U.S. EMBASSY IN HAVANA, CUBA NOW OPEN

A significant step towards the Obama Administration's normalization of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba occurred July 20, 2015, when the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba was reopened after 54 years.  The Embassy, which has been closed since January 1961, now has an active website and is accepting interview appointments for both nonimmigrant and immigrant visa processing.

USCIS Resumes Premium Processing Service for H-1B Extensions

USCIS announced that as of July 13, 2015, the agency has resumed Premium Processing Service for all H-1B extension petitions and will accept I-907 Premium Processing requests on any H-1B extension petition, including pending petitions filed during the premium processing moratorium. Premium Processing requests for these cases received by USCIS before July 13, 2015, however, will still be rejected. 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE AUGUST 2015 VISA BULLETIN SUMMARY

The Department of State released the August 2015 Visa Bulletin this week.  D&S provides a monthly Summary of the family and employment based priority dates.  This month, there was forward movement in most employment-based visa categories with the exception of EB-3 China, which retrogressed over 7 years from September 1, 2011, to June 1, 2004, due to high demand.  There was a progression of 4 months for EB-3 India to June 1, 2004.  Additionally, EB-2 India remained unchanged and EB-2 China progressed 2.5 months to December 15, 2013.  EB-5 China, which retrogressed for the first time in June 2015, remains at September 1, 2013.

All Consular Posts Back Online Following Technological Systems Issues

The most recent alert by the Department of State (DOS) indicates that all visa-issuing embassies and consulates are now back online, scheduling visa interviews and issuing nonimmigrant and immigrant visas.

DOS reports issuing more than 300,000 nonimmigrant visas during the week of June 22, 2015 alone and that Consular staff worked this past weekend to help clear the backlog created by the system issues. DOS expects the backlog will be cleared entirely by early this week.

UPDATE: 165 Consular Posts (85% of Nonimmigrant Visa Demand) Back Online

The most recent alert by the Department of State (DOS) indicates that 165 consular posts, representing more than 85 percent of the worldwide nonimmigrant visa demand, are now online and issuing visas. With the system largely restored, consular posts overseas issued more than 82,000 visas on June 24th and more than 238,000 non-immigrant visas this week alone.

D&S will continue to provide updates as they become available.

UPDATE: Technological Issues with Overseas Passport and Visa Systems

The Department of State (DOS) continues to experience technical difficulties with its overseas visa and passport systems but the most recent DOS alert indicates that the database responsible for handling biometric clearances has been rebuilt and that as of June 23, 2015, 39 posts are now online and issuing visas.

DOS will continue to bring additional posts online and expects the system will be fully reconnected and operational this week.

During the outage, applicants faced significant delays in visa issuance and appointment scheduling, though DOS issued approximately 1,250 visa to temporary and seasonal workers and more than 3,000 visas for urgent and humanitarian travel during this period.

While the residual delays persist, individuals have received their passports with visa stamps from several consulates, noting that most of these individuals appear to have submitted their DS-160, Online Nonimmigrant Visa Applications, before June 8, 2015. DOS indicates that interviews will now become available for those applicants who applied after June 8, 2015, and that many consular posts will begin rescheduling appointments as early as today, June 24, 2015.

Once fully operational, the DOS confirms it will continue to work as quickly as possible to clear the pending visa application backlogs, giving priority to assisting individuals with urgent humanitarian travel needs and confirms that adoption cases are still being processed.

D&S will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they become available.

D&S REMINDS INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS AND EXCHANGE VISITORS TO BE PREPARED FOR JUNE 26TH SEVIS OUTAGE

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) issued a statement reminding F and M students as well as J exchange visitors to be prepared for the upcoming Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) outage scheduled to start the evening of June 26th.  In it's statement, USCIS announced that there will be important updates made to SEVIS, which, as a result, will be unavailable beginning at 8:00 pm EDT on Friday, June 26, 2015, through 8:00 pm EDT on Sunday, June 28, 2015.

D&S encourages F, M, and J visa holders to be prepared for delays if they have scheduled international travel during which they will be applying for a new visa stamp or reentering the U.S. during the outage period. 

USCIS indicates that several important SEVIS services will be unavailable during the outage including possible delays for U.S. student visa issuance, and directs potentially impacted individuals to check with their local U.S. Department of State embassy or consulate for more information about the effects of the outage of visa issuance.

