On December 14, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it is implementing the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER), in compliance with a federal court order. The IER regulations, 8 CFR § 212.19, allow qualifying foreign national entrepreneurs to enter the U.S. temporarily to develop and grow new businesses. At the same time it is accepting applications under the IER, however, the agency is preparing to publish a Notice of Proposed Rule-Making (NPRM) to rescind the IER. Thus, it is unclear whether individuals who apply to enter the U.S. pursuant to the IER will ultimately receive the benefits of the rule, or for how long.
DHS Publishes Proposed Rule to End Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Spouses
On February 25, 2015, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule extending eligibility for employment authorization to certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants who are seeking employment-based lawful permanent resident status.
Now, DHS has published a proposed rule to remove these H-4 dependent spouses from the class of aliens eligible for employment authorization. This would appear to reverse the 2015 H-4 EAD rule, and appears consistent with the Trump Administration’s aims under Executive Order 13788 (“Buy American and Hire American”). No details about how the reversal will be implemented have been shared at this stage.
Jewell Stewart & Pratt is monitoring developments and will post more information here when it becomes available. The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services’ Buy American and Hire American webpage can be found here. Our prior blog posts related to the beginning of the H-4 EAD rule can be found here, here, and here.
© Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC 2017
SCOTUS Allows Travel Ban 3.0 to Take Effect Immediately
Issuing two separate orders (here and here) on the Trump Administration’s Travel Ban today, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the third iteration of the ban, issued via Presidential Proclamation on September 24, 2017, to take full immediate effect. We detailed the ban in our post here. The ban is pending litigation, but the Supreme Court’s ruling allows the ban to be implemented while the litigation is ongoing.
© Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC 2017
Ninth Circuit Reinstates Travel Ban 3.0
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today issued an order reinstating the Trump Administration’s third version of a travel ban. The ban was announced in President Trump’s September 24, 2017 proclamation and is now in effect; affected are nationals of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria and Yemen as well as some Venezuelan government officials and their families. The Court preserved an exception to the ban for applicants who can meet a “bona fide relationship test” (to certain family members or entities) similar to the test described by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding Travel Ban 2.0. The Court will hear substantive arguments on December 6, 2017.
© Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC 2017
Travel Ban 3.0 – On Hold by the Courts
In two separate Federal Court decisions issued on October 17, 2017, the majority of the travel restrictions set forth in President Trump’s September 24, 2017 proclamation titled “Enhancing Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry into the United States by Terrorists or other Public-Safety Threats” were blocked. As a result, nationals of Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and Chad will not be restricted from traveling to the United States. However, all immigrants and nonimmigrants from North Korea and certain government officials and their family members from Venezuela traveling on business or tourist visas (B-1/B-2) will continue to be restricted from travel to the U.S. The U.S. Department of Justice has stated that it will appeal these rulings.
© Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC 2017
USCIS Interviews of Applicants for Employment-Based Permanent Residence – Update
As discussed in an earlier post, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on August 28, 2017 that it will cease waiving interviews of applicants applying for “adjustment of status” (AOS) to U.S. permanent residence (green card) based on employment. As part of the Trump administration’s plan to apply “extreme vetting” to would-be immigrants (and others), employment-based AOS applicants will be required to undergo an in-person interview at a USCIS field office. Approximately 130,000 applicants are expected to be affected per year.
USCIS Resumes Premium Processing Service for ALL H-1B Petitions
USCIS announced today that it would resume offering its Premium Processing Service (PPS) for all H-1B petitions. USCIS previously resumed PPS for all cap-subject petitions and for certain cap-exempt petitions.
© Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC 2017
Trump Administration Announces Travel Ban 3.0
On September 24, 2017 President Trump announced an extended and enhanced version of the travel ban that was previously in place under Executive Order 13780 (EO-2). The Presidential Proclamation titled “Enhancing Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry into the United States by Terrorists or other Public-Safety Threats,” a related Fact Sheet, and FAQs for the new ban are available on the White House website. As with EO-2, the ban affects immigrant and nonimmigrant visa issuance only. Therefore, nationals from the affected countries who already hold visas will not have those revoked. The U.S. Department of State has also announced that previously scheduled visa appointments will not be cancelled.
DHS Announces Visa Sanctions on Four Countries
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on September 13, 2017 that visa sanctions would be imposed on Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea, and Sierra Leone due to lack of cooperation in accepting their nationals ordered removed from the United States. Some of the specific visa sanctions announced were:
USCIS resumes Premium Processing Service for pending cap-subject H-1B petitions
On September 18, 2017, USCIS announced that it would resume its Premium Processing Service (PPS) for all H-1B visa petitions subject to the Fiscal Year 2018 cap. The resumption only applies to pending cap petitions, not any newly-filed petitions such as for changes of employers or extensions of stay. USCIS previously resumed PPS for H-1B petitions for certain cap-exempt employers. To date, USCIS has not indicated when it plans to resume PPS for all H-1B petition types.
© Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC 2017
Instructions for the 2019 Diversity Visa Lottery Program now available
The U.S. Department of State’s instructions for the 2019 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV-2019) are now available. Entries for the DV-2019 program must be submitted electronically between October 3 and November 7, 2017.
