Mark A Ivener, A Law Corporation

Latest News


FBI Warns Employers About Potential ‘Spies’

The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently released a controversial warning about potential spies. In the notice, the FBI advises employers to be on the lookout for suspicious people who have favorite “disguises,” including representatives of research institutes; visiting business professionals and scientists “who want to tour your state-of-the-art plants and operations worldwide”; tourists or visitors… Read More

Passport Measures Relaxed in Response to Massive Backlogs

Over the past several months, many U.S. travelers have encountered substantial delays in obtaining passports as a result of new rules imposing passport requirements for North American travel, for national security reasons. Some have missed important trips as a result. In response, the State Department has relaxed the rules temporarily. Assistant Secretary of State Maura… Read More

House Passes Liberian TPS Measure

The House of Representatives has passed H.R. 3123, which extends the designation of temporary protected status (TPS) for Liberia for an additional 12 months, through September 30, 2008. Attention next will focus on the Senate’s Liberian legislation, S. 656. The text of the bill is available here.

GAO Reports on Challenges in Attracting International Students and Implications for Global Competitiveness

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released “Higher Education: Challenges in Attracting International Students to the United States and Implications for Global Competitiveness.” The report notes that more international students obtain a higher education in the U.S. than in any other country, and they make valuable contributions while they are here. For those students… Read More

Immigration Reform Bill Dies in Senate

On a procedural vote on June 28, 2007, the Senate killed (46-53) the bipartisan bill on comprehensive immigration reform that has been the subject of much debate and controversy and that had the support of President Bush. Comprehensive immigration reform legislation is not likely to be taken up again before the 2008 election. Democratic majority… Read More

USCIS Issues Interim Guidance on Final Labor Certification Rule

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released interim guidance on the Department of Labor (DOL)’s final rule, effective July 16, 2007, which applies to permanent labor certification applications and approved certifications filed under both the Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) program regulation, effective March 28, 2005, and previous regulations implementing the permanent labor certification… Read More

Premium Processing Service Suspended Through July

Effective July 2, 2007, USCIS has temporarily suspended premium processing service for the Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140). USCIS said (PDF) it anticipates a substantial increase in the number of petitioning employers that will file such petitions because of “pent up demand for preference visa categories.” The volume of I-140 petitions filed that… Read More

USCIS Issues Reminder on New Fees

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a reminder that the agency’s new fee schedule is effective on July 30, 2007. Applications or petitions postmarked or otherwise filed on or after that date must include the new fees. USCIS announced the new fee schedule last month following a comprehensive review of nearly 4,000 public… Read More

USCIS Announces Direct Filing for More Forms

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced new “Direct Filing” instructions for additional immigration forms that were transitioned last year into the “Bi-Specialization” initiative. Direct filing is the process by which USCIS requires applicants to file their petitions and applications with the USCIS service center that will process the filings, based on the place of… Read More

California Service Center Experiencing Delays

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ California Service Center (CSC) is experiencing system problems that are causing delays in the printing of certain notices. USCIS said it believes the delays are primarily affecting approval notices for cases decided between April 2007 and the present, although production of some receipt notifications may be affected as well. USCIS… Read More