June, 2020 Visa Bulletin Released – Movement Forward for EB-1 and EB-5

Washington, D.C. – May 20, 2020: The U.S. Department of State recently published its monthly Visa Bulletin for June, 2020. Employment Based Green Cards The June, 2020 visa bulletin follows significant movement forward in the March, 2020 and May, 2020 visa bulletins for China and India in the EB-5 categories. The current visa bulletin shows […]

Border Closures Continue at US-Canada and US-Mexico Borders

Washington, D.C.; May 19, 2020. Reports indicate that the White House will likely agree with Canada and Mexico to extend travel restrictions and land border control measures implemented in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The US implemented travel restrictions in March that barred non-essential travel to the US for persons that are not US citizens, […]

Canada’s Perspective on COVID-19 and Immigration

Toronto, May 18, 2020: Canada’s Minister for Immigration, Marco Mendicino, was recently quoted in support of immigrants and immigration during the COVID-19 crisis: “We could not put food on the plate of Canadians at an affordable price without immigrants, we could not support our front-line workers without immigration,” he said. The complete article is linked […]

USCIS Seeks to Increase Filing Fees Due to COVID-19 Crisis

Washington, D.C., May 18, 2020: US Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has experienced a significant reduction in new visa applications since the start of the COVID-19 crisis in March 2020. As a result, USCIS now running out of money to operate. Funding for USCIS operations are based on filing fees collected from applicants. USCIS filing […]

USCIS Updates: Request for Evidence Responses and I-551 Stamping Appointments

Washington, D.C., May 8, 2020: In response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it is extending a measure recently adopted to assist applicants and petitioners who are responding to requests for evidence (RFEs) and notices of intent to deny (NOIDs). USCIS’ announcement today confirms that for applicants and […]

COVID-19 Related Travel Restrictions across the U.S. Borders with Canada

Borders with Canada On April 20, the United States and Canada announced a mutual agreement to extend restrictions on non-essential travel across our shared border for an additional 30 days. “Non-essential” travel includes travel that is considered tourism or recreational in nature. “Essential travel” still permitted includes: work and study, critical infrastructure support, economic services […]

USCIS Extends Flexibility for Responding to USCIS Requests by Two Months

Washington, D.C., May 1, 2020: In response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it is extending a measure recently adopted to assist applicants and petitioners who are responding to requests for evidence (RFEs) and notices of intent to deny (NOIDs). USCIS’ announcement today confirms that for applicants and […]

April 29 Express Entry Draw

On April 29,2020, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to 589 candidates. This draw was restricted exclusively to candidates with provincial nominations from Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs). The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score for this draw was 692 points, which means that the basic human capital points requirement was only […]

USCIS Plans on Reopening Offices to the Public after June 4, 2020

Washington, D.C., April 27, 2020: USCIS announced on Friday, April 24, 2020, that it intends to reopen its offices to the public on or after June 4, 2020. Since March 18, 2020, USCIS offices in the United States have been closed to all public visitors for any appointments, interviews or any other purposes. USCIS itself […]

May 2020 Visa Bulletin Moves Forward for EB-1 and EB-5

Washington, D.C. – April 24, 2020: The U.S. Department of State recently published its monthly Visa Bulletin for May, 2020, a few days after a Presidential proclamation was signed to temporarily limit immigration to the U.S. for 60-days. Employment Based Green Cards The May, 2020 visa bulletin follows significant movement forward in the March, 2020 […]