Mark A Ivener, A Law Corporation

Category: USCIS


Split Supreme Court Decision Blocks DAPA

In a one-sentence 4-4 split decision on June 24, 2016, U.S. v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand lower court rulings that block the Obama administration’s plan, known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA), to allow approximately 4 million parents of U.S. citizen children to remain in the United States and obtain… Read More

USCIS Celebrates SAVE’s 30th Anniversary, Launches Redesigned Website

On June 23, 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program by redesigning its website (see video), among other things. USCIS noted that SAVE has 1,138 registered agencies with more than 75,000 users. USCIS said SAVE’s redesigned website includes enhanced graphics, an improved… Read More

House Holds Hearing on H-2B Temporary Foreign Worker Program

The U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing on June 8, 2016, entitled “The H-2B Temporary Foreign Worker Program: Examining the Effects on Americans’ Job Opportunities and Wages.” Testifying were Michael Cunningham, Executive Director and Secretary/Treasurer, Texas State Building and Construction Trade Council; Meredith Stewart, Staff Attorney, Southern Poverty Law Center; Daniel Costa, Director of… Read More

USCIS Clarifies CW-1 Extension of Stay Petitions

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on May 20, 2016, that it had received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the numerical limit (cap) of 12,999 workers who may be issued CW-1 visas or otherwise provided with CW-1 status for fiscal year (FY) 2016. May 5 was the final receipt date for CW-1… Read More

USCIS Proposes Fee Increases, New Fee for Annual Certification of EB-5 Regional Centers

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a proposed rule on May 4, 2016, to increase USCIS fees by a “weighted average” of 21 percent and add one new fee for EB-5 Regional Centers. In addition, among other things, USCIS proposes to clarify that persons filing a benefit request may be required to appear for… Read More