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Turkey’s new immigration agency, The Migration Directorate, has experienced growing pains. Also, Turkey has declared a state of emergency following recent violent events. New Migration Directorate On April 12, 2014, Law No. 6458, the Law on Foreigners and International Protection, went into effect for the Republic of Turkey. This new law made vast changes to… Read More
The Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for the month of August 2016 reports that various employment-based categories are oversubscribed: India E4 and certain religious workers categories. The bulletin notes that there has been extremely high demand in the EB-4 and SR categories, primarily for Juvenile Court Dependent cases filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services… Read More
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on July 8, 2016, that it has returned all FY 2017 H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected in the agency’s computer-generated random selection process. USCIS previously announced on May 2, 2016, that it had completed data entry of all selected cap-subject petitions. Those who submitted an H-1B… Read More
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is extending the designation of El Salvador for temporary protected status (TPS) for 18 months, from September 10, 2016, through March 9, 2018. The 60-day re-registration period began July 8, 2016, and runs through September 6, 2016. DHS said it is important for re-registrants to timely re-register during the… Read More
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently launched a “refresh” of InfoPass, an online system that allows users to schedule appointments at USCIS offices. New features include a mapping function that USCIS said makes it easier to find a local office in the United States and a visual style that matches the rest of uscis.gov,… Read More
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on June 20, 2016, that it reached agreements with 121 podiatry residency programs and the American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine (AACPM) to resolve claims that they discriminated against work-authorized non-U.S. citizens in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act. DOJ’s investigations found that between 2013 and 2015,… Read More
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
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
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
The Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for July 2016 includes the diversity visa lottery 2017 (DV-2017) results. The bulletin notes that the Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky, has registered and notified the winners of the DV-2017 diversity lottery. Approximately 83,910 applicants have been registered and notified and may now apply for an immigrant visa.… Read More