Application?

/0 Comments/in /by

By Cyrus D. Mehta At the naturalization interview the noncitizen applicant could face a rude shock if the examiner reveals that they made a misrepresentation in a long forgotten application for an immigration benefit filed in the distant past. For example, the applicant could have been misled by an unauthorized practitioner when she first came […]

Parole in Place – A Means to an End or An End in Itself?

/0 Comments/in /by

By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box*  On June 18, 2024, President Biden announced new measures aimed at ensuring that “U.S. citizens with noncitizen spouses and children can keep their families together”. One of these measures provides a discretionary grant of parole in place (“PIP”) to individuals who: are present in the United States without […]

The Perils of Claiming the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion When Sponsoring an Immigrant on an Affidavit of Support

/0 Comments/in /by

By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box*  Although most U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents must pay U.S. taxes on their worldwide income, the foreign earned inclusion exclusion (“FEIE”) allows some U.S. citizens and residents to exempt income earned outside the country from U.S. taxes. In order to avail of the FEIE, the taxpayer must […]

Court Upholds Regulation Issuing Employment Authorization to H-4 Spouses Even After the Demise of Chevron Deference

/0 Comments/in /by

By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* On August 2, 2024, the D.C. Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Save Jobs USA v. DHS, upholding the regulation that provides employment authorization to certain H-4 spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants. Save Jobs USA, an organization aiming to “address the problems American workers face from foreign labor […]

Obtaining Advance Parole on a Pending Adjustment of Status Application

/0 Comments/in /by

By Cyrus D. Mehta Those who have filed an I-485 application adjustment of status must obtain advance parole before they travel outside the US while their I-485 application. Section 212(d)(5)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security, at his or her discretion, to “parole into the United States temporarily […]

Does the Signing of the I-485 Supplement J By a New Employer Constitute Visa Sponsorship?

/0 Comments/in /by

Cyrus D. Mehta and Jessica Paszko* Portability under Section 204(j) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) allows certain employment-based green card applicants to change jobs or employers while their adjustment of status (Form I-485) application is pending. Portability becomes available once the I-485 has been pending for at least 180 days. It must be […]

SEC v. Jarkesy and Loper Bright v. Raimondo: How the Supreme Court’s Dismantling of the Administrative State Impacts Immigration Law

/0 Comments/in /by

By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* The conservative Supreme Court majority recently issued two decisions that will have a major impact on the administrative state by transferring power from administrative agencies to the courts. We discuss both these cases and their impact on immigration law. SEC v. Jarkesy On June 27, 2024 the Supreme […]