WASHINGTON— USCIS is announcing the expansion of its digital Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Immigration Records System (FIRST). FIRST is the only system in the U.S. government that allows users to submit and track FOIA requests and receive documents digitally. This process will save time, improve efficiency, and reduce potential errors that can occur with manually handling paper.
Rajiv S Khanna, Managing Attorney at Immigraiton.com told TOI: “Changes like imposing per country limits on H-1B visas will most likely require a legislative mandate, which can only be secured through amendment of laws passed by both Houses of the Congress (US Parliament). It is highly unlikely that a provision like this will make it through the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives. Neither visa extensions nor new H-1B visas can be affected in such a profound manner through an executive order or action without legislative mandate.
“A bill that proposes to take away over a quarter of a million temporary positions, primarily in STEM, makes little sense in an economy that has less than 4% unemployment,” says Rajiv S Khanna, managing attorney at immigration law company Immigration.com.
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Beginning July 1, USCIS will no longer accept Form I-407, Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status at international field offices by mail or in person.
Certain New Zealand nationals can now request a change of status to the E-1 nonimmigrant trader classification and the E-2 nonimmigrant investor classification under Public Law 115-226.
On May 31, 2019, The Department of State updated its immigrant and nonimmigrant visa application forms to request additional information, including social media identifiers, from most U.S. visa applicants worldwide.
“For employees who are coming from outside the US, premium processing will offer a great deal of comfort in knowing where a case stands. If the application is denied, which is quite common these days, there will be enough time to appeal or litigate it before the October 1, start date,” Rajiv S. Khanna, Managing Attorney at Immigration.com told TOI.
For more on this news please read the attached file.
USCIS has received enough petitions to reach the additional maximum 30,000 visas made available for returning workers under the H-2B numerical limit (also called a cap) for fiscal year (FY) 2019.