Immigration General Counsel

USCIS is readying offices to reopen on or after June 4. Until then, and possibly later, there will be no regularly scheduled interviews or finger printing appointments.

USCIS is readying offices to reopen on or after June 4. Until then, and possibly later, there will be no regularly scheduled interviews or finger printing appointments.

DHS has relaxed the I-9 rules. Until further notice, for employees working remotely, all I-9 documents can be examined remotely through email/fax/video conference.

The new Executive Order re Immigration stops U.S. Consulates from issuing Immigrant Visas (which lead to a green card upon entry into the US) to applicants outside the US for 60 days. That's it. It exempts: - EB5 investors - USC spouses... - USC children under 21 - Those coming to work in a health-related field, and - Several other somewhat rarely used visa categories. This means: - Consulates (once they are up and running post COVID) can issue non-immigrant visas such as H1B, F1, L1, J1 and so on. - USCIS will continue to adjudicate Adjustment of Status (green card applications) for applicants in the US. - USCIS will continue to adjudicate Changes/Extensions of status for non-immigrant visas such as H1B, F1, L1, J1 and so on. All that hype yesterday was political posturing. COVID-19 has had a much more limiting impact on Immigration than this EO. #immigration #immigrationattorney #executiveorder #EO

The ill conceived order is still being drafted. By all accounts - however speculative they might be - the order will be short term, those already in the US may be exempted and job-creating visas would be exempted as well as those for essential jobs. We’ll wait for the EO to find out what needs to be done.

Join me next week in a Virtual EB5 Expo for engaging discussions about the current EB5 industry, including the impact of COVID-19 on EB5 investments.

DHS has relaxed the I-9 rules. Until further notice, for employees working remotely, all I-9 documents can be examined remotely through email/fax/video conference.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that it will accept all benefit forms and documents with reproduced - copies of - original signatures.

We at Immigration General Counsel hope you are staying well amidst the disruption and uncertainty caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). While we are closely following the recommended health precautions, our work continues uninterrupted for the time being. Since our inception our firm has been set up for virtual work and we operate from a secure, cloud-based technology platform. Do not hesitate to contact us via phone or email if you need assistance or have questions. We have suspended in-person meetings, but are happy to speak with you via video-conference, phone or a chat platform.