Additionally, USCIS warns F and M students returning to the U.S. during the outage to expect delays at U.S. ports of entry and notes that international students whose "information cannot be verified during primary inspection will be sent to secondary inspection where they can expect additional significant delays in entering the country."

USCIS also indicates that the I-901 SEVIS Fee payments on FMJFee.com will be unavailable during this time and, thus, students and exchange visitors should make payments before June 26 to avoid the need to wait until the outage is over. USCIS notes that although payments will not be accepted, F and M students will still be able to print their payment confirmation receipts from the website.

Finally, USCIS notes that the outage could result in delays for students and exchange visitors applying for social security numbers or U.S. driver's licenses and advises potentially impacted individuals to check with their local Social Security Administration or Department of Motor Vehicles.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE ANNOUNCES TECHNICAL PROBLEMS WITH OVERSEAS VISA AND PASSPORT SERVICES

Today the Department of State (DOS) issued an announcement confirming that it is experiencing technical difficulties with its overseas visa and passport systems.  The DOS confirmed that these technical problems are not specific to any particular country, document, or visa category but that the problem is a "global" one impacting all consular operations.   The DOS does not expect the problem to be fixed before next week and, as a result, individuals with pending applications for visa stamps may experience delays in visa stamp issuance and those with upcoming visa interview appointments may be required to reschedule their appointments.  

Once fully operational, the DOS confirms it will work as quickly as possible to clear the pending visa application backlogs. Currently, the DOS is giving priority to assisting individuals with urgent humanitarian travel needs and confirms that adoption cases are still being processed.

D&S will continue to monitor the situation and provide timely updates as they become available.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE JULY 2015 VISA BULLETIN SUMMARY

The Department of State released the July 2015 Visa Bulletin this week.  D&S provides a monthly summary of the family and employment based priority dates.  This month, EB-3 China remained unchanged and there was a modest progression of one week for EB-3 India.  Additionally, EB-2 India remained unchanged and EB-2 China progressed 4 months from June 1, 2013 to October 1, 2013.  EB-5 China, which retrogressed for the first time in June 2015, has progressed 4 months from May 1, 2013 to September 1, 2013.

DHS Publishes Final Rule on ESTA and Visa Waiver Program

On Monday, June 8, The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published its final rule on the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), which is the online pre-verification system used for individuals traveling to the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).  DHS adopted the rule as final with one substantive change, interim amendments regarding requirements for use, and the establishment of a $4 fee for use of the system which will take effect starting in October 2020.  The rule becomes effective on July 8, 2015.

USCIS BEGINS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR H-4 EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION TODAY

Today United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed it will begin accepting applications for qualifying H-4 spouses to apply for employment authorization under the newly-implemented "H-4 Rule."  This comes following the U.S. D.C. Federal District Court's May 24th decision denying Save Jobs USA's motion for a preliminary injunction to stop the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from implementing the new H-4 rule.

Eligible individuals are encouraged to file their applications as soon as possible as USCIS has indicated that it will not be bound by it's normal 90 day processing times for these applications, meaning that it may take in excess of 3 months for applicants to receive work authorization after filing their applications.

USCIS TEMPORARILY SUSPENDS PREMIUM PROCESSING SERVICE FOR H-1B EXTENSIONS

USCIS announced today, May 19, 2015, that the agency will be temporarily suspending premium processing service for H-1B extensions beginning May 26, 2015 and extending until July 27, 2015 to allow them to adjudicate applications for employment authorization filed by H-4 nonimmigrants under the new regulations. For pending petitions filed prior to May 26th, USCIS will refund the premium processing fee if the case is not adjudicated within the 15-calendar-day period.

USCIS COMPLETES DATA ENTRY FOR H-1B CAP PETITIONS

Today, May 4, 2015, USCIS announced that it has completed data entry of all Fiscal Year 2016 H-1B cap-subject petitions that have been selected in the USCIS computer-generated lottery process. USCIS indicates that the agency will now begin returning all H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected in the lottery, but the time frame for returning these petitions remains uncertain.

As a reminder, USCIS received nearly 233,000 H-1B petitions during the filing period, with a total of 85,000 H-1B visas available, including the 65,000 general-category cap and the 20,000 master's cap.

NEW LEGISLATION COULD PROVIDE ADDITIONAL GREEN CARD OPTION FOR E-2 TREATY INVESTOR VISA HOLDERS

E-2 VISA IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2015 - Treaty Investor Green Card?

