Corporate Immigration Law News

Due to the Russian government’s ordered closure of the U.S. Consulate General in St. Petersburg, effective March 31, consular services to U.S. citizens will no longer be provided in St. Petersburg.  The U.S. Embassy in Moscow and the U.S.  Consulates General in Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok will remain open. In addition, due to the expulsion of U.S. diplomats ordered by the Russian government, it is expected that the reduction in personnel could have a negative effect on scheduling and processing of immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applications and interviews in the short term.  Further updates are expected shortly from the U.S. Department of State.

If you have any questions in connection with the foregoing, please contact our firm’s Immigration Law Group at (973) 602-3455.

Starting April 2, 2018, USCIS will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 cap. USCIS will temporarily suspend premium processing for all FY 2019 cap-subject petitions, including petitions seeking an exemption for individuals with a U.S. master’s degree or higher. This suspension is expected to last until Sept. 10, 2018. During this time, they will continue to accept premium processing requests for H-1B petitions that are not subject to the FY 2019 cap. The public will be notified before they resume premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions or making any other premium processing updates.

During this temporary suspension, USCIS will reject any Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, filed with an FY 2019 cap-subject H-1B petition. If a petitioner submits one combined check for the fees for Form I-907 and Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, they will reject both forms. When premium processing resumes, petitioners may file a Form I-907 for FY 2019 cap-subject H-1B petitions that remain pending. For additional details and explanatory information visit the USCIS web site here.

If you have any questions in connection with the foregoing, please contact our firm’s Immigration Law Group at (973) 602-3455.

E-Verify will be unavailable from March 23 at 12 a.m. to March 26 at 8 a.m. Eastern due to system enhancements.

Employer Accounts

While E-Verify is unavailable, employers will not be able to access their E-Verify accounts to:

• Enroll in E-Verify;
• Create an E-Verify case;
• View or take action on any case;
• Add, delete, or edit any user account;
• Reset passwords;
• Edit company information;
• Request to terminate an account; and
• Run reports.

Also, employees will be unable to resolve E-Verify Tentative Nonconfirmations (TNCs) with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or the Social Security Administration (SSA). Please see USCIS Fact Sheet for additional details and explanatory information.

If you have any questions in connection with the foregoing, please contact our firm’s Immigration Law Group at (973) 602-3455.