2015 Old Blog

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a draft policy memo to help clarify wording in the requirements for H-1B Person in Specialty Occupation and other work visa transfers. Many foreign nationals waiting for employment-based green cards share the concern that a job change would cause them to lose their spot in the green card queue or invalidate their current visa status. According to USCIS, that concern often stems from misinformation about what USCIS considers a “same” or “similar” job, which is one of the requirements for a transfer.

Update: In response to the 5^th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to uphold the expanded DACA/DAPA injunction, on November 20, the Obama administration appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The following Monday, Texas asked the Supreme Court for a 30-day extension to respond to the appeal (a request that has subsequently been filed by 25 other states), but the court granted the states only an eight-day delay. As a result, the justices will determine whether or not to take the case in January — keeping the case on track to be resolved by June, Politico reports.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) decade-long effort to digitize its nearly 100 immigration forms has seen little progress, racking up about $1 billion in project costs and operating on a tenuous timeline for completion, reported The Washington Post in today’s edition. Right now, the only digital immigration form available through USCIS is an application to renew or replace a green card. Yet many immigrants who have used the application waited as long as a year or never received their new card at all.