Immigration QA

Today the USCIS published a resource link for the Religious Worker Visa category. https://www.uscis.gov/R1-resources While this particular today's posting did not indicate any new changes to current policy, it did consolidate its rules in this particular visa category, and highlighted one of the most significant changes to the religious worker visa that took place earlier in 2026. USCIS has now highlighted the change in its new R-1 Religious Worker Resources page. The most important development is that, effective January 16, 2026, qualifying R-1 religious workers who reach the five-year maximum period of stay are no longer required to spend one year outside the United States before becoming eligible for another period of R-1 status. For foreign-born priests, ministers, and other religious workers—and for the churches, dioceses, religious orders, temples, mosques, synagogues, gurdwaras, and other religious organizations that employ them—this can be an important change. What ...

"Grace" is Minnesota's official state photograph. I was State Senator in 2002 when we officially voted for Minnesota's official "state photograph." A more prolific image originating from Minnesota than "Grace," I'm not aware of.  My colleague and friend, Rep. Loren Solberg , was the natural author of the bill since Loren lived in Bovey, Minnesota where the photograph was taken.  I think Loren also liked it because he bears resemblance to Charles Winden, the guy in the photo (Loren and I ribbed each other from time to time).  Read more about the history of Grace here. Speaking of grace, lately I've received a rash of calls from noncitizens who find themselves similarly situated to Mr. Wilden, praying for providential intervention in a recent job loss.  Primarily H1B visa holders, these folks have been laid off and are uncertain about their legal status and how to proceed with potential new employment in the United States.  The influx is prom...

UPDATE06/17/2020:  BREAKING: US government denial of COVID relief to noncitizen students has been blocked by a judge. Check with your DSO! In a letter to colleges last April, the Education Department advised colleges to only give relief funds to students who typically qualify for federal financial aid, excluding international students and beneficiaries of DACA. The letter was not binding at the time. In May, the California community college system filed a lawsuit against the DOE alleging that DeVos exceeded her authority in barring colleges to give aid to whom they please. U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers granted an injunction blocking the Department of Education from enforcing their CARES Act guidance on June 17, 2020. The proposed rule will be up for public comment for 30-days until July 17. During this time period, anyone from the public can file a comment on regulations.gov for the agency to consider. Once the rule is finalized, it will be binding on co...

AN ATTORNEY RECENTLY ASKED ME: "A friend asked me to review a retainer agreement from a law firm representing both the noncitizen employee from Turkey and the sponsoring employer.  The agreement says that, in the event a conflict, the attorney could choose which party to continue representing and that any and all information learned during the course of application's representation would no longer be privileged.  For persons attempting to obtain a work visa, is it common practice to hire a firm that plays matchmaker between applicant and employer?  If the relationship/arrangement goes south, what, if any, remedies does the applicant, as a non-citizen, have against the law firm and/or the employer?" ANSWER:  Dual representation is indeed a reality in several types of immigration scenarios. In the employment-based immigration setting, many applications must originate from an employer seeking the government’s permission to hire a foreign nati...

Today the USCIS finally announced a much anticipated rule regarding next year's H1B visa (specialty occupation worker) application process.  At the moment, a computer-aided lottery is required to simply choose which applications may go forward for simple consideration.  This is because the law requires an annual cap on new H1B visas to be issued every year, about 65,000.  Recently, American companies have submitted about 3 to 4 times that number for their potential foreign employees, resulting in some sort of system to pick which applications to even consider.   H1B applications are complicated, requiring multiple steps to even assemble an application to submit to the government.  Also, the fees are quite high, several thousand dollars for small companies and even more for the larger ones.  For a basic run down on the H1B visa, read my previous run down:  H1B Visas Explained . This is an immigration application. So then why go through al...

Adjusting to green card from a nonimmigrant work visa should be done thoughtfully. I Recently Answered the Following Question: I am currently waiting for my H1B renewal to be approved.  When I get married to my U.S. citizen fiancee, can I file for adjustment of status while my H1B is still pending? ANSWER: Yes, you can start the green card process by filing the Immediate Relative petition (I-130), Adjustment of Status application (I-485), Employment Authorization (I-765) and Advance Parole (I-131).  The pending H1B application won't affect the process. IMPORTANT!   I suggest continuing with your H1B renewal AND status until your green card is in hand--even if you receive an interim EAD.  If, for some reason, your green card is denied you will still be in H1B status and no additional action would be required.  Other attorneys do argue, however, that it is better to change your work status to EAD. This preserves a certain amount of time...

Squeeze / skwēz/:    a state of forcing oneself or being forced into a small or restricted space. The government has started the squeeze on OPT.  It looks like 3rd party staffing as well as remote work situations for OPT trainees are either completely out, or, restricted enough to eliminate practical benefit to IT staffing "companies" using foreign IT students.   Now, this may not be too much of a disruption for entities following the spirit of OPT as a training program.  After all, it is called OP- T , not OP- W , because it is for training experience and not intended to serve as a back-door work program.  But some entities will see a major roadblock in the way they've been doing business, and it seems USCIS is concerned most with these companies in its  January 24, 2018 Update .  The IT staffing "consultancies," especially the one guy LLC who collects billable hours by passing Java and Sharepoint resumes, through his apartment...

If you're in IT, foreign or not, sit up and read this. In 2016, Time Magazine listed the  20 Best Songs to Wake Up To.   Don't ask me how Hit the Quan made the list.  In immigration news, however, the Trump administration just issued a policy memo that should wake up every IT manager in America, whether or not they employ noncitizens.  To be sure, every IT Consultant involved with H1B visas should sit up and read this. As of today, the USCIS has "clarified" the  Policy Requirements for Third-Party Worksite H-1B's , i.e. IT consultancies.  I put "clarified" in quotes because, although the new memo mostly restates the current law and requirements for H1B visas (not altogether unneeded by the way), there are several subtle and not so subtle hints regarding the way off-site employee H1B visas will be treated in the Trump administration.  This amounts to new H1B policy just as we enter the season of annual new H1B filings. SUMMARY Less deferenc...

You Do Have Choices In Your Immigration Destiny Last year the USCIS announced new scrutiny for third party IT consultancies.  As part of the priority given to combating fraud in employment-based immigration programs, USCIS issued a policy targeting site visits in certain sectors that commonly receive H1B visas and have shown more than average propensities for fraud and abuse.  These included circumstances where an employer's basic business information could not easily verified, employers with a high ratio of H1B workers, and--the topic of this post--employers who send their H1B workers off-site to work for another company (i.e. "IT consultants"). See the announcement here:  USCIS: Combating Fraud And Abuse in the H-1B Visa Program . So then, almost a year later, what have been the results?  The answer is at the moment is hard to tell.  Today, the USCIS recycled their year-old announcement on Twitter, without amendment let alone report, on the succes...