Florida Congressman David Jolly is introducing a Bill into Congress that could have important positive effects on E-2 Treaty Investors Visa holders interested in pursuing permanent residence. 

Under current law, the E-2 Visa is what is known as a "nonimmigrant" visa, meaning that to remain eligible, an E-2 visa holder must maintain an intent to return abroad following the conclusion of their stay in the U.S.  Additionally, the E-2 investor visa does not always easily parlay into an EB-5 Investor Green Card, given the additional requirements of the EB-5 program to meet a minimum investment threshold of between $500,000 and $1 million in a new commercial enterprise and the requirement to create and/or sustain 10 U.S. jobs.  Thus, an E-2 visa holder who has invested a much smaller sum (typically around $100,000) and who do not meet the requisite job creation requirements, could not use their E-2 company as an EB-5 investment vehicle.

The new bill is expected to provide a new option to E-2 Treaty Investors and, thus, the entrepreneurs who frequently use this visa category to start companies in the United States.  More specifically, the bill would grant permanent residence to E-2 Treaty Investors who have resided in the U.S. for at least 10 years in E-2 status and whose businesses have created at least 2 full-time jobs during this period.  Children of Treaty Investor green card applicants would be permitted to remain in the U.S. as dependents on their parent's visas up until the age of 26 and could apply for employment authorization after turning 18.

While certainly a positive step for pro-entrepreneur immigration reform, it is important to note that existing law will remain in effect and the Treaty Investor Green Card would only become available if and when Congress passes the Bill and the President signs it into law.

H-1B Cap Filing Receipts Begin to Trickle In

Despite USCIS's prior statement that premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions would begin on April 27th, some practitioners and employers are beginning to receive receipt notices for cases filed under the U.S. Master's Cap, including some for cases filed without a request for premium processing service.

As previously noted, USCIS recently announced that it had received enough H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap of 65,000 visas for fiscal year (FY) 2016. USCIS also received more than the limit of 20,000 H-1B petitions filed under the advanced degree exemption or  "masters cap."

Reports indicate that USCIS received nearly 233,000 H-1B petitions during the filing period, which began April 1, including masters cap petitions. This marks an increase of about 35 percent from last year, placing the odds of selection at approximately 36 percent. USCIS uses a computer-generated random selection process, or lottery, to select enough petitions to meet the 65,000 general-category cap and the 20,000 masters cap. USCIS will reject and return all unselected petitions with their filing fees, unless the petition is found to be a duplicate filing.

USCIS continues to accept H-1B filings for individual and organizations who are exempt from the cap. 

IMMIGRATION UPDATES: H-1B CAP LOTTERY RUN and EB-5 CHINA RETROGRESSION IN MAY

USCIS RUNS H-1B LOTTERY & RELEASES STATISTICS ON H-1B CAP FOR FISCAL YEAR 2016

In a statement released today, USCIS announced that it has received enough H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap of 65,000 visas for fiscal year (FY) 2016. USCIS has also received more than the limit of 20,000 H-1B petitions filed under the advanced degree exemption or  "masters cap."   

USCIS received nearly 233,000 H-1B petitions during the filing period, which began April 1, including masters cap petitions. This marks an increase of about 35 percent from last year, placing the odds of selection at approximately 36 percent. Today, April 13, USCIS used a computer-generated random selection process, or lottery, to select enough petitions to meet the 65,000 general-category cap and the 20,000 masters cap. USCIS will reject and return all unselected petitions with their filing fees, unless the petition is found to be a duplicate filing.

Update: USCIS previously noted that it would begin premium processing for H-1B cap cases no later than May 11, 2015. On April 14, 2015, USCIS released a statement indicating the agency will begin premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions requesting premium processing on April 27, 2015. 

STATE DEPARTMENT VISA BULLETIN FOR MAY 2015 INDICATES RETROGRESSION FOR EB-5 CHINA

Today, the State Department released its May 2015 Visa Bulletin in which it announced the long-anticipated retrogression of EB-5 China.  For more information about the impacts of EB-5 China retrogression on investors and regional centers, D&S recommends reading the 2014-2015 Edition of ILW.com's The EB-5 Book, with a chapter co-authored by D&S Partner, Sarah Schroeder, entitled "EB-5 China Retrogression: Considerations for Investors and Regional Centers".