Earlier this afternoon the U.S. Senate voted 68-32 in favor of final passage of S. 744, the "Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act" which seeks to provide a comprehensive immigration reform. We have provided an overview and analysis of S.744 when it was introduced in the U.S. Senate on April 16, 2013 and [...]
On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA"). In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court held that DOMA is unconstitutional because the word "marriage" in any federal law meant only a union of a man and a woman. Until yesterday, DOMA denied a number of federal benefits, [...]
Our office handles a substantial number of ETA Form 9089 – Permanent Labor Certification (“PERM”) applications and we are closely monitoring the current PERM processing times not only for the benefit of our clients but also to be able to predict longer-term trends in PERM processing. The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has provided an update [...]
We are pleased to announce the relocation and expansion of our law firm - Capitol Immigration Law Group ("CILG") now resides at "Bethesda Towers" at 4340 East-West Highway, Suite 250, Bethesda, MD 20814. Bethesda is located just northwest of Washington, DC and is a home to a number of corporate and government headquarters. Our Washington [...]
Many of our clients and readers are already aware of the move by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service ("USCIS") to issue what are hundreds, or perhaps even thousands, of very similar, if not identical, requests for evidence ("RFE") on pending employment-based primary and derivative Form I-485, Application to Adjust Status. Most of the RFEs were [...]
Many of our clients and readers (especially those who have family-based immigrant visa cases) are aware that a family-based Form I-485, Application to Adjust Status, required an interview to be conducted at a local (to the applicant) service center. The requirement for these interviews is set under 8 CFR §245.6 which also indicates that interviews [...]
After the July 2013 Visa Bulletin was issued a few days ago, many of our clients and readers are anxious to get a sense of what we should expect for the remainder of the 2013 Fiscal Year (ends on September 30, 2013). As a result, we would like to share the Department of State (the [...]
The U.S. State Department has just released the July 2013 Visa Bulletin which is the tenth Visa Bulletin for the FY2013 fiscal year. The major headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is the lack of movement (again) in EB-2 India and the very significant forward movement in the EB-3 category for most countries (with [...]
The American Immigration Lawyers Association is reporting a possible disruption of visa services at U.S. Embassy in Turkey. The Embassy stated that because of protests and riots throughout the country, visa services for non-U.S. citizens may be disrupted with little to no notice in the coming days.
Our office reported on the new automated I-94 system launched by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on April 30, 2013. The change implemented at air and sea ports of entry applies to most foreign travelers entering the United States and the travelers now receive a stamp in their passport rather than a paper [...]