There are no changes in eligibility this year. Eligibility requirements and entry instructions are on the U.S. Department of State’s DV lottery web site.
The congressionally-mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is administered annually by the Department of State under Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). This law provides for a class of immigrants known as diversity immigrants, with visas made available to persons from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. For fiscal year 2019, 50,000 diversity visas will be available.
© Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC 2017
Statement on the rescission of DACA
Dear Clients, Friends, and Community –
Like many of you, we are dismayed at President Trump’s rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA enabled 800,000 of our neighbors to come out of the shadows and be an unafraid part of the nation to which they already belong. We stand with them today in calling on Congress to enact a humane solution.
We are following legal developments and will carefully consider strategies and implications for our clients as information becomes available.
For those of you in the San Francisco Bay Area, DACA supporters are gathering at the San Francisco Federal Building at 5:00PM today.
In solidarity,
Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC
© Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC 2017
Trump Administration to require interviews for employment-based permanent residence applications
On Friday August 25, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed to Politico that certain permanent residence (green card) applicants must complete an in-person interview as part of the application process. The requirement will apply to anyone moving from a work visa to permanent residence, and is “part of President Donald Trump’s plan to apply ‘extreme vetting’ to immigrants and visitors to the U.S.”
Update: Effect of new litigation in Hawaii and U.S. Supreme Court on Second Executive Order / Travel Ban 2.0
As noted in our prior blog post, the U.S. Supreme Court has partially reinstated the Trump Administration’s second Executive Order regarding travel and refugee admissions (“EO-2”), after several lower court orders impeded its implementation. However, the Supreme Court did exempt from EO-2’s reach nationals of the six affected countries with a “credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States,” such as a “close familial relationship.
Jewell Stewart & Pratt lawyers selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers ®
Jewell Stewart & Pratt is pleased to announce that five of its lawyers have been selected for inclusion in Northern California Super Lawyers ® in 2017. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.
Update: Effect of U.S. Supreme Court Order on Second Executive Order / Travel Ban 2.0
Executive Order 13780 (EO-2), signed by President Trump on March 6, 2017, ordered the suspension of entry by citizens and nationals of six countries – Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen – for at least 90 days from its effective date of March 16, 2017. Litigation in U.S. federal courts temporarily prevented the ban from being carried out. The Trump Administration appealed these courts’ decisions and, on June 26, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decided to hear the Trump Administration’s appeals. Pending its full review and decision, SCOTUS partially reinstated EO-2.
U.S. Supreme Court Order on Second Executive Order / Travel Ban 2.0
On June 26, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decided to hear the Trump Administration’s appeals from the decisions of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, related to the administration’s second Executive Order regarding travel and refugee admissions (“EO-2”). SCOTUS will hear arguments from the parties in October 2017.
Ninth Circuit Decision on Travel Ban 2.0
News Release from Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC
On June 12, 2017 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an order upholding the District Court’s decision to block President Trump’s second Executive Order regarding travel and refugee admissions (i.e., “Travel Ban 2.0”).
The Ninth Circuit’s order states that “the President, in issuing the Executive Order, exceeded the scope of the authority delegated to him by Congress” and that “the Order runs afoul of other provisions of the INA that prohibit nationality-based discrimination.” The court affirmed the lower court’s decision to enjoin the travel ban and prevent suspension or limitations to the refugee program. However, the court also vacated the lower court’s decision to prevent the government’s internal reviews of visa issuance procedures.
The Ninth Circuit’s decision follows on the heels of the Fourth Circuit’s May 25, 2017 decision also blocking the ban. The administration is already seeing U.S. Supreme Court review of the Fourth Circuit decision.
© Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC 2017
Update: State Department now using Form DS-5535, Supplemental Questions for Visa Applicants
News Release from Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC – June 5, 2017 As noted in our prior post, the Department of State recently published a Notice of request for emergency approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its new form, Form DS-5535, Supplemental Questions for Visa Applicants. The form was designed to collect extra information from visa applicants who have been determined to warrant additional scrutiny in connection with terrorism or other national security-related visa ineligibility.
According to a news report from The Washington Post, Form DS-5535 was approved by the OMB and has been in use at U.S. embassies and consulates since May 25, 2017. A copy of the form is currently available on the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Turkey website. The extra information it collects includes:
- Countries visited over the last fifteen years
- Email addresses used in the past five years
- Social media handles and aliases used in the past five years
Form DS-5535 is authorized on an emergency basis through November 2017, but as The Washington Post article notes, it is expected to be authorized on a permanent basis.
© Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC 2017
USCIS reports 27.7% increase in applications for U.S. citizenship
News Release from Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC – June 4, 2017 On April 30, 2017, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) released data related to the number of applications and petitions it processed in the first quarter of its 2017 fiscal year (October 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016). The number of N-400 applications for naturalization was 239,628, compared with 187,635 for the same period in the prior fiscal year – an increase of 27.7%.
Current and historical USCIS data on Form N-400 applications can be found at the USCIS website here. Further coverage of the spike in naturalization applications can be found in the May 30, 2017 edition of the Daily Journal legal newspaper, for which Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC principal Claire Pratt was interviewed and quoted.
© Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC 2017