In another stark reminder that marriage immigration fraud is a serious criminal matter and never works out, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina charged 11 suspects with serious federal crimes. The charges stem from an alleged marriage immigration fraud scheme by which foreign nationals entered into sham marriages with US…
On September 29, 2020 a Federal District Court Judge for the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction enjoining USCIS immigration fee increases that were scheduled to take effect on October 2, 2020. BACKGROUND ON USCIS IMMIGRATION FEE INCREASES On July 31, 2020 the Department of Homeland Security published a final rule proposing several…
One of the most stressful times in a marriage green card process is the final marriage green card interview. This is the opportunity for a USCIS adjudicator to question the spouses about the good faith nature of their marriage to make sure there is no marriage fraud (e.g., getting married solely for a green card)….
The USCIS has announced that effective April 3, 2017, H1B premium processing for I129 petitions will be suspended for perhaps 6 months. Notably, this suspension of I-907 premium processing requests will apply to ALL new H1B cap petitions filed for fiscal year 2018, including both regular cap and the master’s degree exemption cap. As a…
The Rio 2016 Olympics in Brazil have now completed their first weekend of inspired and dramatic competition. This year’s Olympic games feature 11,000 athletes from 206 nations, including for the first time ever, athletes competing under the Olympic Flag as refugees from countries experiencing tremendous strife. At a time when immigration attitudes and immigration law…
In this interconnected world, many US expats find themselves working or studying or “playing” abroad for lengthy periods of time… in Europe, Asia, South America and many other places. A US expat might move abroad for a temporary period of time for love, for employment, or just to experience a new culture. In many of…
The US Embassy in Poland reminded American expats this week to always carry current proof of legal immigration status, and a current valid passport, when travelling throughout Europe, including within the Schengen region. The refugee crisis has resulted in the re-imposition of border controls and inspections in many European countries, and policies have been changing on…
A glance at any major news site in the last year, and especially in the last few weeks, and it is impossible not to notice the massive migration of immigrants around the world of a historical magnitude. With the tremendous influx of refugees into Europe from war torn and impoverished regions of Africa, Syria, Afghanistan and…
The USCIS, in conjunction with the Department of State, announced on September 9, 2015 a major change regarding the timing of filing adjustment of status applications, or submitting immigrant visa application documents, for beneficiaries of pending family or employment based immigrant visa petitions. This is in response to a previous directive from President Obama and…
As immigrant workers in Norway “take it on the chin” with the oil industry downsizing in the current economic client, here is an excellent article about a law firm in Stavanger, Norway helping to give free seminars to foreign employees facing downsizing. Knowing legal rights as a foreign worker in Norway (or any other country)…
